Small molecule-mediated reprogramming of Xenopus blastula stem cells to a neural crest state

Here we describe and validate a protocol for small molecule-mediated induction of the neural crest state as a new tool for generating this important cell type and facilitating future studies of its development. Overall design: We induce a neural crest state using a BMP inhibitor (K02288) and wnt agonist (CHIR99021) and compare the transcriptome to other neural crest data sets.