Homeotic regeneration of eye in amphibian tadpoles and its enhancement by vitamin A.

After removal of both the lateral eyes of external gill stage tadpoles of the toad Bufo melanostictus, the pineal organ gets transformed into a median eye. This type of transformation occurs in tadpoles of both control and vitamin A treated groups. However, vitamin A increases the likelihood of homeotic regeneration (57% in the control group and 71% in the vitamin A treated group). Histological studies showed that the newly transformed median eye developed from the pineal organ. The pineal eye so developed possessed all components of a normal eye such as a retina, sensory cells and lens.