African clawed frog
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Pipidae Genus: Xenopus Species: X. laevis
Binomial name
Xenopus laevis Daudin, 1802

The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis, also known as platanna) is a species of South African aquatic frog of the genus Xenopus. It is up to 12 cm long with a flattened head and body but no tongue. Its name derives from its three short claws on each of its hind feet, which it probably uses to stir up mud to hide it from predators. It is found throughout much of Europe, North America, South America, and Africa.^[1] Image File history File links Xenopus_laevis. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia The Anura is the order of animals in the class Amphibia that includes frogs and toads. ... Subfamilies Pipinae Xenopodinae The Pipidae are a family of primative, tongueless frogs. ... Species Xenopus amieti (volcano clawed frog) Xenopus andrei (Andres clawed frog) Xenopus borealis (Kenyan clawed frog) Xenopus boumbaensis (Mawa clawed frog) Xenopus clivii (Eritrea clawed frog) Xenopus fraseri (Frasers clawed frog) Xenopus gilli (Cape clawed frog) Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog) Xenopus largeni Xenopus longipes (savannah clawed frog... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... François Marie Daudin (March 25, 1774 - 1804) was a French zoologist. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frog is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... Species Xenopus amieti (volcano clawed frog) Xenopus andrei (Andres clawed frog) Xenopus borealis (Kenyan clawed frog) Xenopus boumbaensis (Mawa clawed frog) Xenopus clivii (Eritrea clawed frog) Xenopus fraseri (Frasers clawed frog) Xenopus gilli (Cape clawed frog) Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog) Xenopus largeni Xenopus longipes (savannah clawed frog...

Use in genetic research

Although X. laevis is not blessed with the short generation time and genetic simplicity generally desired in genetic model organisms, it is an important model organism in developmental biology. X. laevis takes 1 to 2 years to reach sexual maturity and, like most of its genus, it is tetraploid. However, it does have a large and easily manipulable embryo. The ease of manipulation in amphibian embryos has given them an important place in both historical and modern developmental biology. A related species, Xenopus tropicalis, is now being promoted as a more viable model for genetics. Roger Wolcott Sperry used X. laevis for his famous experiments describing the development of the visual system. These experiments led to the formulation of the Chemoaffinity hypothesis. A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. ... A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. ... Views of a Foetus in the Womb, Leonardo da Vinci, ca. ... Polyploid (in Greek: πολλαπλόν - multiple) cells or organisms contain more than one copy (ploidy) of their chromosomes. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... Image:Roger W Sperry. ...

Xenopus oocytes provide an important expression system for molecular biology. By injecting cDNA or cRNA into the developing oocyte, scientists can study the protein products in a controlled system. This allows rapid functional expression of manipulated cDNAs (or cRNA). This is particularly useful in electrophysiology, where the ease of recording from the oocyte makes expression of membrane channels attractive. One challenge of oocyte work is eliminating native proteins that might confound results, such as membrane channels native to the oocyte. Translation of proteins can be blocked or splicing of pre-mRNA can be modified by injection of Morpholino antisense oligos into the oocyte (for distribution throughout the embryo) or early embryo (for distribution only into daughter cells of the injected cell).^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2580x1935, 1235 KB) Summary African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) at Ueno Zoo, Tokyo. ... An oocyte or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. ... Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ... In genetics, complementary DNA (cDNA) is single-stranded DNA synthesized from a mature mRNA template. ... Crna or CRNA or cRNA can have several meanings: CRNA - See also Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Crna is a river in the Republic of Macedonia. ... In genetics, complementary DNA (cDNA) is single-stranded DNA synthesized from a mature mRNA template. ... Crna or CRNA or cRNA can have several meanings: CRNA - See also Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Crna is a river in the Republic of Macedonia. ... Current Clamp is a common technique in electrophysiology. ... An oocyte or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. ... Morpholino oligos are an antisense technology used to block access of other molecules to specific sequences within nucleic acid molecules. ...

X. laevis is also notable for its use as the first well-documented method of pregnancy testing when it was discovered that the urine from pregnant women induced X. laevis oocyte production. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone found in substantial quantities in the urine of pregnant women. Today, commercially available HCG is injected into Xenopus males and females to induce mating behavior and breed these frogs in captivity at any time of the year. A pregnant woman near the end of her term Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more embryos or fetuses by female mammals, including humans, inside their bodies. ... Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a peptide hormone produced in pregnancy, that is made by the embryo soon after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta). ... Norepinephrine A hormone (from Greek όρμή - to set in motion) is a chemical messenger from one cell (or group of cells) to another. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

African clawed frogs as nuisances

When African clawed frogs are imported into non-native countries, they have the capacity to wreck entire ecosystems by eating native wildlife such as fish and turtles that have no natural defense against these creatures.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, these frogs invaded a pond in San Francisco, where much debate exists on how to terminate these creatures and keep them from spreading.^[3][4] It is unknown if these frogs entered the San Francisco ecosystem through intentional release or escape into the wild.

References

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

• Xenbase A Xenopus laevis and X. tropicalis web resource.
• The stages of Xenopus embryonic development Adapted from P.D. Nieuwkoop and J. Faber's Normal Table of Xenopus laevis (Daudin).