The critical period for peripheral specification of dorsal root ganglion neurons is related to the period of sensory neurogenesis

Thoracic sensory neurons in bullfrog tadpoles can be induced to form connections typical of brachial sensory neurons by transplanting thoracic ganglia to the branchial level at stages when some thoracic sensory neurons already have formed connections. In order to find out how many postmitotic sensory neurons survive transplantation, 3H]thymidine was administered to tadpoles in which thoracic ganglia were transplanted to the brachial level unilaterally at stages VII to IX. Between 16 and 37% of the neurons in transplanted ganglia were unlabeled, as compared to 46 to 60% in unoperated ganglia. Transplanted ganglia contained fewer unlabeled neurons than corresponding unoperated ganglia, indicating that transplantation caused degeneration of postmitotic neurons. Therefore, a large fraction of the neurons that formed connections typical of brachial sensory neurons probably differentiated while they were at the brachial level.