Transgenic Hydra allow in vivo tracking of individual stem cells during morphogenesis
- Jörg Wittlieb*,
- Konstantin Khalturin*,
- Jan U. Lohmann†,
- Friederike Anton-Erxleben*, and
- Thomas C. G. Bosch*,‡
- *Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts University, 24098 Kiel, Germany; and
- †Max Plank Institute for Developmental Biology, Spemannstrasse 37-39, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Edited by Joseph G. Gall, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD, and approved February 2, 2006 (received for review November 24, 2005)
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of development in large part relies on the study of phylogenetically old organisms. Cnidarians, such as Hydra, have become attractive model organisms for these studies. However, despite long-term efforts, stably transgenic animals could not be generated, severely limiting the functional analysis of genes. Here we report the efficient generation of transgenic Hydra lines by embryo microinjection. One of these transgenic lines expressing EGFP revealed remarkably high motility of individual endodermal epithelial cells during morphogenesis. We expect that transgenic Hydra will become important tools to dissect the molecular mechanisms of development at the base of the Metazoan tree.
Footnotes
- ‡To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tbosch{at}zoologie.uni-kiel.de
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Author contributions: J.W., K.K., J.U.L., F.A.-E., and T.C.G.B. designed research; J.W., K.K., J.U.L., F.A.-E., and T.C.G.B. performed research; J.W., K.K., J.U.L., F.A.-E., and T.C.G.B. analyzed data; and J.W., K.K., J.U.L., F.A.-E., and T.C.G.B. wrote the paper.
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Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
- Abbreviations:
- hoT G,
- homologous transformation vector GFP.
Abbreviation:
- © 2006 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
