Electroporation in the Regenerating Tail of the Xenopus Tadpole

Xenopus laevis is a model system widely used to investigate embryogenesis, metamorphosis, and regeneration. The tail of the Xenopus tadpole is very useful in analyzing the molecular mechanisms underlying appendage regeneration (Slack et al., 2004; Mochii et al., 2007; Slack et al., 2008). It is transparent and suitable for whole-mount observation at the cellular level. The tail regenerates within 2 weeks of amputation. The conventional injection of blastomeres with mRNA, DNA, or antisense oligonucleotides is a powerful tool with which to study genetic mechanisms in early embryos, but it is not effective in late embryos or larvae. A transgenic approach has been used to analyze tail regeneration (Beck et al., 2003, 2006), but its success is largely dependent on the activity of the promoter used. There are limited numbers of promoters available that precisely regulate gene expression spatially and/or temporally. In vivo electroporation is an alternative method that can be used to manipulate gene expression in late embryos and larvae. The introduction of DNA or RNA into the cells of neurula and tailbud embryos has been reported (Eide et al., 2000; Sasagawa et al., 2002; Falk et al., 2007). Targeting larval tissues with in vivo electroporation also has been used to investigate neural networks, metamorphosis, and regeneration (Haas et al., 2001, 2002; Nakajima and Yaoita, 2003; Javaherian and Cline, 2005; Bestman et al., 2006; Boorse et al., 2006; Lin et al., 2007; Mochii et al., 2007). In this chapter, we report a procedure to introduce DNA into the tissues of the tadpole tail.