Analysis of the Determination of the Olfactory Placode in Amblystoma punctatum
The analysis of the factors involved in the determination of the olfactory organ or ‘nose’ in amphibians is still in a preliminary stage. Obviously, like all other ectodermal structures, this organ owes its emergence to inductive stimuli derived from adjacent tissues. In the numerous isolation experiments performed on the gastrula ectoderm of different species olfactory organs never occurred. The earliest stage at which the prospective nose ectoderm was found to be capable of self-determination was the early neurula (Carpenter, 1937; Zwilling, 1940). The question arose as to which of the tissues in the immediate environment of the nose represents its inductor. The tip of the forebrain primordium and/or the thin layer of rostral head mesoderm seemed to be worth serious consideration. Evidence in favour of the view that the head mesoderm is directly engaged in nose induction is rather slim and inconclusive.