La placa del techo del gastrocele de Epipedobates tricolor (Anura: Dendrobatidae)

Abstract

In most model vertebrates, the left-right asymmetry in the location of organs, such as the heart, is determined in the neurula, and derives from fluid flow towards the left side. The fluid flow results from synchronized movement of cilia in the gastrocoel roof plate, which is the inner side of the dorsal roof of the anuran neurula. The morphology of the neurula and of the gastrocoel roof plate was analyzed in the Ecuadorian anuran, Epipedobates tricolor (Dendrobatidae). The gastrocoel roof plate coats the gastrocoel cavity in the dorsal side in the E. tricolor neurula, and consists of a mono-ciliated epithelium, as in Xenopus laevis and other frogs. The cilia of the E. tricolor gastrocoel roof plate had a mean length of 8 μm. The gastrocoel roof plate of E. tricolor shares similar morphological characteristics with the dendrobatid frog Epipedobates machalilla and with other frogs that display various modes of reproduction. The comparison suggests that fluid flow guided by cilia of the gastrocoel roof plate likely determines the left-right asymmetry in E. tricolor as in other anurans.