Multiple digit formation in Xenopus limb bud recombinants.

We prepared recombinant limb buds of Xenopus tadpoles by grafting a mesenchyme mass of the hindlimb bud. The Xenopus recombinant limb buds with dissociated and reaggregated mesenchyme developed more than 30 digits with cartilage segmentation, while those with undissociated mesenchyme developed a limb with normal cartilage pattern. Before the formation of multiple digits, a patchy expression pattern of fgf-8, an AER marker, was observed in the distal region of recombinant limb buds. shh, a ZPA (zone of polarizing activity) marker, was expressed broadly in the distal region of recombinants. Recombinant limb buds with the reaggregated mesenchyme of anterior halves formed anterior digits with claws, and those with the mesenchyme of posterior halves formed posterior digits without claws. The temporal and spatial changes in the potency of multiple digit formation are discussed with reference to the regenerative capacity of Xenopus limb buds.