title: Visualization of rod photoreceptor development using GFP-transgenic zebrafish.
abstract: Zebrafish retina contains five morphologically distinct classes of photoreceptors, each expressing a distinct type of opsin gene. Molecular mechanisms underlying specification of opsin expression and differentiation among the cell types are largely unknown. This is partly because mutants affected with expression of a particular class of opsin gene are difficult to find. In this study we established the transgenic lines of zebrafish carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene under the 1.1-kb and 3.7-kb upstream regions of the rod-opsin gene. In transgenic fish, GFP expression initiated and proceeded in the same spatiotemporal pattern with rod-opsin gene. The retinal section from adult transgenic fish showed GFP expression throughout the rod cell layer. These results indicate that the proximal 1.1-kb region is sufficient to drive gene expression in all rod photoreceptor cells. These transgenic fish should facilitate screening of mutants affected specifically with rod-opsin expression or rod cell development by visualization of rod cells by GFP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamaoka
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takechi
authors.forename: Akito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chinen
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishiwaki
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamura
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000196:embryology*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D017299:Rod Opsins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins