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Investigating Evolutionarily Conserved Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Gene Expression in the Notochord

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Transgenic Ascidians

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1029))

Abstract

Ascidian embryos have been employed as model systems for studies of developmental biology for well over a century, owing to their desirable blend of experimental advantages, which include their rapid development, traceable cell lineage, and evolutionarily conserved morphogenetic movements. Two decades ago, the development of a streamlined electroporation method drastically reduced the time and cost of transgenic experiments, and, along with the elucidation of the complete genomic sequences of several ascidian species, propelled these simple chordates to the forefront of the model organisms available for studies of regulation of gene expression. Numerous ascidian sequences with tissue-specific enhancer activity were isolated and rapidly characterized through systematic in vivo experiments that would require several weeks in most other model systems. These cis-regulatory sequences include a large collection of notochord enhancers, which have been used to visualize notochord development in vivo, to generate mutant phenotypes, and to knock down genes of interest. Moreover, their detailed characterization has allowed the reconstruction of different branches of the notochord gene regulatory network. This chapter describes how the use of transgenic techniques has rendered the ascidian Ciona a competitive model organism for studies of notochord development, evolution, and gene regulation.

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Abbreviations

bp:

Base pair(s)

cDNA:

Complementary DNA

ChIP:

Chromatin immunoprecipitation

CRM:

cis-regulatory module

DAPI:

4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole

FACS:

fluorescence-activated cell sorting

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

GRN:

Gene regulatory network

NOCE:

Notochord enhancer

OBS:

Orphan binding site

P3H1:

prolyl 3-hydroxylase1

shRNA:

Short hairpin RNA

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to all present and past laboratory members and collaborators. We are particularly indebted to Drs. Diana José-Edwards, Lavanya Katikala, Izumi Oda-Ishii, and Yale Passamaneck for their original microphotographs. Research in our laboratory is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01GM100466.

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  1. Julie E. Maguire, Aakarsha Pandey, and Yushi Wu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA

    Julie E. Maguire, Aakarsha Pandey, Yushi Wu & Anna Di Gregorio

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  1. Julie E. Maguire
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Correspondence to Anna Di Gregorio .

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  1. Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan

    Yasunori Sasakura

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Maguire, J.E., Pandey, A., Wu, Y., Di Gregorio, A. (2018). Investigating Evolutionarily Conserved Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Gene Expression in the Notochord. In: Sasakura, Y. (eds) Transgenic Ascidians . Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1029. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7545-2_8

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