Qualitative and quantitative changes in phosphatidylinositol (PI) were analyzed in the eggs, embryos and tadpoles of the Japanese pond frog, Rana nigromaculata, at various stages of development. 2. The weight percentage of PI to total phospholipid and lipid was about 8.4-15.2% and 1.4-2.6%, respectively, during embryonic life. 3. At the early stages of the unfertilized egg and the two-cell embryo, the predominant fatty acids are palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acid. From the dorsal lip, early gastrula stage and beyond, the percentage of linoleic acid declines and there is an increase in palmitoleic acid. A relatively large amount of arachidonic acid was noted at the unfertilized egg stage at the 1-position. 4. A large amount of arachidonic acid was also observed at the 2-position of PI in the unfertilized egg, hatching embryo and post-hatching tadpole stages, relative to palmitic and stearic acid. 5. Palmitic and stearic acid were increased at the 2-position of PI in the other embryo and the feeding tadpole stages, relative to arachidonic acid, indicating a shift in these molecular species. 6. Thus, there were marked changes in the positional distribution of the constituent fatty acids in PI during early development of R. nigromaculata.
