Notochordal Catecholamines in Exogastrulated Xenopus Embryos

The notochord of anuran amphibian embryos, treated according to the procedure of Falk et al. (1962) in early stages, exhibits the characteristic formaldehyde‐induced fluorescence of catecholamines. Neurectodermal derivatives, such as the neural tube and neural crests are known to synthesize catecholamines in more advanced stages. For determination of the influence of these neurectodermal derivatives on the formation of catecholamines in the notochord, exogastrulation experiments were performed on Xenopus laevis embryos. In exogastrulated embryos, the differentiation of neural derivatives was inhibited. Treatment of such exogastrulae with formaldehyde vapours shows that, in the absence of the neural tube and neural crests, the notochord developed similar fluorescence to that observed in normal embryos. Thus, these neurectodermal derivatives do not seem to be required for the formation of notochordal catecholamines.