Transgenic Hydra allow in vivo tracking of individual stem cells during morphogenesis.
Understanding the evolution of development in large part relies on the study of phylogenetically old organisms. Cnidarians, such as Hydra, have become attractive model organisms for these studies. However, despite long-term efforts, stably transgenic animals could not be generated, severely limiting the functional analysis of genes. Here we report the efficient generation of transgenic Hydra lines by embryo microinjection. One of these transgenic lines expressing EGFP revealed remarkably high motility of individual endodermal epithelial cells during morphogenesis. We expect that transgenic Hydra will become important tools to dissect the molecular mechanisms of development at the base of the Metazoan tree.
Wittlieb
Jörg
J
Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts University, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
Khalturin
Konstantin
K
Lohmann
Jan U
JU
Anton-Erxleben
Friederike
F
Bosch
Thomas C G
TC
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D002465:Cell Movement; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004707:Endoderm / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D006829:Hydra / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins