Development of the Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis forebrain

The present paper deals with the ontogeny of the forebrain of the flatfish Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis, through different developmental stages before and after to metamorphosis. A first approach was made by conventional histological techniques, which allowed the determination of the main ontogenetic events. A second approach was to analyze the proliferation zones (PZ) during development and their locations, as well as the relation between them and the telencephalic asymmetry of the Senegal sole. The results show that before metamorphosis the Senegal sole goes through a fast development. The pituitary is visible 1 day after hatching (DAH), the inferior lobes of the hypothalamus appear 3 DAH, and the olfactory bulb and the differentiation between telencephalon and diencephalon are present around 4 DAH. In addition, by applying proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemistry by means of a monoclonal antibody against the PCNA and ABC complex, we were able to determine the PZs in the forebrain of pre- and post- metamorphic specimens. Although in both cases the PZs were similar, in premetamorphic animals they were thicker. However, PZs were observed in the pallium and subpallium, preoptic region, pretectum, epithalamus, dorsal and ventral thalamus, posterior tuberculum and hypothalamus. In all cases the PZs, mainly focusing on the telencephalon, were symmetrical in both hemispheres.