Skip to main content

Ligand-Controlled Site-Specific Recombination in Zebrafish

  • Protocol
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1642))

Abstract

Cre-mediated site-specific recombination has emerged as an indispensable tool for the precise manipulation of genomes allowing lineage-tracing studies, temporal and spatial misexpressions, and in particular the generation of conditional knockout alleles. Previously, we and others showed that Cre and its ligand-inducible variant CreERT2 are also highly efficient in the developing and adult zebrafish. The number of Cre driver and effector lines is currently still limited in zebrafish. However, the recent advent of novel genome editing tools such as TALEN and CRISPR/Cas will significantly increase interest in the conditional Cre/lox-technology in this organism. The considerations of basic transgene design and subsequent transgenesis have been addressed elsewhere. Here we outline practical experimental steps for transient functionality tests of CreERT2 driver and effector constructs. In addition, we introduce detailed protocols to elicit CreERT2-mediated recombination in vivo at embryonic as well as adult stages.

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

Buying options

Protocol
USD   49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
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

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Springer Nature is developing a new tool to find and evaluate Protocols. Learn more

References

  1. Branda CS, Dymecki SM (2004) Talking about a Revolution: The Impact of Site-Specific Recombinases on Genetic Analyses in Mice. Dev Cell 6:7–28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Metzger D, Clifford J, Chiba H, Chambon P (1995) Conditional site-specific recombination in mammalian cells using a ligand-dependent chimeric Cre recombinase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92:6991–6995

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Feil R, Wagner J, Metzger D, Chambon P (1997) Regulation of Cre recombinase activity by mutated estrogen receptor ligand-binding domains. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 237:752–757

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Thummel R, Burket CT, Brewer JL, Sarras MP Jr, Li L et al (2005) Cre-mediated site-specific recombination in zebrafish embryos. Dev Dyn 233:1366–1377

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Langenau DM, Feng H, Berghmans S, Kanki JP, Kutok JL et al (2005) Cre/lox-regulated transgenic zebrafish model with conditional myc-induced T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci 102:6068–6073

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Le X, Langenau DM, Keefe MD, Kutok JL, Neuberg DS et al (2007) Heat shock-inducible Cre/Lox approaches to induce diverse types of tumors and hyperplasia in transgenic zebrafish. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:9410–9415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Feng H, Langenau DM, Madge JA, Quinkertz A, Gutierrez A et al (2007) Heat-shock induction of T-cell lymphoma/leukaemia in conditional Cre/lox-regulated transgenic zebrafish. Br J Haematol 138:169–175

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Stuart GW, McMurray JV, Westerfield M (1988) Replication, integration and stable germ-line transmission of foreign sequences injected into early zebrafish embryos. Development 103:403–412

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hans S, Kaslin J, Freudenreich D, Brand M (2009) Temporally-Controlled Site-Specific Recombination in Zebrafish. PLoS One 4:e4640

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Kawakami K, Takeda H, Kawakami N, Kobayashi M, Matsuda N et al (2004) A transposon-mediated gene trap approach identifies developmentally regulated genes in zebrafish. Dev Cell 7:133–144

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Knopf F, Hammond C, Chekuru A, Kurth T, Hans S et al (2011) Bone Regenerates via Dedifferentiation of Osteoblasts in the Zebrafish Fin. Dev Cell 20:713–724

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kroehne V, Freudenreich D, Hans S, Kaslin J, Brand M (2011) Regeneration of the adult zebrafish brain from neurogenic radial glia-type progenitors. Development 138:4831–4841

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Hans S, Irmscher A, Brand M (2013) Zebrafish Foxi1 provides a neuronal ground state during inner ear induction preceding the Dlx3b/4b-regulated sensory lineage. Development 140:1936–1945

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Mosimann C, Kaufman CK, Li P, Pugach EK, Tamplin OJ et al (2011) Ubiquitous transgene expression and Cre-based recombination driven by the ubiquitin promoter in zebrafish. Development 138:169–177

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Pan YA, Freundlich T, Weissman TA, Schoppik D, Wang XC et al (2013) Zebrabow: multispectral cell labeling for cell tracing and lineage analysis in zebrafish. Development 140:2835–2846

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Felker A, Mosimann C (2016) Contemporary zebrafish transgenesis with Tol2 and application for Cre/lox recombination experiments. Methods Cell Biol 135:219–244

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Suster ML, Kikuta H, Urasaki A, Asakawa K, Kawakami K (2009) Transgenesis in Zebrafish with the Tol2 Transposon System. In: Cartwright JE (ed) Transgenesis techniques: principles and protocols. Humana Press, Totowa, pp 41–63

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  18. Rosen JN, Sweeney MF, Mably JD (2009) Microinjection of zebrafish embryos to analyze gene function. J Vis Exp:1115

    Google Scholar 

  19. Westerfield M (2000) The zebrafish book. A guide for the laboratory use of zebrafish (Danio rerio), 4th edn. University of Oregon Press, Eugene

    Google Scholar 

  20. Provost E, Rhee J, Leach SD (2007) Viral 2A peptides allow expression of multiple proteins from a single ORF in transgenic zebrafish embryos. Genesis 45:625–629

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (BR 1746/3; SFB 655, project A3 Brand) and a seed grant of the CRTD.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Brand .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media LLC

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Chekuru, A., Kuscha, V., Hans, S., Brand, M. (2017). Ligand-Controlled Site-Specific Recombination in Zebrafish. In: Eroshenko, N. (eds) Site-Specific Recombinases. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1642. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7169-5_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7169-5_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7167-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7169-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics