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Early craniofacial and dental morphogenesis in bichir, P. senegalus
Kráľovič, Martin ; Černý, Robert (advisor) ; Buchtová, Marcela (referee)
Polypterid fishes are considered the basal-most group of extant actinopterygians and thus may serve as a direct link for understanding the evolution of the first bony fishes. Their embryonic and larval material, however, is extremely scarce what makes it difficult to study their developmental patterns and processes. This work of mine is based on several successful breedings of the bichir Polypterus senegalus that allowed me to analyse development of some 70 specimens at key developmental stages. I have focused my attention to the early morphogenesis of teeth and dentition on several locations within a developmental context of oropharyngeal cavity. Oropharyngeal cavity develops quite differently when compared to other vertebrate species: it arises by means of a schizocoeliclike split of epithelial layers and, moreover, the earliest mouth cavity seems to be strongly constrained by the presence of cement (attachment) glands. Mouth opening proceeds by development of new, enigmatic structures that I have entitled the epithelial bridges (Kralovic et al., 2009) and that might represent the ectoderm-endoderm border often judged to be essential for tooth initiation and patterning. I have described a pronounced delay in initiation of pharyngeal teeth when compared to the oral teeth, probably as a direct consequence...
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Asymetric segregation of cell determinants in embryos with regulatory development
Chramostová, Kamila ; Krylov, Vladimír (advisor) ; Černý, Robert (referee)
Asymmetric segregation of cell determinants specific the cell fates in early embryonic development. In C. Elegans somatic and germ cells are separeted in early development. On the basis of the first five asymmetric divisions AB, MS, C, E, D, P4 are found. In this specifications, par genes and genes responsible for the specification of blastomers are involved. P granules are segragated to P4 cells. Xenopus as a representative of amphibians, belonging to a group with regulative embryogenesis , exhibit features of mosaic development like C. Elegans. Maternal RNAs in germ plasm determine germ cells already in oocyte. These RNAs are transported through two distinct pathways. METRO pathways is used for a transportation of mitochondrial cloud RNA. It is specific for Xcat-2, Xpat, XIsirt, Xdazl. Vg1 and VegT RNAs are involved in the second pathway called Vg1 . This RNA contribute to the specification of mesoderm and endoderm. Although mammals reveal regulative development they also exhibit some features of the mosaic embryos. As an example, in the mouse embryo, overexpressing cadherin leads to compaction at the 8 -cell stage. Then the cells of embryo are polarized. Polarized internal cells give rise to ICM. Conversely, the outer nonpolarized cells give rise to TE. Specific factor for TE is Cdx2, for ICM is...
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Developmental and structural analysis of similarities among calcified and keratinized tooth structures in mouth of vertebrates
Karpecká, Zuzana ; Černý, Robert (advisor) ; Hovořáková, Mária (referee)
Calcified teeth comprise the hardest vertebrate tissues (enamel and dentine) and they undoubtedly represent a key evolutionary advantage for their users. Nevertheless, teeth have been lost many times and they were often replaced by keratinised structures, such as rhamphoteca of birds or of turtle beaks, or labial tooth structures and scratching laminae of many aquatic vertebrates. This thesis is intended to analyse levels of similarities among keratinised teeth and structures of three phylogenetically distinct lineages of amniotes and to compare them to morphogenesis of true teeth. Detailed developmental and structural characteristics of oral apparatus possessing keratinous teeth of lampreys, Loricarid cathfishes and frog tadpoles were identified and distinguished. Keratinous structures of cathfishes include only horny projections from single cell surface (unculi), whereas in frog tadpoles both horny jaw sheet and unicellular labial teeth composed by cell columns were found; the lamprey oral apparatus consists of multicellular teeth and laminae instead. Disparate phenotypes of these keratinous structures can, however, developmentally derive from a general process of keratinization: morphological disparities arise by distinct gradual accretion of keratinous layers and collumns during development. My...
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Symbiosis as a model for a new biology
Lhotský, Josef ; Markoš, Anton (advisor) ; Černý, Robert (referee)
Contemporary biology belongs among the most diversified sciences; yet one of its most fundamental and controversial questions is surprisingly: "What is life?". The aim of this study is to point out that biology is special among other natural sciences because its need of the notion of meaning. Meaning takes the central position in the biological rea-soning. Compared to other sciences, biology has to reflect the dimension of information and its interpretation: language-like properties, communication and interpretation belong to the basic characteristics of life. In spite of the fact, most contemporary theories of evo-lution deny active participation of living beings on the very process - living being come out of its description as puppets or zombies controlled by external forces. As a remedy from such a situation, biology should start with a new model for living entities. A bene-ficial methapor seems to be that of natural languages, i.e. an analogy between a net of historical interactions and conventional ways of interpretation of meaning in (i) living entities and (ii) in system of natural languages. I consider as the most appropriate biolo-gical systems for modeling of such a network of symbiotic interactions, i. e. the pheno-menon of symbiosis and especially symbiogenesis. Keywords: life,...
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Comparative and evolutionary analyses of neurulation in non-teleost fishes
Matějková, Tereza ; Černý, Robert (advisor) ; Pergner, Jiří (referee)
Neurulation, i. e. formation of a neural tube, is a crucial event in embryogenesis of each vertebrate. This developmental process is rather stereotypical, generally comprising a transformation of a neural plate into a neural tube. In the majority of vertebrate groups, neurulation classically occurs by a folding process of bending neural folds, whereas in bony fishes (Teleostei), representing a crown group of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii), the neurulation occurs rather differently by a solid neural keel. The three stem groups of ray- finned fishes - bichirs, sturgeons and gars - might thus serve as unique models for understanding of evolutionary changes in the pattern of vertebrate neurulation. For that reason, detailed developmental series of bichir (Polypterus senegalus), sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus) and gar (Atractosteus tropicus) were used, and their morphogenetic processes of neurulation were compared. I present here description of the outer morphology, and analyses of tissue and cellular changes, with a focus on intrinsic forces within the neural plate like apical constriction and convergent extension, as well as on some extrinsic forces. I also try to discuss possible mechanisms of an evolutionary transition from the bending of the neural plate to the neurulation via the neural keel,...
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Organic memory in embryonic development
Švorcová, Jana ; Markoš, Anton (advisor) ; Černý, Robert (referee) ; Kull, Kalevi (referee)
The submitted thesis deals with the topic of organic memory, its definition and function, as well as its conceptions from various historical points of view. I use the term "organic memory" in respect to some authors who have previously dealt with this subject (Elsasser 1987, Otis 1994, Barbieri 2003) and also as a term by which to represent a kind of memory distinct from neuronal/cerebral memory. The general memory metaphors (in the case of neuronal memory) are essentially connected with terms such as storage, matrix, or place. For rather materialistic conception of memory, it is also symptomatic that different states such as emotions or mental faculties can be concretely localized in the brain tissue. On the contrary, some philosophers described memory as a primarily temporal entity without connection to place or matter. The question of organic memory was already vivid in 19th century biology, linked to Lamarckian philosophy (Hering 1870, Haeckel 1876, Butler 1910). The organic memory ideas floundered between vitalistic and rather materialistic conceptions: the first attributed some psychological features to cells or memory particles; the second was based on physics or in Cartesian doctrine, and described memory as essentially localized as a kind of storage of traces or patterns of physical waves....
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