Two types of transgenic lines for doxycycline-inducible, cell-specific gene expression in zebrafish ultraviolet cone photoreceptors

Autor: Abbie M. Jensen, Leah J. Campbell, Megan C. West, John J. Willoughby
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Gene Expression Patterns. 14:96-104
ISSN: 1567-133X
Popis: Temporal and spatial control of gene expression is important for studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of development, physiology, and disease. We used the doxycycline (Dox)-inducible, Tet-On system to develop transgenic zebrafish for inducible, cell specific control of gene expression in the ultraviolet (UV) cone photoreceptors. Two constructs containing the reverse tetracycline-controlled transcriptional transactivator (rtTA) gene driven by the UV opsin-specific promoter (opn1sw1) were used to generate stable transgenic zebrafish lines using the Tol2-based transgenesis method. One construct included a self-reporting GFP (opn1sw1:rtTA, TRE:GFP) and the other incorporated an epitope tag on the rtTA protein (opn1sw1:rtTA(flag)). UV cone-specific expression of TRE-controlled transgenes was induced by Dox treatment in larvae and adults. Induction of gene expression was observed in 96% of all larval UV cones within 16 h of Dox treatment. UV cone-specific expression of two genes from a bidirectional TRE construct injected into one-cell Tg(opn1sw1:rtTA(flag)) embryos were also induced by Dox treatment. In addition, UV cone-specific expression of Crb2a(IntraWT) was induced by Dox treatment in progeny from crosses of the TRE-response transgenic line, Tg(TRE:HA-Crb2a(IntraWT)), to the Tg(opn1sw1:rtTA, TRE:GFP) line and the Tg(opn1sw1:rtTA(flag)) line. These lines can be used in addition to the inducible, rod-specific gene expression system from the Tet-On Toolkit to elucidate the photoreceptor-specific effects of genes of interest in photoreceptor cell biology and retinal disease.
Databáze: OpenAIRE