Transgenic X. laevis Embryos from Eggs Transplanted with Nuclei of Transfected Cultured Cells

Transgenic Xenopus laevis embryos were produced by transplantation of transfected cultured cell nuclei into unfertilized eggs. A Xenopus cell line, X-C, was stably transfected with plasmids containing a hygromycin-resistance gene and genes for either beta-galactosidase with a heat shock promoter or chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) with a muscle-specific actin promoter. Nuclei transplanted from these cells into unfertilized eggs directed development of embryos containing stably integrated copies of the plasmids in each cell. Transgenic embryos showed somite-specific expression of CAT and uniform expression of beta-galactosidase. Transgenic embryos produced by nuclear transplantation should be useful for testing the function of cloned genes in amphibian development.