1
|
Samardžija B, Petrović M, Zaharija B, Medija M, Meštrović A, Bradshaw NJ, Filošević Vujnović A, Andretić Waldowski R. Transgenic Drosophila melanogaster Carrying a Human Full-Length DISC1 Construct (UAS- hflDISC1) Showing Effects on Social Interaction Networks. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2024; 46:8526-8549. [PMID: 39194719 DOI: 10.3390/cimb46080502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2024] [Revised: 07/30/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is a scaffold protein implicated in major mental illnesses including schizophrenia, with a significant negative impact on social life. To investigate if DISC1 affects social interactions in Drosophila melanogaster, we created transgenic flies with second or third chromosome insertions of the human full-length DISC1 (hflDISC1) gene fused to a UAS promotor (UAS-hflDISC1). Initial characterization of the insertion lines showed unexpected endogenous expression of the DISC1 protein that led to various behavioral and neurochemical phenotypes. Social interaction network (SIN) analysis showed altered social dynamics and organizational structures. This was in agreement with the altered levels of the locomotor activity of individual flies monitored for 24 h. Together with a decreased ability to climb vertical surfaces, the observed phenotypes indicate altered motor functions that could be due to a change in the function of the motor neurons and/or central brain. The changes in social behavior and motor function suggest that the inserted hflDISC1 gene influences nervous system functioning that parallels symptoms of DISC1-related mental diseases in humans. Furthermore, neurochemical analyses of transgenic lines revealed increased levels of hydrogen peroxide and decreased levels of glutathione, indicating an impact of DISC1 on the dynamics of redox regulation, similar to that reported in transgenic mammals. Future studies are needed to address the localization of DISC1 expression and to address how the redox parameter changes correlate with the observed behavioral changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bobana Samardžija
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Milan Petrović
- Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Beti Zaharija
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Marta Medija
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Ana Meštrović
- Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Nicholas J Bradshaw
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Ana Filošević Vujnović
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Rozi Andretić Waldowski
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51 000 Rijeka, Croatia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Salauddin M, Kayesh MEH, Ahammed MS, Saha S, Hossain MG. Development of membrane protein-based vaccine against lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) using immunoinformatic tools. Vet Med Sci 2024; 10:e1438. [PMID: 38555573 PMCID: PMC10981917 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Lumpy skin disease, an economically significant bovine illness, is now found in previously unheard-of geographic regions. Vaccination is one of the most important ways to stop its further spread. AIM Therefore, in this study, we applied advanced immunoinformatics approaches to design and develop an effective lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) vaccine. METHODS The membrane glycoprotein was selected for prediction of the different B- and T-cell epitopes by using the immune epitope database. The selected B- and T-cell epitopes were combined with the appropriate linkers and adjuvant resulted in a vaccine chimera construct. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict, refine and validate the 2D, 3D structures and for molecular docking with toll-like receptor 4 using different servers. The constructed vaccine candidate was further processed on the basis of antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, different physiochemical properties and molecular docking scores. RESULTS The in silico immune simulation induced significant response for immune cells. In silico cloning and codon optimization were performed to express the vaccine candidate in Escherichia coli. This study highlights a good signal for the design of a peptide-based LSDV vaccine. CONCLUSION Thus, the present findings may indicate that the engineered multi-epitope vaccine is structurally stable and can induce a strong immune response, which should help in developing an effective vaccine towards controlling LSDV infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Md. Salauddin
- Department of Microbiology and Public HealthKhulna Agricultural UniversityKhulnaBangladesh
| | | | - Md. Suruj Ahammed
- Department of ChemistryBangladesh University of Engineering and TechnologyDhakaBangladesh
| | - Sukumar Saha
- Department of Microbiology and HygieneBangladesh Agricultural UniversityMymensinghBangladesh
| | - Md. Golzar Hossain
- Department of Microbiology and HygieneBangladesh Agricultural UniversityMymensinghBangladesh
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ott S, Xu S, Lee N, Hong I, Anns J, Suresh DD, Zhang Z, Zhang X, Harion R, Ye W, Chandramouli V, Jesuthasan S, Saheki Y, Claridge-Chang A. Kalium channelrhodopsins effectively inhibit neurons. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3480. [PMID: 38658537 PMCID: PMC11043423 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47203-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The analysis of neural circuits has been revolutionized by optogenetic methods. Light-gated chloride-conducting anion channelrhodopsins (ACRs)-recently emerged as powerful neuron inhibitors. For cells or sub-neuronal compartments with high intracellular chloride concentrations, however, a chloride conductance can have instead an activating effect. The recently discovered light-gated, potassium-conducting, kalium channelrhodopsins (KCRs) might serve as an alternative in these situations, with potentially broad application. As yet, KCRs have not been shown to confer potent inhibitory effects in small genetically tractable animals. Here, we evaluated the utility of KCRs to suppress behavior and inhibit neural activity in Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and zebrafish. In direct comparisons with ACR1, a KCR1 variant with enhanced plasma-membrane trafficking displayed comparable potency, but with improved properties that include reduced toxicity and superior efficacy in putative high-chloride cells. This comparative analysis of behavioral inhibition between chloride- and potassium-selective silencing tools establishes KCRs as next-generation optogenetic inhibitors for in vivo circuit analysis in behaving animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav Ott
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sangyu Xu
- Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nicole Lee
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ivan Hong
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jonathan Anns
- Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Danesha Devini Suresh
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhiyi Zhang
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xianyuan Zhang
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Raihanah Harion
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Weiying Ye
- Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vaishnavi Chandramouli
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Suresh Jesuthasan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yasunori Saheki
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Adam Claridge-Chang
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Warsinger-Pepe N, Chang C, Desroberts CR, Akbari OS. Polycomb response elements reduce leaky expression of Cas9 under temperature-inducible Hsp70Bb promoter in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad024. [PMID: 36705519 PMCID: PMC10085756 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Heat-shock-inducible expression of genes through the use of heat-inducible promoters is commonly used in research despite leaky expression of downstream genes of interest without targeted induction (i.e. heat shock). The development of non-leaky inducible expression systems is of broad interest for both basic and applied studies, to precisely control gene expression. Here we characterize the use of Polycomb response elements and the inducible Heat-shock protein 70Bb promoter, previously described as a non-leaky inducible system, to regulate Cas9 endonuclease levels and function in Drosophila melanogaster after varying both heat-shock durations and rearing temperatures. We show that Polycomb response elements can significantly reduce expression of Cas9 under Heat-shock protein 70Bb promoter control using a range of conditions, corroborating previously published results. We further demonstrate that this low transcript level of heat-induced Cas9 is sufficient to induce mutant mosaic phenotypes. Incomplete suppression of an inducible Cas9 system by Polycomb response elements with no heat-shock suggests that further regulatory elements are required to precisely control Cas9 expression and abundance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Warsinger-Pepe
- School of Biological Sciences, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Carly Chang
- School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Connor R Desroberts
- School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Omar S Akbari
- School of Biological Sciences, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
de Hoog E, Saba Echezarreta VE, Turgambayeva A, Foran G, Megaly M, Necakov A, Spencer GE. Molluscan RXR Transcriptional Regulation by Retinoids in a Drosophila CNS Organ Culture System. Cells 2022; 11:2493. [PMID: 36010570 PMCID: PMC9406730 DOI: 10.3390/cells11162493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid, the active metabolite of Vitamin A, is important for the appropriate development of the nervous system (e.g., neurite outgrowth) as well as for cognition (e.g., memory formation) in the adult brain. We have shown that many of the effects of retinoids are conserved in the CNS of the mollusc, Lymnaea stagnalis. RXRs are predominantly nuclear receptors, but the Lymnaea RXR (LymRXR) exhibits a non-nuclear distribution in the adult CNS, where it is also implicated in non-genomic retinoid functions. As such, we developed a CNS Drosophila organ culture-based system to examine the transcriptional activity and ligand-binding properties of LymRXR, in the context of a live invertebrate nervous system. The novel ligand sensor system was capable of reporting both the expression and transcriptional activity of the sensor. Our results indicate that the LymRXR ligand sensor mediated transcription following activation by both 9-cis RA (the high affinity ligand for vertebrate RXRs) as well as the vertebrate RXR synthetic agonist, SR11237. The LymRXR ligand sensor was also activated by all-trans RA, and to a much lesser extent by the vertebrate RAR synthetic agonist, EC23. This sensor also detected endogenous retinoid-like activity in the CNS of developing Drosophila larvae, primarily during the 3rd instar larval stage. These data indicate that the LymRXR sensor can be utilized not only for characterization of ligand activation for studies related to the Lymnaea CNS, but also for future studies of retinoids and their functions in Drosophila development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gaynor E. Spencer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Omoniyi AA, Adebisi SS, Musa SA, Nzalak JO, Bauchi ZM, Bako KW, Olatomide OD, Zachariah R, Nyengaard JR. In silico design and analyses of a multi-epitope vaccine against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus through reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics approaches. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8736. [PMID: 35610299 PMCID: PMC9127496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12651-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) is a deadly human pathogen that causes an emerging zoonotic disease with a broad geographic spread, especially in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and the second most common viral hemorrhagic fever and widely transmitted tick-borne viral disease. Following infection, the patients are presented with a variety of clinical manifestations and a fatality rate of 40%. Despite the high fatality rate, there are unmet clinical interventions, as no antiviral drugs or vaccines for CCHF have been approved. Immunoinformatics pipeline and reverse vaccinology were used in this study to design a multi-epitope vaccine that may elicit a protective humoral and cellular immune response against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infection. Three essential virulent and antigenic proteins (S, M, and L) were used to predict seven CTL and 18 HTL epitopes that were non-allergenic, antigenic, IFN-γ inducing, and non-toxic. The epitopes were connected using linkers and 50S ribosomal protein L7/L12 was used as an adjuvant and raised a multi-epitope vaccine (MEV) that is 567 amino acids long. Molecular docking and simulation of the predicted 3D structure of the MEV with the toll-like (TLR2, TLR3, and TLR4) receptors and major histocompatibility complex (MCH-I and MCH-II) indicate high interactions and stability of the complexes, MM-GBSA free binding energy calculation revealed a favourable protein-protein complex. Maximum MEV expression was achieved with a CAI value of 0.98 through in silico cloning in the Drosophila melanogaster host. According to the immune simulation, IgG1, T-helper cells, T-cytotoxic cells, INF-γ, and IL-2 were predicted to be significantly elevated. These robust computational analyses demonstrated that the proposed MEV is effective in preventing CCHFV infections. However, it is still necessary to conduct both in vitro and in vivo experiments to validate the potential of the vaccine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Akinyemi Ademola Omoniyi
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Core Centre for Molecular Morphology, Section for Stereology and Microscopy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Department of Pathology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Samuel Sunday Adebisi
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Sunday Abraham Musa
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - James Oliver Nzalak
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Zainab Mahmood Bauchi
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria
| | - Kerkebe William Bako
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Oluwasegun Davis Olatomide
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Richard Zachariah
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Jens Randel Nyengaard
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Core Centre for Molecular Morphology, Section for Stereology and Microscopy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Pathology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Abstract
Releases of sterile males are the gold standard for many insect population control programs, and precise sex sorting to remove females prior to male releases is essential to the success of these operations. To advance traditional methods for scaling the generation of sterile males, we previously described a CRISPR-mediated precision-guided sterile insect technique (pgSIT), in which Cas9 and gRNA strains are genetically crossed to generate sterile males for mass release. While effective at generating F1 sterile males, pgSIT requires a genetic cross between the two parental strains, which requires maintenance and sexing of two strains in a factory. Therefore, to advance pgSIT further by removing this crossing step, here we describe a next-generation temperature-inducible pgSIT (TI-pgSIT) technology and demonstrate its proof-of-concept in Drosophila melanogaster. Importantly, we were able to develop a true breeding strain for TI-pgSIT that eliminates the requirement for sex sorting-a feature that may help further automate production at scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nikolay P. Kandul
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Junru Liu
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Omar S. Akbari
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Losada-Pérez M, García-Guillén N, Casas-Tintó S. A novel injury paradigm in the central nervous system of adult Drosophila: molecular, cellular and functional aspects. Dis Model Mech 2021; 14:268374. [PMID: 34061177 PMCID: PMC8214735 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.044669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) exhibits limited regenerative capacity and the mechanisms that mediate its regeneration are not fully understood. Here, we present a novel experimental design to damage the CNS by using a contusion injury paradigm. The design of this protocol allows the study of long-term and short-term cellular responses, including those of the CNS and the immune system, and of any implications regarding functional recovery. We demonstrate for the first time that adult Drosophilamelanogaster glial cells undergo spontaneous functional recovery following crush injury. This crush injury leads to an intermediate level of functional recovery after damage, which is ideal to screen for genes that facilitate or prevent the regeneration process. Here, we validate this model and analyse the immune responses of glial cells as a central regulator of functional regeneration. Additionally, we demonstrate that glial cells and macrophages contribute to functional regeneration through mechanisms involving the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway and the Drosophila protein Draper (Drpr), characteristic of other neural injury paradigms. We show that macrophages are recruited to the injury site and are required for functional recovery. Further, we show that the proteins Grindelwald and Drpr in Drosophila glial cells mediate activation of JNK, and that expression of drpr is dependent on JNK activation. Finally, we link neuron-glial communication and the requirement of neuronal vesicular transport to regulation of the JNK pathway and functional recovery. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Central nervous system crush injury paradigm in adult Drosophilamelanogaster is a suitable model to study the cellular events, and genetic pathways behind injury responses and functional regeneration. We describe the immune responses of glial cells, neurons and macrophages following injury, and the functional relevance of each response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- María Losada-Pérez
- Instituto Cajal-CSIC, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology, 28002 Madrid, Spain
| | - Nuria García-Guillén
- Instituto Cajal-CSIC, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology, 28002 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Casas-Tintó
- Instituto Cajal-CSIC, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology, 28002 Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Chow KHK, Budde MW, Granados AA, Cabrera M, Yoon S, Cho S, Huang TH, Koulena N, Frieda KL, Cai L, Lois C, Elowitz MB. Imaging cell lineage with a synthetic digital recording system. Science 2021; 372:eabb3099. [PMID: 33833095 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb3099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
During multicellular development, spatial position and lineage history play powerful roles in controlling cell fate decisions. Using a serine integrase-based recording system, we engineered cells to record lineage information in a format that can be read out in situ. The system, termed integrase-editable memory by engineered mutagenesis with optical in situ readout (intMEMOIR), allowed in situ reconstruction of lineage relationships in cultured mouse cells and flies. intMEMOIR uses an array of independent three-state genetic memory elements that can recombine stochastically and irreversibly, allowing up to 59,049 distinct digital states. It reconstructed lineage trees in stem cells and enabled simultaneous analysis of single-cell clonal history, spatial position, and gene expression in Drosophila brain sections. These results establish a foundation for microscopy-readable lineage recording and analysis in diverse systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Huan K Chow
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Mark W Budde
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Alejandro A Granados
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Maria Cabrera
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Shinae Yoon
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Soomin Cho
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Ting-Hao Huang
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Noushin Koulena
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Long Cai
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Carlos Lois
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Michael B Elowitz
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Huynh N, Wang S, King-Jones K. Spatial and temporal control of gene manipulation in Drosophila via drug-activated Cas9 nucleases. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 120:103336. [PMID: 32105778 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Advances in CRISPR/Cas9 have revolutionized molecular biology and greatly facilitated the ability to manipulate gene function through the creation of precisely engineered mutants. We recently reported a collection of modular gateway-compatible Cas9/gRNA Drosophila lines to interfere with gene expression in a tissue-specific manner, including polytene tissues. However, most current in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 tools cannot temporally control the induction of Cas9 or gRNAs via external stimuli such as RU486. A drug-inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system would allow studying genes at later stages where early lethality is an issue. This would be especially useful when combined with tissue-specific expression of Cas9 or gRNAs, allowing for full spatiotemporal control. Here, we present a RU486-inducible version of Cas9 and also show that a Rapamycin-inducible Cas9, previously used in mammalian cell culture, works in Drosophila as well. Both RU486 and rapamycin-inducible Cas9 work in vivo and in Drosophila cell culture. We also present split Cas9 constructs for rapamycin-dependent gene disruption and activation. These approaches establish drug-inducible and thus temporally controlled CRISPR/Cas9 tools for gene disruption and expression in a living model organism. Our CRISPR/Cas9 vector collection can be easily adapted for any tissue and provides higher fidelity compared to RNAi approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nhan Huynh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Alberta, G-502 Biological Sciences Bldg., Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Song Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Alberta, G-502 Biological Sciences Bldg., Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Kirst King-Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Alberta, G-502 Biological Sciences Bldg., Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Akmammedov A, Geigges M, Paro R. Bivalency in Drosophila embryos is associated with strong inducibility of Polycomb target genes. Fly (Austin) 2019; 13:42-50. [PMID: 31094269 DOI: 10.1080/19336934.2019.1619438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins orchestrate development of a multicellular organism by faithfully maintaining cell fate decisions made early in embryogenesis. An important chromatin mark connected to PcG/TrxG regulation is bivalent domains, the simultaneous presence of H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 on a given locus, originally identified in mammalian embryonic stem cells but considered to be absent in invertebrates. Here, we provide evidence for the existence of bivalency in fly embryos. Using a recently described PcG reporter fly line, we observed a strong reporter inducibility in the embryo and its sharp decrease in larval and adult stages. Analysis of the chromatin landscape of the reporter revealed a strong signal for the repressive PcG mark, H3K27me3, in all three developmental stages and, surprisingly, a strong signal for a transcriptionally activating H3K4me3 mark in the embryo. Using re-chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments, bivalent domains were also uncovered at endogenous PcG targets like the Hox genes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arslan Akmammedov
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marco Geigges
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Renato Paro
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland.,Faculty of Science, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
A Drosophila CRISPR/Cas9 Toolkit for Conditionally Manipulating Gene Expression in the Prothoracic Gland as a Test Case for Polytene Tissues. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2018; 8:3593-3605. [PMID: 30213867 PMCID: PMC6222582 DOI: 10.1534/g3.118.200539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Targeting gene function with spatial or temporal specificity is a key goal in molecular genetics. CRISPR-Cas9 has greatly facilitated this strategy, but some standard approaches are problematic. For instance, simple tissue-specific or global overexpression of Cas9 can cause significant lethality or developmental delays even in the absence of gRNAs. In particular, we found that Gal4-mediated expression of UAS-Cas9 in the Drosophila prothoracic gland (PG) was not a suitable strategy to disrupt gene expression, since Cas9 alone caused widespread lethality. The PG is widely used for studying endocrine gland function during animal development, but tools validating PG-specific RNAi phenotypes are lacking. Here, we present a collection of modular gateway-compatible CRISPR-Cas9 tools that allow precise modulation of target gene activity with temporal and spatial specificity. We also demonstrate that Cas9 fused to the progesterone ligand-binding domain can be used to activate gene expression via RU486. Using these approaches, we were able to avoid the lethality associated with simple GAL4-mediated overexpression of Cas9 in the PG. Given that the PG is a polytene tissue, we conclude that these tools work effectively in endoreplicating cells where Cas9 has to target multiple copies of the same locus. Our toolkit can be easily adapted for other tissues and can be used both for gain- and loss-of-function studies.
Collapse
|
13
|
A modified yeast three-hybrid system enabling both positive and negative selections. Biotechnol Lett 2018; 40:1127-1134. [DOI: 10.1007/s10529-018-2567-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
|