title: Quantitative analysis of the GAL4/UAS system in Drosophila oogenesis.
abstract: The GAL4/UAS system is extensively used for targeted gene expression in Drosophila, but the strength of the GAL4 drivers and their effects on target genes are rarely quantified. Quantitative information about the strength of the perturbations introduced by the GAL4/UAS system would further expand the usefulness of the GAL4/UAS system in studying gene functions and developmental processes. We have developed an assay to determine the relative level of expression for target genes tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Our assay enables the relative quantitation of fluorescent proteins within specific cell types and developmental time windows in living eggs/embryos, and permits the analysis of samples from a broad expression range. We illustrate the assay using a panel of four GAL4 drivers and three UAS responder lines in Drosophila oogenesis, discuss the issues associated with the interpretation of the quantitative data, and correlate our results with the analysis of the GAL4/UAS system at the transcript level. The imaging-based strategy described here can be used to quantify other GAL4 drivers in Drosophila and other organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Lea A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Goentoro
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yakoby
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goodhouse
authors.forename: Trudi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schüpbach
authors.forename: Stanislav Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Shvartsman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005470:Fluorometry; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018390:Gene Targeting; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C052130:GAL4 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors