Transgenic mouse lines expressing Cre recombinase specifically in posterior notochord and notochord.
During development, the organizer provides instructive signals to surrounding cells as well as contributing cells to axial structures. To dissect organizer function at different developmental stages, conditional approaches such as the Cre/loxP system for conditional mutagenesis are particularly useful. Here we describe two new Cre transgenic mouse lines, Foxa2 NFP-Cre and Nodal PNC-Cre, with activity in two organizer domains, the posterior notochord (PNC) and notochord. These lines were made using defined regulatory elements from the Foxa2 and Nodal genes that direct Cre expression in overlapping domains of the PNC and notochord. Our detailed analysis of the timing and location of Foxa2 NFP-Cre and Nodal PNC-Cre activity indicates that these lines are appropriate for conditional mutagenesis of genes expressed from early somite stages onward.
Laboratory of Protein Dynamics and Signaling, National Cancer Institute, NCI-Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, USA.
Amit
A
Kumar
Taihei
T
Yamaguchi
Prashant
P
Sharma
Michael R
MR
Kuehn
D000818:Animals; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta / Q000235:genetics; D019426:Integrases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D016296:Mutagenesis; D055457:Nodal Protein; D009672:Notochord / Q000378:metabolism*; D020897:Organizers, Embryonic / Q000378:metabolism*; D050436:Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics
C496503:Foxa2 protein, mouse; D055457:Nodal Protein; C526008:Nodal protein, mouse; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases