Skip to main content

Transposon-Assisted Genetic Engineering with Mos1-Mediated Single-Copy Insertion (MosSCI)

  • Protocol
C. elegans

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1327))

Abstract

Transgenesis in model organisms is necessary to determine the function, expression, and subcellular localization of gene products. In Caenorhabditis elegans, injected DNA can be propagated as multicopy extrachromosomal arrays but transgenes in arrays are mosaic, over-expressed in some tissues and silenced in the germline. Here, a method to insert a transgene into a specific genomic location called Mos1-mediated single-copy insertion (MosSCI) is described. Single-copy insertion allows transgene expression at levels that approximate endogenous gene expression as well as expression in the germline.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Mello CC, Kramer JM, Stinchcomb D, Ambros V (1991) Efficient gene transfer in C. elegans: extrachromosomal maintenance and integration of transforming sequences. EMBO J 10:3959–3970

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kelly WG, Xu S, Montgomery MK, Fire A (1997) Distinct requirements for somatic and germline expression of a generally expressed Caenorhabditis elegans gene. Genetics 146:227–238

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Fischer SEJ, Pan Q, Breen PC, Qi Y, Shi Z, Zhang C et al (2013) Multiple small RNA pathways regulate the silencing of repeated and foreign genes in C. elegans. Genes Dev 27:2678–2695

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Grishok A, Sinskey JL, Sharp PA (2005) Transcriptional silencing of a transgene by RNAi in the soma of C. elegans. Genes Dev 19:683–696

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Tabara H, Sarkissian M, Kelly WG, Fleenor J, Grishok A, Timmons L et al (1999) The rde-1 gene, RNA interference, and transposon silencing in C. elegans. Cell 99:123–132

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Vastenhouw NL, Fischer SEJ, Robert VJP, Thijssen KL, Fraser AG, Kamath RS et al (2003) A genome-wide screen identifies 27 genes involved in transposon silencing in C. elegans. Curr Biol 13:1311–1316

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Praitis V, Casey E, Collar D, Austin J (2001) Creation of low-copy integrated transgenic lines in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 157:1217–1226

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Kage-Nakadai E, Kobuna H, Funatsu O, Otori M, Gengyo-Ando K, Yoshina S et al (2012) Single/low-copy integration of transgenes in Caenorhabditis elegans using an ultraviolet trimethylpsoralen method. BMC Biotechnol 12:1

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Chen C, Fenk LA, de Bono M (2013) Efficient genome editing in Caenorhabditis elegans by CRISPR-targeted homologous recombination. Nucleic Acids Res 41, e193

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Dickinson DJ, Ward JD, Reiner DJ, Goldstein B (2013) Engineering the Caenorhabditis elegans genome using Cas9-triggered homologous recombination. Nat Methods 10:1028–1034

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Bessereau JL, Wright A, Williams DC, Schuske K, Davis MW, Jorgensen EM (2001) Mobilization of a Drosophila transposon in the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line. Nature 413:70–74

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Robert V, Bessereau J-L (2007) Targeted engineering of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome following Mos1-triggered chromosomal breaks. EMBO J 26:170–183

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Frøkjær-Jensen C, Davis MW, Ailion M, Jorgensen EM (2012) Improved Mos1-mediated transgenesis in C. elegans. Nat Methods 9:117–118

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Frøkjaer-Jensen C, Davis MW, Hopkins CE, Newman BJ, Thummel JM, Olesen S-P et al (2008) Single-copy insertion of transgenes in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nat Genet 40:1375–1383

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Frøkjær-Jensen C, Davis MW, Sarov M, Taylor J, Flibotte S, LaBella M et al (2014) Random and targeted transgene insertion in Caenorhabditis elegans using a modified Mos1 transposon. Nat Methods 11:529–534

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Shirayama M, Seth M, Lee H-C, Gu W, Ishidate T, Conte D Jr et al (2012) piRNAs initiate an epigenetic memory of nonself RNA in the C. elegans germline. Cell 150:65–77

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Strains with Mos1 elements were generated by the nemaGENETAG consortium. This work was supported by a postdoctoral fellowships from the Lundbeck and Carlsberg Foundations. The research was performed in the laboratory of Erik M. Jorgensen at University of Utah and supported by NIH grant 1R01GM095817 (E.M.J.) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (E.M.J.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Frøkjær-Jensen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Frøkjær-Jensen, C. (2015). Transposon-Assisted Genetic Engineering with Mos1-Mediated Single-Copy Insertion (MosSCI). In: Biron, D., Haspel, G. (eds) C. elegans. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1327. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2842-2_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2842-2_5

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2841-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2842-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics