title: Improved reporter strain for monitoring Cre recombinase-mediated DNA excisions in mice.
abstract: Effective use of conditional Cre recombinase-loxP gene modification requires Cre-expressing mouse strains with defined patterns of expression. To assess the in vivo functionality of Cre-expressing mice, we have engineered an improved reporter strain for monitoring Cre-mediated excisions. The beta-galactosidase-neomycin phosphotransferase fusion gene (betageo)-trapped ROSA26 locus was modified by gene targeting such that betageo is expressed only after Cre-mediated excision of loxP-flanked DNA sequences. betageo from the excised ROSA26 allele is expressed ubiquitously in embryos and adult mice. By mating the reporter strain with Cre-expressing transgenic mice, we have shown that the loxP-flanked ROSA26 allele is accessible to Cre during early embryogenesis, as well as in a specific hematopoietic lineage (T lymphocytes). This improved reporter strain should facilitate monitoring in vivo Cre-mediated excision events in a variety of experimental contexts.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Orkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019677:Artificial Gene Fusion; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D018390:Gene Targeting; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009355:Neomycin; D014764:Viral Proteins; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D004247:DNA; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D009355:Neomycin