Effects of some Amino-acid and Purine Antagonists on Chick Embryos

Abstract

Several authors have studied the effects on developing embryos of substances which are analogues of naturally occurring amino-acids and purines, and known to act, in other systems, as metabolic inhibitors. It was emphasized by Waddington, Feldman, & Perry (1955) that any particular substance may exhibit very different effects in embryos of different types. They found, for instance, that the purine analogue 8-azaguanine has a very strong action in the chick and a much lesser one in the newt embryo. It is therefore necessary to consider the various classes of embryos separately. In this communication we shall be concerned only with chick embryos.