Chameleon embryos reveal early developmental feature once thought unique to mammals
Before most women know they're pregnant, an embryo has already begun organizing itself into the structures that will shape a developing body. Scientists have few opportunities to study those earliest stages of human development, making many of life's first steps difficult to observe directly.
Recent research published in Nature Communications has unveiled intriguing similarities between the early developmental stages of veiled chameleon embryos and those of humans. This finding, co-authored by Natasha Shylo and Antonia Weberling, suggests that despite 300 million years of evolutionary separation, the veiled chameleon may serve as an unexpected model for studying human development.
Many fundamental aspects of human embryonic development, such as the formation of an internal cavity during the gastrulation stage, were previously believed to be unique to mammals. However, the study reveals that veiled chameleon embryos also exhibit this characteristic feature, albeit through a different developmental pathway.
While human embryos form the cavity by organizing cells around a central space, chameleon embryos begin as a flat sheet of cells that subsequently folds inward and closes. This discovery underscores the potential for evolution to produce similar outcomes through distinct biological processes. Such insights could enhance our understanding of normal embryonic development, as well as conditions related to infertility, early pregnancy loss, and the formation of complex organisms.
The researchers, including Shylo, a biological and biomedical sciences assistant professor at Rowan University, plan to further investigate the earliest and most enigmatic stages of human development.
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