The erythroid cells of anaemic Xenopus laevis. I. Studies on cellular morphology and protein and nucleic acid synthesis during differentiation.

Phenylhydrazine has been used to induce anaemia in Xenopus laevis. The dosage used causes the complete destruction of all mature erythrocytes within twelve days. The anaemia results in the initiation of a wave of erythropoiesis and large numbers of immature erythroid cells are released into the circulation. The morphological and biosynthetic changes which these cells undergo as they differentiate in circulation are described. The origin of the circulating erythroid cells is also discussed.