Abstract
NIAZI and Saxena1 first observed that vitamin A has an inhibitory and modifying influence on tail regeneration in Bufo andersonii tadpoles. A positive relationship was later found between the inhibiting influence of vitamin A and the developmental stage of the regenerating tail in the same species2. There have been several subsequent reports3–7 on the effects of vitamin A and its derivatives on limb development and regeneration. Thus in regenerating amphibian limbs, application of retinoids produces pattern duplication in the proximodistal and anteroposterior axes of the limb3,8,9, and local application of retinoic acid to the anterior side of developing chick limbs causes duplications in the anteroposterior axis of limb10,11. Here we show that vitamin A can cause limb development when applied to amputated tail stumps of the tadpoles of the marbled balloon frog Uperodon systoma (Anura Microhylidae). This is the first report of homeotic transformation mediated through vitamin A in vertebrates.
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References
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Mohanty-Hejmadi, P., Dutta, S. & Mahapatra, P. Limbs generated at site of tail amputation in marbled balloon frog after vitamin A treatment. Nature 355, 352–353 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/355352a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/355352a0
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