Clonal analysis of mesoderm induction in Xenopus laevis.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) has been used to induce mesoderm from single animal pole cells of midblastula stage Xenopus embryos. The cells are individually cultured in a completely defined medium and are able to differentiate as small clones in a high proportion of cases. FGF-treated cells can give rise to several mesodermal cell types, while untreated cells show only epidermal or neural differentiation. Mesodermal differentiation can occur in clones of as few as eight cells, indicating that any additional cell-cell interactions required for mesodermal differentiation can be met by the medium used.