ANIMAL EMBRYOLOGY

SOMITO
GENESIS
IBAR KAIRAN MASSADIAH 22/492115/BI/10905
Definition
Somitogenesis is the process
by which somites form.

Somites originate from the

paraxial mesoderm.

Somites are the segments in the

embryo which will form the
vertebrae, skeletal muscle, and
dermis.
(Maroto, Bone and Dale, 2012)
Time & Process
Soon after gastrulation has initiated
Proceeds in an anterior-to-posterior direction during
body axis elongation.
Repeated a specific number of times until the embryo
acquires a species-specific final number of somites at
the end of the process of axis elongation.
(Tenin et al., 2010)
Phases
First Phase Second Phase Third Phase

The tail bud is the source The somites and other During axis elongation two
of somitic mesoderm types of mesoderm parallel unsegmented or
precursors originate from cells that presomitic mesoderm (PSM)
have traversed the migrate from the primitive
primitive streak streak and lie alongside the
notochord.
Fourth Phase

Cells at the rostral end of

each PSM bud off with a
periodicity and
synchronisation as an
epithelial sphere of cells to
form the new somite.

(Tenin et al., 2010)

 Maturation and
differentiation
From the moment the somite is made, it starts to
mature and differentiate.
Surrounding tissues provide signals that direct
specification of different tissues
From the naïve somite into the definitive somitic
derivatives
The sclerotome, the dermatome and the myotome
(Maroto, Bone and Dale, 2012)
Derivatives
Sclerotome:
Vertebrae and associated ribs,
tendons, and other tissues, such as
vascular cells of the dorsal aorta,
intervertebral blood vessels, and
meninges

Myotome:
Musculature of the back, rib cage,
ventral body wall, and limbs

Dermatome:
Dermis of the back

(Tani et al., 2020)

Termination
It is currently unknown how somitogenesis is terminated.

Possible theories include:

Massive cell death in the posteriormost cells of the paraxial mesoderm
(Mills and Bellairs, 1989)
Retinoic acid in ending somitogenesis in vertebrates that lack a tail
(Cunningham and Duester, 2015)
Termination due to an imbalance between the speed of somite formation
and growth of the pre-somitic mesoderm into tail region
(Tenin et al., 2010)
 References
Cunningham, T.J. and Duester, G. (2015). Mechanisms of retinoic acid signalling and its roles in organ and limb
development. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 16(2), pp.110–123. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3932.

Maroto, M., Bone, R.A. and Dale, J.K. (2012). Somitogenesis. Development, 139(14), pp.2453–2456.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.069310.

Mills, C. and Bellairs, R. (1989). Mitosis and cell death in the tail of the chick embryo. Anatomy and Embryology,
180(3), pp.301–308. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00315888.

Tani, S., Chung, U., Ohba, S. and Hojo, H. (2020). Understanding paraxial mesoderm development and sclerotome
specification for skeletal repair. Experimental & Molecular Medicine, [online] 52(8), pp.1166–1177.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-0482-1.

Tenin, G., Wright, D., Ferjentsik, Z., Bone, R., McGrew, M.J. and Maroto, M. (2010). The chick somitogenesis oscillator
is arrested before all paraxial mesoderm is segmented into somites. BMC Developmental Biology, 10(1), p.24.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-213x-10-24.
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YOU