Is there any info out there on the color genes of xenopus laevis? I ask this because it seems that everyone considers reticulated albinos different from regular albinos when there is just as much reticulation on some wild types and they aren't considered a distinct color. It also seems that a lot of the albino hets have lighter coloration. Lastly, are piebalds really just albino/wild type chimeras? It would seem so because they do not breed true and half have deformities that point to the fusion of two embryos. Also, I have yet to see any true leucistics- most I have seen photos of are just albinos under certain light to make their eyes appear blue.
I just got my first two xenopus- one WT and one albino- in the mail today and am ecstatic! They are so cute!
Interesting topic. I know that there is a considerable amount of information on the Internet about Xenopus genetics, but haven't found very much about color genes. I found a couple of articles on creating a mutant strain of ACF. I've been studying ACFs for 30 years and have several textbooks and articles about these interesting frogs. I have kept Xenopus laevis, X. tropicalis and X. borealis, which is the most beautiful, natural color species, in my opinion.
Terry Gampper
Nebraska Herpetological Society
“If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.”
--- Adrian Forsyth
Update: I spoke to someone from Xenopus Express and they told me that reticulated, golden, and "leucistic" are just variations of albino. Piebalds "occur sporadically and are usually males with a deformity", which makes me believe that they are indeed chimeras. Probably not something you'd want to breed- I think I'll stick to wild type and (the many shades of) albino.
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