Specification of retinotectal connexions during development of the toad Xenopus laevis

The specification of central connexions of retinal ganglion cells was studied in Xenopus laevis. In one series of experiments, the right eye primordium was rotated 180 degrees at embryonic stages 24-32. In the other series, the left eye was transplanted into the right orbit, and vice versa, with either 0 degrees or 180 degrees rotation. After metamorphosis the visual projections from the operated eye to the contralateral optic tectum were mapped electrophysiologically and compared with the normal retinotectal map. In all cases the visual projection map was rotated through the same angle as was indicated by the position of the choroidal fissure. The left eye exchanged into the right orbit retained its original axes and projected to the contralateral tectum. These results suggest that retinal ganglion cell connexions are specified before stage 24.