Cre recombinase activity specific to postnatal, premeiotic male germ cells in transgenic mice.
We have generated a transgenic mouse line,Tg(Stra8-cre)1Reb (Stra8-cre), which expresses improved Cre recombinase under the control of a 1.4 Kb promoter region of the germ cell-specific stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8). cre is expressed only in males beginning at postnatal day (P)3 in early-stage spermatogonia and is detected through preleptotene-stage spermatocytes. To further define when cre becomes active, we crossed Stra8-cre males with Tg(ACTB-Bgeo/GFP)21Lbe (Z/EG) reporter females and compared the expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) with the protein encoded by the zinc finger and BTB domain containing 16 (Zbtb16) gene, PLZF-a marker for undifferentiated spermatogonia. Co-expression of EGFP is observed in the majority of PLZF+ cells. We also tested recombination efficiency by mating Stra8-cre;Z/EG males and females with wild-type mice and examining EGFP expression in the offspring. Recombination is detected in >95% of Z/EG+ pups born to Stra8-cre;Z/EG fathers but in none of the offspring born to transgenic mothers, a verification that cre is not functional in females. The postnatal, premeiotic, male germ cell-specific activity of Stra8-cre makes this mouse line a unique resource to study testicular germ cell development.
Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington.
Patricia I
PI
Sadate-Ngatchou
Christopher J
CJ
Payne
Andrea T
AT
Dearth
Robert E
RE
Braun
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics; D019426:Integrases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D013090:Spermatocytes / Q000254:growth & development*; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*
D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D011506:Proteins; C102019:Stra8 protein, mouse; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases