Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
PLoS One
2023 Jan 01;184:e0280000. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Establishment of the body condition score for adult female Xenopus laevis.
Tix L
,
Ernst L
,
Bungardt B
,
Talbot SR
,
Hilken G
,
Tolba RH
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
The assessment of animals' health and nutritional status using a Body Condition Score (BCS) has become a common and reliable tool in lab-animal science. It enables a simple, semi-objective, and non-invasive assessment (palpation of osteal prominences and subcutaneous fat tissue) in routine examination of an animal. In mammals, the BCS classification contains 5 levels: A low score describes a poor nutritional condition (BCS 1-2). A BCS of 3 to 4 is considered optimum, whereas a high score (BCS = 5) is associated with obesity. While BCS are published for most common laboratory mammals, these assessment criteria are not directly applicable to clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) due to their intracoelomic fat body instead of subcutaneous fat tissue. Therefore, this assessment tool is still missing for Xenopus laevis. The present study aimed to establish a species-specific BCS for clawed frogs in terms of housing refinement in lab-animal facilities. Accordingly, 62 adult female Xenopus laevis were weighed and sized. Further, the body contour was defined, classified, and assigned to BCS groups. A BCS 5 was associated with a mean body weight of 193.3 g (± 27.6 g), whereas a BCS 4 ranged at 163.1 g (±16.0 g). Animals with a BCS = 3 had an average body weight of 114.7 g (±16.7 g). A BCS = 2 was determined in 3 animals (103 g, 110 g, and 111 g). One animal had a BCS = 1 (83 g), equivalent to a humane endpoint. In conclusion, individual examination using the presented visual BCS provides a quick and easy assessment of the nutritional status and overall health of adult female Xenopus laevis. Due to their ectothermic nature and the associated special metabolic situation, it can be assumed that a BCS ≥3 is to be preferred for female Xenopus laevis. In addition, BCS assessment may indicate underlying subclinical health problems that require further diagnostic investigation.
Fig 1. Dorsal section of Xenopus laevis and assignment to BCS 1–5, red line in BCS1 indicates the nose-cloaca distance.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.g001
Fig 2. Lateral section of Xenopus laevis and assignment to BCS 1–5.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.g002
Close-ups pictures of BCS 1: A: dorsal view, B and C: ventral and latero-ventral view, D: lateral view. Humane endpoint: Frog emaciated (—): rectangular body shape; raised abdominal contour and flat dorsal contour; bony structures of the thorax as well as pelvis prominent in ventral view; lower side of the mouth with concave curvature (sunken); skinny limbs firmly set off from trunk; humane endpoint reached.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.g003
Fig 4.
A. Violin plot of variance distribution in each BCS class. The violin plot shows the compact distribution of data in each BCS class. Individual data points are jittered within each category. The mean body weight values are also offered as red dots, and the error bars represent 1000-fold bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals. B. Scatterplot showing the body weight vs. the nose-cloaca distance color-highlighted by BCS classes. The linear trend in the data (βbw = 0.02, SE = 0.002, p<0.001, R2adj = 0.665) is indicated by the linear regression line with a 95% confidence band.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.g004
Fig 5.
High-grade lymph sac edema prior (A) and post puncture (B) of the same specimen, (C) drained clear punctate in syringes. Difference between BCS 5 and pathological lymphatic sac edema: Lymphatic sac edema is indicated by an apparent retraction of the skin between the eyes (see blue marks upper row); skin on the back and thighs shows wave-shaped movements when the frog in question swims due to the edema fluid; the frog swims more sluggishly; no impairment of food intake; clear secretion is drawn off during puncture, and lymph sac collapses again immediately (see blue arrows lower row).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280000.g005
Blackburn,
Modeling congenital kidney diseases in Xenopus laevis.
2019,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Borodinsky,
Xenopus laevis as a Model Organism for the Study of Spinal Cord Formation, Development, Function and Regeneration.
2017,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Brenes-Soto,
Gaining insights in the nutritional metabolism of amphibians: analyzing body nutrient profiles of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.
2019,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Bugnon,
What the literature tells us about score sheet design.
2016,
Pubmed
Chandler,
Obesity and Associated Comorbidities in People and Companion Animals: A One Health Perspective.
2017,
Pubmed
Clark,
Body Condition Scoring for Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio).
2018,
Pubmed
Cohen,
Grimace Scores: Tools to Support the Identification of Pain in Mammals Used in Research.
2020,
Pubmed
Doyle,
Physiological and nonphysiological indicators of body condition score in weaner pigs.
2015,
Pubmed
Freeman,
WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines.
2011,
Pubmed
Green,
Factors affecting oogenesis in the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
2002,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Hickman,
Use of a body condition score technique to assess health status in a rat model of polycystic kidney disease.
2010,
Pubmed
Hilken,
Growth of Xenopus laevis under different laboratory rearing conditions.
1995,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Iglauer,
Anthelmintic treatment to eradicate cutaneous capillariasis in a colony of South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis).
1997,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Lasser,
The Many Faces of Xenopus: Xenopus laevis as a Model System to Study Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome.
2019,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Li,
Behavioral observation of Xenopus tadpole swimming for neuroscience labs.
2014,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
McNamara,
Husbandry, General Care, and Transportation of Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis.
2018,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Ogawa,
Induction of ovulation in Xenopus without hCG injection: the effect of adding steroids into the aquatic environment.
2011,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
PARKER,
Breeding, rearing and care of the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
1947,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Prebble,
Bodyweight and body condition score in rabbits on four different feeding regimes.
2015,
Pubmed
Rhodes,
Xenopus vocalizations are controlled by a sexually differentiated hindbrain central pattern generator.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Russel,
Body condition scoring of sheep.
1984,
Pubmed
Shaidani,
Obtaining Xenopus laevis Eggs.
2021,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Summers,
Validation of a body condition scoring system in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): assessment of body composition by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
2012,
Pubmed
Sweet,
A novel zoometric index for assessing body composition in adult rabbits.
2013,
Pubmed
Teng,
Associations of body condition score with health conditions related to overweight and obesity in cats.
2018,
Pubmed
Tinsley,
Chytrid fungus infections in laboratory and introduced Xenopus laevis populations: assessing the risks for U.K. native amphibians.
2015,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Tsai,
Changes in oscillatory dynamics in the cell cycle of early Xenopus laevis embryos.
2014,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Ullman-Culleré,
Body condition scoring: a rapid and accurate method for assessing health status in mice.
1999,
Pubmed
Vredenburg,
Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Xenopus collected in Africa (1871-2000) and in California (2001-2010).
2013,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Witzel,
Use of a novel morphometric method and body fat index system for estimation of body composition in overweight and obese dogs.
2014,
Pubmed
Yam,
Impact of canine overweight and obesity on health-related quality of life.
2016,
Pubmed
Zaya,
Atrazine exposure affects growth, body condition and liver health in Xenopus laevis tadpoles.
2011,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
