Abnormalities in the differentiation and cellular properties of hyperplastic lens epithelium from strains of chickens selected for high growth rate.

Similar morphological abnormalities of the lens of the eye of two unrelated strains of chicks, both of which had been selected for high growth rate, were found to be associated with epithelial cells showing marked deviations from the normal in cell surface properties, mitotic rate, capacity for differentiation, and in DNA, RNA and protein metabolism. The relationship between these modified properties and the observed morphology is discussed.