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Key findings:

• Inhibition of BMP signaling prevents lens but not corneal epithelium formation: the specification of the cornea does not require lens formation.
• A common pool of eye ectodermal precursors arising early in development can give rise to either lens or corneal epithelium with their fate ultimately being determined by whether the environment is supportive of lens placode formation or not.
• This pool can renew a surgically ablated lens placodal ectoderm as long as the environment is still conducive to the last step of lens induction.
• The commitment of corneal epithelium correlates with both the loss of its capacity to down-regulate Pax6 as well as with the formation of its associated stroma.