An analysis of pigment cell development in the periodic albino mutant of Xenopus

The periodic albino mutant (apap) of Xenopus in which the development of melanophoresis impaired, is further reported here to possess an aberrant pattern of iridophore differentiation. The development of mutant and wild-type neural crest explants isolated in vesicles derived from tissues from identical and different genotypes was examined to determine if the mutant effect resides in the pigment cells or is mediated by the environmental tissues. Mutant melanophores and iridophores cultured in either mutant or wild-type tissues exhibited mutant patterns of differentiation. Wild-type pigment cells cultured in both wild-type and mutant tissues exhibited wild-type patterns of differentiation. Hence the mutation affects the capacities of melanoblasts and iridoblasts to differentiate but not the ability of the environmental tissues to support pigment cell differentiation.