Protocol

Natural Mating and Tadpole Husbandry in the Western Clawed Frog Xenopus tropicalis

¹ UNC McAllister Heart Institute, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
² Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
³ Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

⁴Corresponding author (chris_showell{at}med.unc.edu).

INTRODUCTION

The routine generation and successful husbandry of tadpoles is essential for investigators using the Western clawed frog Xenopus tropicalis for developmental and genetic studies. We describe a method to induce natural mating by injecting a hormone into sexually mature X. tropicalis, and to raise the offspring through the embryonic, tadpole, and metamorphosis stages. X. tropicalis develop at a faster rate than Xenopus laevis, reaching metamorphosis in as little as 4 wk. Moreover, natural mating produces large numbers of offspring and is therefore particularly useful for mutation screening and genetic mapping. The method includes a technique for the anesthesia of frogs, which makes them easier to handle during injection of the hormone, reducing the likelihood of injury to the animals.