Xenopus
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Xenopus amieti (volcano clawed frog) |
Xenopus is a genus of frog. The best-known species belonging to this genus is Xenopus laevis, a common model organism.
Xenopus are a clawed, carnivorous genus of African frog. Xenopus are a popular model system for gene and protein expression and knockdown studies. At 1 mm in diameter, Xenopus oocytes are very large cells which are easy for scientists to culture and use in experiments. RNA from other organisms can be injected into the large oocytes and the resulting expression studied via molecular biology techniques or through electrophysiology experimentation. Gene expression can be knocked down or splicing modified using Morpholino antisense oligos injected into Xenopus oocytes (for whole-body effects) or early embryos (for targeted effects).
While Xenopus laevis is the most commonly used species for developmental biology studies, genetic studies can be complicated by their pseudotetraploid genome. Xenopus tropicalis provides a simpler model for genetic studies, having a diploid genome.
External Links
- Xenbase (http://www.xenbase.org/) ~ A Xenopus laevis and tropicalis Web Resource