If the young tadpole is given an excess of thyroxine?
- The hormone thyroxine plays a major role in the development of an organism.
- In amphibians like frogs, this hormone is specifically involved in metamorphosis which is the process by which a tadpole develops into an adult frog.
- In tadpoles, this hormone governs the development of limbs and the resorption of the tail and the gills.
- It does so by acting on specific genes, directing them in the degeneration of these organs and replace them with the ones found in the adult (like limbs and lungs).
- Administration of a young tadpole with an excess of thyroxine might result in an early metamorphosis.