Budgett's frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis): A new amphibian embryo for developmental biology

Abstract

The large size and rapid development of amphibian embryos has facilitated ground-breaking discoveries in developmental biology. Here, we describe the embryogenesis of the Budgett’s frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis), an unusual species with eggs that are over twice the diameter of laboratory Xenopus, and embryos that can tolerate higher temperatures to develop into a tadpole four times more rapidly. In addition to detailing their early development, we demonstrate that, like Xenopus, these embryos are amenable to explant culture assays and can express exogenous transcripts in a tissue-specific manner. Moreover, the steep developmental trajectory and large scale of Lepidobatrachus make it exceptionally well-suited for morphogenesis research. For example, the developing organs of the Budgett’s frog are massive compared to those of most model species, and are composed of larger individual cells, thereby affording increased subcellular resolution of early vertebrate organogenesis. Furthermore, we found that complete limb regeneration, which typically requires months to achieve in most vertebrate models, occurs in a matter of days in the Budgett’s tadpole, which substantially accelerates the pace of experimentation. Thus, the unusual combination of the greater size and speed of the Budgett’s frog model provides inimitable advantages for developmental studies—and a novel inroad to address the mechanisms of spatiotemporal scaling during evolution.

Effects of transportation, transport medium and re-housing on Xenopus laevis (Daudin)

“…The findings presented here are also important when considering the welfare and transportation of other aquatic amphibian model species such as X. tropicalis (Jafkins et al, 2012) or Budgett's frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis; Amin et al, 2015). Finally, many amphibian species are the subjects of conservation programs that involve translocation and reintroduction.…”

Developmental changes and novelties in ceratophryid frogs

“…The influence of this ontogenetic variation is most pronounced in the genus Lepidobatrachus . Indeed, because of its large size and rapid development, Lepidobatrachus laevis has recently been proposed as a model species in experimental studies undertaken to address a wealth of classic questions in amphibian embryogenesis [ 93 ]. Furthermore, because of its sympatry with several other ceratophyrid species (in the Gran Chaco of South America) and its well established phylogenetic relationship to those species [ 10 ], Lepidobatrachus stands out, not only as model species for studying developmental processes per se , but exceptional for studying the very evolution of those processes.…”

Embryonic ontogeny of three species of Horned Frogs, with a review of early development in Ceratophryidae

“…Embryonic development is rapid; embryos reach feeding stages in 2–3 days and increasing their body size by a factor of 6–8 times. The results of Amin et al () showed that embryos of Lepidobatrachus laevis share some features with Ceratophrys and Chacophrys ; among these are color and shape at tailbud stage, morphology of adhesive glands, number of external gills, early hatching, and an abbreviated larval development. However, young embryos of Lepidobatrachus are larger and have more yolk, and growth and development are faster than in other ceratophryids.…”

“…In embryos with slow development such as Gastrotheca riobambae , gastrulation takes about 2 weeks and body lengthening occurs postgastrulation (del Pino & Loor‐Vela, ). Conversely, in fast developers such as embryos of Xenopus and ceratophryids, gastrulation occurs in a few hours and overlaps with body lengthening ( C. ornata , C. stolzmanni , and L. laevis ; Amin et al, ; del Pino, ; Purcell & Keller, ; Santillana Ortiz & del Pino, ). Embryos of all species in our study also show some degree of overlap between the developmental events, as evidenced by elongated embryos with open blastopores.…”