Xenopus laevis in developmental and molecular biology

Xenopus laevis is a prime system for the study of embryogenesis in vertebrates. Both prelocalized information in the egg and inductive interactions between cells contribute to the ordered increase in complexity during development. Embryonic induction, discovered in amphibians, is being studied intensely in Xenopus; recent work suggests a role for growth factors in this process. Contributions of the Xenopus system to the analysis of ribosomal and 5S RNA genes, and the diverse and highly productive applications of the oocyte injection technology, are also summarized.