Description of the movies:

XenopusFertilizationToNeurula.mov

A movie of Xenopus development to show: 1. Orientation rotation. 2. Accumulation of the pigmet toward the sperm entry point (SEP). 3. Synchronous Cleavage (12 times). 4. Neurulation. Note that the gastrulation occurs on the opposite side of the embryo, therefore we can not see it.

XenopusPBE.mov

Making of the Permanent Blastula-type embryo (Fujii et al., 2002; Katsumoto et al., 2004; Sakai, 1996). 

XenopusEggFragment.mov

Making of a Gastrulating Non-axial Embryo (GNE: left) (Fujii et al., 2002; Katsumoto et al., 2004; Sakai, 1996) and itfs development together with the egg fragment deleted of the lateral side (right). Note that the GNE does not make dorsal axial structures while the laterally-deleted embryo formed normal dorsal axis.

XenopusGastrulationVegView.mov

A Xenopus embryo viewed from the vegetal side. This embryo was demembranated and settled in an inverted orientation in a shallow well on a agar plate to inhibit the rotaion due to gravitational force. 

XenopusEggSqueeze.mov

A movie showing how to squeeze eggs from a female Xenopus.



Fujii, H., Nagai, T., Shirasawa, H., Doi, J.-y., Yasui, K., Nishimatsu, S.-i., Takeda, H. and Sakai, M. (2002). Anteroposterior patterning in Xenopus embryos: Egg fragment assay system reveals a synergy of dorsalizing and posteriorizing embryonic domains. Dev Biol 252, 15-30.
Katsumoto, K., Arikawa, T., Doi, J.-y., Fujii, H., Nishimatsu, S.-i. and Sakai, M. (2004). Cytoplasmic and molecular reconstruction of Xenopus embryos: Synergy of dorsalizing and endo-mesodermalizing determinants drives early axial patterning. Development 131, 1135-1144.
Sakai, M. (1996). The vegetal determinants required for the Spemann organizer move equatorially during the first cell cycle. Development 122, 2207-2214.