Heterologous Protein Expression in the Xenopus Oocyte. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2018 Apr 02;2018(4):pdb.prot096990
Date
12/07/2017Pubmed ID
29208643Pubmed Central ID
PMC6139252DOI
10.1101/pdb.prot096990Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85044950019 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
The Xenopus oocyte is a specialized single cell of colossal size (>1 mm diameter) that is highly amenable for microinjection and a stalwart model for heterologous expression. Oocytes are easily obtainable, robust in vitro, and faithfully express injected constructs. Their large size translational capacity provides a huge canvas for observing and recording integrated cellular responses-from studies of single molecules within single cells to medium-throughput drug-screening applications. Most eukaryotic promoters suffice for Xenopus expression, and the oocyte can functionally express proteins from many diverse organisms. This protocol provides a basic introduction for scientists keen to perform nuclear microinjections of cDNA constructs. These are easy methods to master, do not require elaborate equipment, and make accessible a wonderful model cell system for studying signaling, transport, cell architecture, and protein function.
Author List
Marchant JSAuthor
Jonathan S. Marchant PhD Chair, Professor in the Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsDNA, Complementary
Female
Gene Expression
Microinjections
Molecular Biology
Oocytes
Xenopus laevis