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 toadBufo melanostictus, the pineal organ gets transformed into a median eye. This type of transformation occurrs 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.