Molecular and cellular biology of avian somite development

Much of our understanding of early vertebrate embryogenesis derives from ex perimental work done with the chick embryo. Studies of the avian somite hav e played a key role in elucidating the developmental history of this import ant structure, the source of most muscle and bone in the organism. Here we review the development of the avian somite including morphological and mole cular data on the origin of paraxial mesoderm, maturation of the segmental plate, specification and formation of somite compartments, and somite cell differentiation into cartilage and skeletal muscle. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, In c.