Trapping fish genes with transposons.
Several recent papers describe pilot screens establishing enhancer and gene trap methodologies for use in fish. They have proven these approaches by characterizing genes with novel and sometimes unexpected expression patterns. The resulting fish lines with tissue-specific GFP expression patterns are now being used in further developmental genetics experiments, enhancing the value of fish models for exploring novel biological phenomena. Both Tol2 and Sleeping Beauty transposon systems have been successfully adapted for the construction of enhancer and gene trap vectors. This review summarizes the results presented in these papers and compares this first generation of trap vectors. Future challenges and perspectives for wider use of these methodologies are also discussed.
Balciunas
Darius
D
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Transposon Research, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Ekker
Stephen C
SC