Regenerative Capacity of Tadpoles inhibited in Growth and Development

Abstract

As shown previously, 20-day old tadpoles of Xenopus laevis exhibit, after removal of the telencephalon and plexus chorioideus of the third ventricle, complete inhibition of development and almost complete cessation of growth¹. In the course of recent experiments, we tested the regenerative capacity of these partially decerebrated experimental animals, operated on 2, 5 or 18 months before the amputation of the tail. As controls, we used tadpoles of the same length as the experimental ones. We were also able to compare regeneration in animals deprived of the telencephalon for two months with that of normal tadpoles of the same age, the development of which was delayed by the action of a lower temperature.