Retinoic acid affects vegetal plate formation in sea urchin embryos.
Katrina M. Robbins, Denise M. Evans, David S. Richard, and Margaret T. Peeler. Biology Department, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870. Retinoic acid is a known morphogen and teratogen in vertebrates, where it affects anterior-posterior axis formation. We have investigated the effects of exposure to exogenous retinoic acid on sea urchin embryonic development. Specifically, all trans-retinoic acid disrupted the morphology of embryos so that the animal pole exhibited a thickening similar to that normally seen at the vegetal plate.