Abstract
Arrangement into patterns is a widespread feature of periodically repeated structures of vertebrate bodies, including dentitions. Several recent studies connected patterning of body cover organs to the activity of Turing-like reaction-diffusion mechanisms. Due to similarities in early development, these mechanisms may act in establishing dental patterns as well, however, how patterns arise during development of dentitions is, to a vast extent, shrouded to recent research efforts.
Here, we first evaluate current knowledge on reaction-diffusion mechanisms to establish patterns of body cover organs. We next move on to early events of developing dentitions, including specification of tooth-competent region, induction of the first tooth, and establishment of dental pattern. Finally, we discuss topics and outlooks related to periodic dental patterning in the framework of reaction-diffusion mechanisms.
Our aim is to provide a developmental biologist's view on the proposed role of these mechanisms to pattern vertebrate dentitions. We envision the connection of the observed developmental data with mathematical theory to obtain an augmented view of early mechanisms playing a role in the patterning of vertebrate dentitions. Although uneasy to connect, we believe that upcoming studies will benefit from implementing reaction-diffusion mechanisms to provide explanations for the developmental origin and evolutionary modifications of vertebrate dentitions.