Presentations from the conference, "Transdifferentiation and Instability in Cell Commitment," sponsored by Yamada Science Foundation, form the basis for this volume of Current topics in developmental biology. Includes bibliographies and index.

Conversion of retina glia cells into lenslike phenotype following disruption of normal cell contacts -- Instability in cell commitment of vertebrate pigmented epithelial cells and their transdifferentiation into lens cells -- Transdifferentiation of skeletal muscle into cartilage -- Transdifferentiated hepatocytes in rat pancreas -- Transdifferentiation of amphibian chromatophores -- Multipotentiality in differentiation of the pineal as revealed by cell culture -- Transdifferentiation of endocrine chromaffin cells into neuronal cells -- Neural crest and thymic myoid cells -- The potential for transdifferentiation of differentiated medusa tissues in vitro -- The presence of extralenticular crystallins and its relationship with transdifferentiation to lens -- Dual regulation of expression of exogenous delta-crystallin gene in mammalian cells -- Neurotransmitter phenotypic plasticity in the mammalian embryo -- Development of neuronal properties in neural crest cells cultured in vitro -- Phenotypic diversification neural crest-drived cells -- On neuronal and glial differentiation of a pluripotent stem cell line, RT4-AC -- Transitory differentiation of matrix cells and its functional role in the morphogenesis of the developing vertebrate CNS -- Prestalk and prespore differentiation during development of Dictyostelium discoideum -- Transdifferentiation occurs continuously in adult hydra -- Nematocyte differentiation in hydra -- The microenvironment of T and B lymphocyte differentiation in avian embryos -- Differential commitment of hemopoietic stem cells localized in distinct compartments of early Xenopus embryos -- Probable dedifferentiation of mast cells in mouse connective tissues -- Instability and stabilization in melanoma cell differentiation -- Differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells -- Embryo-derived stem cells -- Phenotypic stability and variation in plants -- Flexibility and commitment in plant cells during development -- Induction of embryogenesis and regulation of the developmental pathway in immature pollen of Nicotiana species -- Instability of chromosomes and alkaloid content in cell lines derived from single protoplasts of cultured Coptis japonica cells.