Efficient targeted gene disruption in the soma and germ line of the frog Xenopus tropicalis using engineered zinc-finger nucleases.

The frog Xenopus, an important research organism in cell and developmental biology, currently lacks tools for targeted mutagenesis. Here, we address this problem by genome editing with zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs). ZFNs directed against an eGFP transgene in Xenopus tropicalis induced mutations consistent with nonhomologous end joining at the target site, resulting in mosaic loss of the fluorescence phenotype at high frequencies.