Open AccessStudies on tail regeneration and homeotic transformation in anuran tadpoles
Author(s) -
P. Mohanty-Hejmadi,
Pravati Kumari Mahapatra
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the international journal of developmental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.837
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1696-3547
pISSN - 0214-6282
DOI - 10.1387/ijdb.190230pm
Subject(s) - biology , tadpole (physics) , regeneration (biology) , homeotic gene , tree frog , retinoic acid , context (archaeology) , metamorphosis , zoology , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , phenotype , genetics , larva , gene , paleontology , physics , particle physics
Anuran tadpoles are excellent models for regeneration studies. The tail, an organ essential for swimming for the aquatic tadpole, regenerates completely following injury or amputation. However, treatment with the morphogen, vitamin A or retinoic acid inhibits normal tail regeneration and induces homeotic transformation of tail to limbs. This phenomenon was discovered for the first time in the Indian marbled balloon frog Uperodon systoma in the Developmental Biology laboratory of Utkal University (Odisha, India) in the year 1992. In this paper, we present the results of morphological, histological, biochemical and molecular (immonohistochemistry) investigations of vitamin A induced homeotic transformation in different anuran species. In addition, we discuss the putative role of fibroblast growth factor 1 during spinal cord regeneration in the tadpoles of the Indian tree frog, Polypedates maculatus, an ideal model for regeneration studies in an Indian context.