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Studying Wnt Signaling in Xenopus

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Wnt Signaling

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 469))

Abstract

Xenopus is an established and powerful model system for the study of Wnt signaling in vertebrates. Above all, the relatively large size of the embryos enables microinjection experiments, which have led to key discoveries not only about the functional role of Wnt signaling in vertebrate embryos, but also about the molecular mechanisms of Wnt signaling in vertebrate cells.

A major advantage of the Xenopus model is the ability to obtain large numbers of embryos, which develop relatively rapidly and which can be studied in natural separation from sentient adult parental animals. In order to obtain Xenopus embryos, ovulation in females is induced with a simple hormone injection, the eggs collected and fertilized with sperm from males.

The Xenopus model system has been further strengthened by recent advances such as morpholino technology and efficient transgenic methods, as well as the development of Xenopus tropicalis as a diploid genetic model system with a shorter generation time and a genome similar to higher vertebrates.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Yvonne Turnbull for technical assistance and to the CSHL practical course on Cell and Developmental Biology of Xenopus for originally introducing me and many of my colleagues to Xenopus protocols and experimental approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

    Stefan Hoppler

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  1. Stefan Hoppler
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth Vincan

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Hoppler, S. (2008). Studying Wnt Signaling in Xenopus . In: Vincan, E. (eds) Wnt Signaling. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 469. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_21

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

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