The change in distribution of melanophores from stage 28+ (uniform melanophore pattern) to stage 34 (banded melanophore pattern) and the participation of xanthophores in these changes has been investigated inTriturus alpestris embryos by studying the social behaviour of single cells. While melanophores are clearly visible from outside the embryo at stage 28+, xanthophores cannot be recognized from the outside until after stage 34. In ultrathin sections of stage 34 embryos, xanthophores are observed alternating with melanophores in a zonal distribution (Epperlein 1982). Using detached pieces of dorsolateral trunk skin, which retain their chromatophores after detachment, the entire distribution of melanophores and xanthophores can be visualized in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In ambiguous cases (early stages), cells were reprocessed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the presence of the characteristic pigment organelles was assessed. In addition, xanthophores were specifically identified by pteridine fluorescence with dilute ammonia. Pteridines were also identified chromatographically in skin homogenates. The combination of these methods allowed precise identification and quantitative determination of melanophores and xanthophores. Both cell types were present as codistributed, biochemically differentiated cells at stage 28+. Changes in the pattern up to stage 34 were due to the rearrangement at the epidermal-mesodermal interface of a relatively fixed number of melanophores which became preferentially localised at the dorsal somite edge and at the lateral plate mesoderm, and to the distribution of an increasing number of xanthophores to subepidermal locations in the dorsal fin and between the melanophore bands. Concomitant was an increase in the thickness of the epidermal basement membrane and a change in shape of chromatophores from elongate via stellate to rosette shaped, which may be correlated with a shift from migratory to sessile phases.
Keywords: Melanophores; Triturus alpestris embryos; Xanthophores.