title: Embryogenesis and laboratory maintenance of the foam-nesting túngara frogs, genus Engystomops (= Physalaemus).
abstract: The vast majority of embryological research on amphibians focuses on just a single genus of frogs, Xenopus. To attain a more comprehensive understanding of amphibian development, experimentation on non-model frogs will be essential. Here, we report on the early development, rearing, and embryological analysis of túngara frogs (genus Engystomops, also called Physalaemus). The frogs Engystomops pustulosus, Engystomops coloradorum, and Engystomops randi construct floating foam-nests with small eggs. We define a table of 23 stages for the developmental period in the foam-nest. Embryos were immunostained against Lim1, neural, and somite-specific proteins and the expression pattern of RetinoBlastoma Binding Protein 6 (RBBP6) was analyzed by in situ hybridization. Due to their brief life-cycle, frogs belonging to the genus Engystomops are attractive for comparative and genetic studies of development. Developmental Dynamics 238:1444-1454, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero-Carvajal
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sáenz-Ponce
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venegas-Ferrín
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Almeida-Reinoso
authors.forename: Chanjae
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bond
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Wallingford
authors.forename: Eugenia M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Del Pino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D011898:Ranidae / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology