title: Xenopus laevis red cone opsin and Prph2 promoters allow transgene expression in amphibian cones, or both rods and cones.
abstract: We have cloned the promoter regions of two Xenopus laevis genes, Prph2 (also called RDS) and red cone opsin (RCO) using a polymerase chain reaction-based gene-walking method. The proteins coded by these genes are expressed exclusively in retinal photoreceptors. Although these promoter sequences are evolutionarily distant from previously described homologues, potentially informative similarities were noted that suggest conserved binding sites of the transcription factors Crx and Rx. The promoters were tested for function in transgenic X. laevis. RCO-driven expression was restricted to cones and pinealocytes, while the Prph2 promoter drove expression of a reporter green fluorescent protein transgene in both rod and cone photoreceptors, as well as low levels of expression in muscle tissue. This is the first description of transgene expression driven by a Prph2 promoter homologue from any species. In combination with the previously reported X. laevis opsin and arrestin promoters, these sequences will facilitate the development and analysis of X. laevis models of inherited retinal degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3401, USA
authors.forename: Orson L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Moritz
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peck
authors.forename: Beatrice M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D064531:Peripherins; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics*; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics*; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D064531:Peripherins; C579002:Prph2 protein, Xenopus; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D017299:Rod Opsins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins