Vitamin A induced homeotic hindlimb formation on dorsal and ventral sides of regenerating tissue of amputated tails of Japanese brown frog tadpoles

In this study, we report the induction of homeotic transformation using Japanese brown frogs and present a detailed morphological analysis. Unexpectedly, the ectopic limbs developed not only at the ventral sites, but also at the dorsal sites of the tail regenerates of vitamin A‐treated tadpoles. The relationship between position and axial orientation of ectopic limbs suggested the double duplication of positional value order along the rostral‐caudal axis and the dorsal‐ventral axis of the tail regenerates. The skeletal pattern in a tadpole with ectopic limbs that are induced by tail‐amputation and vitamin A‐treatment. This transparent specimen is stained with Alcian Blue and Alizarin Red. There are ilia (arrowheads), femora (arrows), and more distal skeletal elements of the ectopic limbs in the tail. Meanwhile, no vertebral skeletal elements are found there, as in control tails.
Source: Development, Growth and Differentiation - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research