Dissection of Xenopus laevis Neural Crest for in vitro Explant Culture or in vivo Transplantation

The overall goal of the following procedure is to track opus Lavis neural crest cell migration. This is accomplished by first dissecting the neural crests from embryos at the neural stage. In the second step, the explants are plated in a fibronectin coated dish to study their in vitro cell migration.

Alternatively, after removal of the neural crest from a host embryo, explants can be grafted back to track their migration in vivo. Ultimately, the contribution of embryonic neural crest cell migration in opus lavis development can be investigated. Generally, people who are new to this method may find it difficult because early embryos are fragile.