Defolliculation of Xenopus Oocytes
Adapted from Early Development of Xenopus laevis, by Hazel L. Sive, Robert M. Grainger, and Richard M. Harland. CSHL Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2000.INTRODUCTION
It is possible to microinject Xenopus oocytes that are still contained within their ovarian follicles, but most researchers find it more convenient to work with defolliculated oocytes. Defolliculation can be carried out enzymatically by treatment with collagenase, or it can be performed manually. Enzymatic treatment is recommended for preparation of large numbers of oocytes (more than 1000); however, this treatment causes complications because it often damages the quality of the oocytes. The manual procedure, which requires some practice, is recommended for experiments requiring only a few hundred oocytes. This protocol details both the enzymatic and manual procedures for defolliculation of Xenopus oocytes.
