ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes some of the work that has been done and discusses the potential of Xenopus as a system to analyze the function of exogenous genes. The fate of injected DNAs during early embryonic development of Xenopus has been well studied. One of the major problems in the use of amphibians as an experimental system is the fact that they are not amenable to genetic analysis. Despite this problem it is clear that injecting genes into embryos has been useful and resulted in the acquisition of an important body of information regarding DNA replication and the regulation of gene expression. The study of tissue-specific regulation of injected genes using the Xenopus system has presented a greater challenge. It would be possible to develop lines of transgenic frogs that express specific gene products under the direction of inducible promoters so that one could produce a product at a specific time and within specific groups of cells or tissues.
