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He S, Grasis JA, Nicotra ML, Juliano CE, Schnitzler CE. Cnidofest 2018: the future is bright for cnidarian research. EvoDevo 2019; 10:20. [PMID: 31508195 PMCID: PMC6724248 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-019-0134-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2018 Cnidarian Model Systems Meeting (Cnidofest) was held September 6-9th at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, FL. Cnidofest 2018, which built upon the momentum of Hydroidfest 2016, brought together research communities working on a broad spectrum of cnidarian organisms from North America and around the world. Meeting talks covered diverse aspects of cnidarian biology, with sessions focused on genomics, development, neurobiology, immunology, symbiosis, ecology, and evolution. In addition to interesting biology, Cnidofest also emphasized the advancement of modern research techniques. Invited technology speakers showcased the power of microfluidics and single-cell transcriptomics and demonstrated their application in cnidarian models. In this report, we provide an overview of the exciting research that was presented at the meeting and discuss opportunities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuonan He
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110 USA
| | - Juris A. Grasis
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343 USA
| | - Matthew L. Nicotra
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Celina E. Juliano
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Christine E. Schnitzler
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080 USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
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Sanders SM, Ma Z, Hughes JM, Riscoe BM, Gibson GA, Watson AM, Flici H, Frank U, Schnitzler CE, Baxevanis AD, Nicotra ML. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockin in the hydroid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:649. [PMID: 30176818 PMCID: PMC6122657 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-5032-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus, a colonial cnidarian, is a tractable model system for many cnidarian-specific and general biological questions. Until recently, tests of gene function in Hydractinia have relied on laborious forward genetic approaches, randomly integrated transgenes, or transient knockdown of mRNAs. RESULTS Here, we report the use of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to generate targeted genomic insertions in H. symbiolonigcarpus. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to promote homologous recombination of two fluorescent reporters, eGFP and tdTomato, into the Eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha (Eef1a) locus. We demonstrate that the transgenes are expressed ubiquitously and are stable over two generations of breeding. We further demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing can be used to mark endogenous proteins with FLAG or StrepII-FLAG affinity tags to enable in vivo and ex vivo protein studies. CONCLUSIONS This is the first account of CRISPR/Cas9 mediated knockins in Hydractinia and the first example of the germline transmission of a CRISPR/Cas9 inserted transgene in a cnidarian. The ability to precisely insert exogenous DNA into the Hydractinia genome will enable sophisticated genetic studies and further development of functional genomics tools in this understudied cnidarian model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Sanders
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Zhiwei Ma
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Julia M. Hughes
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Brooke M. Riscoe
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Gregory A. Gibson
- Center for Biological Imaging and Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Alan M. Watson
- Center for Biological Imaging and Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Hakima Flici
- Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
| | - Uri Frank
- Centre for Chromosome Biology, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
| | - Christine E. Schnitzler
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, and Department of Biology, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL USA
| | - Andreas D. Baxevanis
- Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Matthew L. Nicotra
- Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
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