Abstract
Electroporation allows targeting of genetic materials (e.g., DNA, RNA, antisense morpholinos) to the tissue of interest with high spatial and temporal specificity. Here, we describe a highly efficient and reproducible electroporation strategy for targeting the central nervous system in Xenopus. This versatile approach can be combined with live imaging or other existing experimental procedures to aid the investigation of different research questions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Vize PD, Melton DA, Hemmati-Brivanlou A, RM H (1991) Assays for gene function in developing Xenopus embryos. Methods Cell Biol 36:367–387
Konopacki FA, Wong HH, Dwivedy A, Bellon A, Blower MD, Holt CE (2016) ESCRT-II controls retinal axon growth by regulating DCC receptor levels and local protein synthesis. Open Biol 6(4):150218. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.150218
Roque CG, Wong HH, Lin JQ, Holt CE (2016) Tumor protein Tctp regulates axon development in the embryonic visual system. Development 143(7):1134–1148. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.131060
Zhang S, Li J, Lea R, Vleminckx K, Amaya E (2014) Fezf2 promotes neuronal differentiation through localised activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signalling during forebrain development. Development 141(24):4794–4805. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.115691
Falk J, Konopacki FA, Zivraj KH, Holt CE (2014) Rab5 and Rab4 regulate axon elongation in the Xenopus visual system. J Neurosci 34(2):373–391. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0876-13.2014
Falk J, Drinjakovic J, Leung KM, Dwivedy A, Regan AG, Piper M, Holt CE (2007) Electroporation of cDNA/morpholinos to targeted areas of embryonic CNS in Xenopus. BMC Dev Biol 7:107. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-213X-7-107
Wong HH, Lin JQ, Strohl F, Roque CG, Cioni JM, Cagnetta R, Turner-Bridger B, Laine RF, Harris WA, Kaminski CF, Holt CE (2017) RNA docking and local translation regulate site-specific axon remodeling in vivo. Neuron 95(4):852–868 e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.016
Leung LC, Urbancic V, Baudet ML, Dwivedy A, Bayley TG, Lee AC, Harris WA, Holt CE (2013) Coupling of NF-protocadherin signaling to axon guidance by cue-induced translation. Nat Neurosci 16(2):166–173. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3290
Yoon BC, Jung H, Dwivedy A, O'Hare CM, Zivraj KH, Holt CE (2012) Local translation of extranuclear lamin B promotes axon maintenance. Cell 148(4):752–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2011.11.064
Baudet ML, Zivraj KH, Abreu-Goodger C, Muldal A, Armisen J, Blenkiron C, Goldstein LD, Miska EA, Holt CE (2011) miR-124 acts through CoREST to control onset of Sema3A sensitivity in navigating retinal growth cones. Nat Neurosci 15(1):29–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2979
Bonev B, Pisco A, Papalopulu N (2011) MicroRNA-9 reveals regional diversity of neural progenitors along the anterior-posterior axis. Dev Cell 20(1):19–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2010.11.018
Drinjakovic J, Jung H, Campbell DS, Strochlic L, Dwivedy A, Holt CE (2010) E3 ligase Nedd4 promotes axon branching by downregulating PTEN. Neuron 65(3):341–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.017
Agathocleous M, Iordanova I, Willardsen MI, Xue XY, Vetter ML, Harris WA, Moore KB (2009) A directional Wnt/beta-catenin-Sox2-proneural pathway regulates the transition from proliferation to differentiation in the Xenopus retina. Development 136(19):3289–3299. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.040451
Kalous A, Stake JI, Yisraeli JK, Holt CE (2014) RNA-binding protein Vg1RBP regulates terminal arbor formation but not long-range axon navigation in the developing visual system. Dev Neurobiol 74(3):303–318. https://doi.org/10.1002/dneu.22110
Strohl F, Lin JQ, Laine RF, Wong HH, Urbancic V, Cagnetta R, Holt CE, Kaminski CF (2017) Single molecule translation imaging visualizes the dynamics of local beta-actin synthesis in retinal axons. Sci Rep 7(1):709. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00695-7
Shigeoka T, Jung H, Jung J, Turner-Bridger B, Ohk J, Lin JQ, Amieux PS, Holt CE (2016) Dynamic axonal translation in developing and mature visual circuits. Cell 166(1):181–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.029
Bellon A, Iyer A, Bridi S, Lee FC, Ovando-Vazquez C, Corradi E, Longhi S, Roccuzzo M, Strohbuecker S, Naik S, Sarkies P, Miska E, Abreu-Goodger C, Holt CE, Baudet ML (2017) miR-182 regulates Slit2-mediated axon guidance by modulating the local translation of a specific mRNA. Cell Rep 18(5):1171–1186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.12.093
Yoon BC, Zivraj KH, Strochlic L, Holt CE (2012) 14-3-3 proteins regulate retinal axon growth by modulating ADF/cofilin activity. Dev Neurobiol 72(4):600–614. https://doi.org/10.1002/dneu.20955
Lin AC, Tan CL, Lin CL, Strochlic L, Huang YS, Richter JD, Holt CE (2009) Cytoplasmic polyadenylation and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-dependent mRNA regulation are involved in Xenopus retinal axon development. Neural Dev 4:8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8104-4-8
Acknowledgment
We thank R. Cagnetta and M. Eldred for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by Cambridge Trust, Croucher Foundation, Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund (H.H.W), Wellcome Trust Programme Grant (085314/Z/08/Z), and ERC Advanced Grant (322817) (C.E.H).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Wong, H.HW., Holt, C.E. (2018). Targeted Electroporation in the CNS in Xenopus Embryos. In: Vleminckx, K. (eds) Xenopus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1865. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8784-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8784-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8783-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8784-9
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols