title: Spatial and temporal control of gene expression in Drosophila using the inducible GeneSwitch GAL4 system. I. Screen for larval nervous system drivers.
abstract: There is a critical need for genetic methods for the inducible expression of transgenes in specific cells during development. A promising approach for this is the GeneSwitch GAL4 system of Drosophila. With GeneSwitch GAL4 the expression of upstream activating sequence (UAS) effector lines is controlled by a chimeric GAL4 protein that becomes active in the presence of the steroid RU486 (mifepristone). To improve the utility of this expression system, we performed a large-scale enhancer-trap screen for insertions that yielded nervous system expression. A total of 204 GeneSwitch GAL4 lines with various larval expression patterns in neurons, glia, and/or muscle fibers were identified for chromosomes I-III. All of the retained lines show increased activity when induced with RU486. Many of the lines reveal novel patterns of sensory neurons, interneurons, and glia. There were some tissue-specific differences in background expression, with muscles and glia being more likely to show activity in the absence of the inducing agent. However, >90% of the neuron-specific driver lines showed little or no background activity, making them particularly useful for inducible expression studies.
authors.affiliation: MCDB Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8103, USA.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Gunisha K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osterwalder
authors.forename: Gregg W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Roman
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Haig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keshishian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005812:Genes, Switch; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000494:pharmacology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009420:Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C052130:GAL4 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D015735:Mifepristone