FATE MAPS

Fate mapping
◦ Fate mapping experiments are important in embryology because they
allow one to follow the pathways along which a particular cell can
differentiate.
◦ Fate mapping experiments have shown that all blastomeres of an 8-cell
mouse embryo remain totipotent; that is, they retain the ability to form
any cell type in the body.
◦ Even at the 16-cell stage of cleavage, some blastomeres are capable of
producing progeny that are found in both the inner cell mass and the
trophoblastic lineage.
 Fate Map
◦ Fate mapping is a technique used to understand how
embryonic cells divide, differentiate, and migrate
during development.
◦ In classic fate mapping experiments, cells in different
areas of an embryo are labeled with a chemical dye and
then tracked to determine which tissues or structures
they form.
◦ Technological improvements now allow for individual
cells to be marked and traced throughout embryonic
development and adulthood.