Microdissection: Explant and Transplant Assays in Xenopus laevis

INTRODUCTIONWhen analyzing any developmental process, important questions are those relating to the formation of different cell types. What makes a cell decide to become a particular cell type? What cell interactions are involved in this decision? The "commitment" of cells to a particular lineage is also called "specification" or "determination." Analysis of the cell interactions, or inductions, required for tissue-type determination is a critical step in the identification of the genes that control the process. Lineage commitment and inductive interactions can be assessed by explant or transplant assays with embryos from Xenopus laevis.