Transgenic X. laevis Embryos from Eggs Transplanted with Nuclei of Transfected Cultured Cells

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Transgenic Xenopus laevis embryos were produced by transplantation of transfected cultured cell nuclei into unfertilized eggs. A Xenopus cell line, X-C, was stably transfected with plasmids containing a hygromycin-resistance gene and genes for either β-galactosidase with a heat shock promoter or chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) with a muscle-specific actin promoter. Nuclei transplanted from these cells into unfertilized eggs directed development of embryos containing stably integrated copies of the plasmids in each cell. Transgenic embryos showed somite-specific expression of CAT and uniform expression of β-galactosidase. Transgenic embryos produced by nuclear transplantation should be useful for testing the function of cloned genes in amphibian development.