Characterization of the developing axolotl nasal cavity supports multiple evolution of the vertebrate choana

Abstract

All tetrapods (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) share the ability to breathe with their mouths closed due to the formation of choanae, which are openings that allow communication between the nasal and oral cavities. In most fishes, the nasal cavities serve a strictly olfactory function, possessing incurrent and excurrent nares that lie outside of the mouth and therefore, never communicate with the respiratory system. It is not until the evolution of tetrapods, in which the nasal cavities consistently open into the mouth, that they are used both for olfaction and for respiration. However, this developmental transition is poorly understood, with no consensus on the evolutionary origin of the choana in various groups despite decades of debate. Here, we use high-contrast 3D imaging in conjunction with histology and apoptotic cell analysis in non-mineralized embryonic tissues to study the formation of the choana in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), an aquatic salamander species. We show that the axolotl choana forms from an extension of the embryonic nasal sac, which pushes through intervening mesenchyme and connects with the palate epithelium of the oral cavity, eventually breaking through. This mechanism differs from caecilians, mammals and reptiles, where fusion across a bucconasal groove plays an active role in choana formation. Nevertheless, caecilians, mammals and axolotls converge on the development of a transient epithelial tissue that has to break down in order to develop a patent choana, adding another twist to the intriguing arguments on the evolutionary history of the choana.