Eyes Transplanted to Tadpole Tails Send Axons Rostrally in Two Spinal-Cord Tracts

Abstract

Axons from eyes transplanted to the tail in Xenopus larvae enter the caudal spinal cord and follow two adjacent tracts rostrally to the level of the cerebellum. When eyes are transplanted to the ear area, optic axons enter the hindbrain and follow the same tracts rostrally and caudally. These sensory pathways normally contain the embryonic sensory system of the Rohon-Beard axons and the descending and ascending tracts of nerve V. We propose that the transplanted optic axons have followed a continuous substrate sensory pathway normally shared by a number of different sensory tracts.