Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Stem cell-like Xenopus Embryonic Explants to Study Early Neural Developmental Features In Vitro and In Vivo
Published on: February 2, 2016
Lbx1 expression and frog limb development
Michelle C Sabo1, Kimberly Nath, Richard P Elinson
1Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA.
Abstract:
In order to identify prospective limb muscle cells in a frog, we cloned Lbx1 from the direct developing frog Eleutherodactylus coqui. Like in embryos of the frog Xenopus laevis but unlike in other vertebrates, EcLbx1 is expressed in all trunk somites. Like in embryos of chick, mouse, and zebrafish, cells expressing EcLbx1 are then found in limb buds, consistent with migration of those cells from somites. EcLbx1 is also expressed in the dorsal spinal cord as in other vertebrates.
