Using Xenopus laevis retinal and spinal neurons to study mechanisms of axon guidance in vivo and in vitro

• X. laevis is an affordable and practical vertebrate model for in vitro and in vivo studies of axon guidance.
• Gene manipulation techniques are well established and can be applied at any developmental stage.
• Retinal and spinal axonal tracts are accessible and can be live imaged for guidance decisions in vivo.
• Neurons from X. laevis retina and spinal cord are easy to isolate, maintain and manipulate in vitro.
• X. laevis growth cones are large enough for high-resolution live imaging.

The intricate and precise establishment of neuronal connections in the developing nervous system relies on accurate navigation of growing axons. Since Ramón y Cajal’s discovery of the growth cone, the phenomenon of axon guidance has been revealed as a coordinated operation of guidance molecules, receptors, secondary messengers, and responses driven by the dynamic cytoskeleton within the growth cone. With the advent of new and accelerating techniques, Xenopus laevis emerged as a robust model to investigate neuronal circuit formation during development. We present here the advantages of the Xenopus nervous system to our growing understanding of axon guidance.

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