Craniofacial Developmental Atlas of Protein Expression of the House Finch

Expression of β-catenin, BMP4, CaM, DKK3, FGF8, IHH, TGFβ2 and WNT4 across the house finch beak at stage HH39.

β-catenin

β-catenin expression at HH39

β-catenin (brown stain) hows overall weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in the mesenchyme and moderate to strong expression in the epithelium. (1, 5) Enriched nuclear expression in mesenchyme subjacent to epithelial prominences. (2, 3) Moderate expression in nasal epithelium and conchae with no expression in nasal cartilage and weak expression in surrounding mesenchyme. (4) Strong cytoplasmic, membranal and nuclear expression in epithelium at the tip with strong cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in overlaying mesenchyme. (6) Meckel's cartilage shows no expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See β-catenin expression across all stages here.

BMP4

BMP4 expression at HH39

BMP4 (red stain) widely distributed weak cytoplasmic expression except for absence of expression at the tip. No expression in (1) upper region of nasal, (4) paraglossal or (6) Meckel's cartilage, while (2) nasal cartilage and surrounding mesenchyme shows weak cytoplasmic expression. (3) Nasal conchae with moderate cytoplasmic expression and weak cytoplasmic expression in adjacent developing cartilage. (5) No expression in mesenchyme accumulated in the epithelial prominence. Blood cells show moderate to high cytoplasmic expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See BMP4 expression across all stages here.

CaM

CaM expression at HH39

CaM (brown stain) shows weak cytoplasmic expression in the upper jaw while weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in the lower jaw with no expression at the tip. Difference in expression between ectoderm and endoderm, with ectoderm lacking expression and endoderm showing weak cytoplasmic expression. (1) No expression in mesenchyme subjacent to epithelial prominences. (2) Weak cytoplasmic expression in nasal conchae and adjacent cartilage, but weak nuclear expression in nearby mesenchyme. (3) Developing premaxillary cartilage and (5) Meckel's cartilage shows weak cytoplasmic expression with no expression in adjoining mesenchyme. (4) Myogenic area and (6) epithelium with high cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See CaM expression across all stages here.

DKK3

DKK3 expression at HH39

DKK3 (red stain) shows weak cytoplasmic expression in upper jaw and moderate cytoplasmic expression at the lower jaw. (1) Low cytoplasmic expression in nasal cartilage and adjacent mesenchyme with moderate expression in emerging osteogenic region. (2) Medium cytoplasmic expression in nasal conchae with weak expression in adjacent cartilage and no expression in nearby mesenchyme. Weak cytoplasmic expression in (3) premaxillary and (4) primordia epithelial cords with moderate expression in adjacent mesenchyme. (5) Medium to low expression in mesenchyme and epithelium. (6) Meckel's cartilage shows low cytoplasmic expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See DKK3 expression across all stages here.

FGF8

FGF8 expression at HH39

FGF8 (brown stain) shows weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression with only nuclear expression at the tip. (1) Nasal conchae with weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression, strong nuclear expression in nasal cartilage and low nuclear expression in surrounding mesenchyme. (2) Moderate cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in emerging osteogenic region and low nuclear expression in adjacent mesenchyme. (3) Premaxillary cartilage with low nuclear expression, perichondrogenic area shows strong expression and moderate expression in subjacent mesenchyme. (4) Weak to moderate expression in mesenchyme. (5) Strong nuclear expression in Meckel's cartilage and moderate cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in emerging osteogenic region. (6) Basihyal cartilage and surrounding mesenchyme shows weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See FGF8 expression across all stages here.

IHH

IHH expression at HH39

IHH (red stain) is locally expressed in upper jaw with more widely distributed weak cytoplasmic expression in the lower jaw. (1) Nasal cartilage with high cytoplasmic expression, no expression in adjacent mesenchyme but moderate to (2) high expression in emerging osteogenic region. (3) Premaxillary and (5) Meckel's cartilage with moderate cytoplasmic expression and no expression in surrounding mesenchyme or epithelium. (4) Developing paraglossal cartilage with high expression, low expression in mesenchymal cells and moderate expression in epithelium. (6) Moderate to high expression in developing osteogenic region adjacent to Meckel's cartilage with medium cytoplasmic expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See IHH expression across all stages here.

TGFβ2

TGFβ2 expression at HH39

TGFβ2 (brown stain) shows overall weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. Weak nuclear expression in mesenchyme subjacent to epithelial prominences in (1) upper beak and (5) no expression in lower beak. (2) Premaxillary cartilage and surrounding mesenchyme with weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression, but moderate expression in perichondrogenic area. (3) Epithelium shows no expression and adjacent mesenchyme shows weak cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. Low expression in (4) basihyal and (6) Meckel's cartilage and adjacent mesenchyme with moderate expression in emerging osteogenic region. Scale bars are 50µm. See TGFβ2 expression across all stages here.

WNT4

WNT4 expression at HH39

WNT4 (red stain) is highly localized. High cytoplasmic expression in (1, 2) nasal, (4) basihyal and (6) Meckel's cartilage with no expression in surrounding mesenchyme. (3) Weak to moderate to strong cytoplasmic expression in premaxillary cartilage. (5) Developing paraglossal shows medium cytoplasmic expression. Blood cells with medium cytoplasmic expression. Scale bars are 50µm. See WNT4 expression across all stages here.