title: Synaptotagmin10-Cre, a driver to disrupt clock genes in the SCN.
abstract: Surgical lesion of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) profoundly affects the circadian timing system. A complication of SCN ablations is the concomitant scission of SCN afferents and efferents. Genetic disruption of the molecular clockwork in the SCN provides a complementary, less invasive experimental approach. The authors report the generation and functional analysis of a new Cre recombinase driver mouse that evokes homologous recombination with high efficiency in the SCN. They inserted the Cre recombinase cDNA into the Synaptotagmin10 (Syt10) locus, a gene strongly expressed in the SCN. Heterozygous Synaptotagmin10-Cre (Syt10(Cre)) mice have no obvious circadian locomotor phenotype, and homozygous animals show slightly reduced light-induced phase delays. Crosses of Syt10(Cre) mice with β-galactosidase reporter animals revealed strong Cre activity in the vast majority of SCN cells. Cre activity is not detected in nonneuronal tissues with the exception of the testis. The authors demonstrate that conditionally deleting the clock gene Bmal1 using the Syt10(Cre) driver renders animals arrhythmic.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Behavior Department, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Husse
authors.forename: Xunlei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shostak
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eichele
mesh_terms: D056930:ARNTL Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D056926:CLOCK Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D055879:Gene Knock-In Techniques; D059765:Homologous Recombination; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000235:genetics; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D050857:Synaptotagmins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D056930:ARNTL Transcription Factors; C538961:Bmal1 protein, mouse; C558646:Syt10 protein, mouse; D050857:Synaptotagmins; D056926:CLOCK Proteins; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase