Abstract
HYDROXYINDOLE-O-methyl transferase (= HIOMT), an enzyme catalyzing the O-methylation of N-acetyl serotonin to melatonin (= 5-methoxy N-acetyl tryptamine), was discovered by Axelrod and Weissbach 1 in the mammalian pineal organ. Although apparently in mammals restricted to the pineal, this enzyme activity has been found in amphibian brain 2 and then in the retinas of submammalian vertebrates 3. The primitive photoreceptive ability of the pineal organ and its sharing of HIOMT activity with amphibian brain and retina, suggested to us that study of early developmental changes in HIOMT may reveal primitive and primary functional association of the enzyme. The present report describes the results of such a study using embryos and premetamorphic larvae of the South African clawed toad ( Xenopus laevis ).
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