Analysis of upper beak defects in chicken embryos following with retinoic acid

Implanting inert carriers soaked in retinoic acid into the anterior margin of the developing limb of chicken embryos leads to orofacial malformations as well as affecting pattern formation in the limb. Using anion-exchange beads as carriers, and soaking solutions of 1–10 mg/ml retinoic acid, almost 100% of the embryos have malformations of the face. The effects on the treated limbs range from symmetrical patterns of duplicated digits (maximum number of digits being four) to truncations in which no digits were formed at all. Typically, in the malformed faces the upper beak is completely absent, no nostrils are present and the front of the face forms a scalloped rim of tissue above the mouth. By reference to normal beak development, the seven bulges of tissue that make up the rim can be identified as derivatives of the masses of tissue that normally would fuse to form the upper beak. The roof of the mouth consists of three bulges of tissue flanked by widely separated palatal shelves. The defect can thus be classified as severe bilateral clefting of the primary palate. By examining the morphology of the faces of treated embryos, the origin of the defect can be traced to failure of the frontonasal mass to enlarge. Thus, the oronasal fissures are very wide and fusion across them to form the primary palate cannot occur. The way in which retinoic acid brings about the defect is discussed in relation to possible mechanisms involved in the production of cleft palate. The parallel is noted between the associated effects of retinoic acid on beak and limb morphogenesis and the chick mutation cpp, that also affects both face and limbs.