​In a transplantation experiment, the area of presumptive ectoderm from an early frog gastrula was transplanted to a region of the newt gastrula destined to become parts of the mouth. The resulting salamander larvae had frog-like mouth parts (frog tadpole suckers) instead of balancers as observed during development of wild type newt embryo. This is an example of:​

Correct option is B

Explanation-

The idea that cells from different species respond differently to the same inductive signals because of intrinsic genetic differences. Even though the newt environment provides mouth-forming signals, the frog ectoderm responds by making frog mouth structures, not newt mouth parts (balancers). This suggests that the tissue's response is species-specific, based on the genetic program of the frog.
So, the interaction between the host’s inductive signals and the donor’s genetic makeup results in a species-specific outcome: frog structures in a newt embryo.

Incorrect options -

Option a - Determination
Refers to a cell’s fate being fixed regardless of environment. But here, the frog tissue still responds to external inductive signals, though in a species-specific way.
Option c - Regional specificity of interaction
This refers to how the position in the embryo affects fate. But in this case, both donor and host regions are the same (mouth region)—yet the structure formed is frog-like, indicating species-specific response.
Option d - Autonomous specification
If the frog tissue were autonomously specified, it would form frog parts regardless of where it was placed. But it responds to host cues—just in a genetically specific way.

So, the correct answer is option b - Genetic specificity of interaction.