The focal differentiation of pigment cells.
A study has been made of the normal development and of the regeneration after excision of the groups of large pigment cells which form the spotted skin pattern of the gecko Eublepharis macularius, together with the effects of neonatal graft transplantation on this pattern. The results all indicate strongly that such groups of specialized pigment cells are not clones but the product of an induction process. This is then compared with the neural reflex mechanism by which the skin pattern of Chamaeoleo dilepis is formed.
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002856:Chromatophores / Q000166:cytology*; D008116:Lizards / Q000254:growth & development; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous