Does the tongue play a role in the initial development of vertical palatal shelf in hamster?

A study was undertaken to examine whether the tongue plays any role in determining the primordial development of palatal shelves in a vertical direction in mammals. Control and 6-mercaptopurine-treated embryos from Golden Syrian hamsters were examined by scanning electron microscopic and histological techniques for the spatio-temporal relationship of primordial development of the palate, tongue, and mandible. DNA synthesis, measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation, was used as an index of growth. The data indicated that in controls, vertical palate development began in the anterior half from the roof of the oronasal cavity, whereas the tongue bulges and the mandibular process developed in the posterior half of the oronasal cavity. A burst in DNA synthesis occurred in the palate and mandible, but not in the tongue. In 6-mercaptopurine-treated fetuses, although the chronological appearance of primordia of all three structures was normal, DNA synthesis was inhibited in all three structures. The recovery in DNA synthesis, albeit partial, was faster in the palate and mandible than in the tongue. On the basis of observations from the present study, along with those from other vertebrates, it is suggested that the developing tongue may not play any role in determining the direction of development of the palatal primordia.