Mutations at the mouse dwarf locus (dw) interrupt the normal development of the anterior pituitary gland, resulting in the loss of expression of growth hormone, prolactin and thyroid-stimulating hormone, and hypoplasia of their respective cell types. Disruptions in the gene encoding the POU-domain transcription factor, Pit-1, occur in both characterized alleles of the dwarf locus. The data indicate that Pit-1 is necessary for the specification of the phenotype of three cell types in the anterior pituitary, and directly link a transcription factor to commitment and progression events in mammalian organogenesis.