The stable transgenesis of genes encoding functional or spatially localized 
proteins, fused to fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescent protein (GFP) 
or red fluorescent protein (RFP), is an extremely important research tool in 
cell and developmental biology. Transgenic organisms constructed with 
fluorescent labels for cell membranes, subcellular organelles, and functional 
proteins have been used to investigate cell cycles, lineages, shapes, and 
polarity, in live animals and in cells or tissues derived from these animals. 
Genes of interest have been integrated and maintained in generations of 
transgenic animals, which have become a valuable resource for the cell and 
developmental biology communities. Although the use of Xenopus laevis as a 
transgenic model organism has been hampered by its relatively long reproduction 
time (compared to Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans), its large 
embryonic cells and the ease of manipulation in early embryos have made it a 
historically valuable preparation that continues to have tremendous research 
potential. Here, we report on the Xenopus laevis transgenic lines our lab has 
generated and discuss their potential use in biological imaging.