title: A Novel Reporter Rat Strain That Conditionally Expresses the Bright Red Fluorescent Protein tdTomato.
abstract: Despite the strength of the Cre/loxP recombination system in animal models, its application in rats trails that in mice because of the lack of relevant reporter strains. Here, we generated a floxed STOP tdTomato rat that conditionally expresses a red fluorescent protein variant (tdTomato) in the presence of exogenous Cre recombinase. The tdTomato signal vividly visualizes neurons including their projection fibers and spines without any histological enhancement. In addition, a transgenic rat line (FLAME) that ubiquitously expresses tdTomato was successfully established by injecting intracytoplasmic Cre mRNA into fertilized ova. Our rat reporter system will facilitate connectome studies as well as the visualization of the fine structures of genetically identified cells for long periods both in vivo and ex vivo. Furthermore, FLAME is an ideal model for organ transplantation research owing to improved traceability of cells/tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.|Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.|Tohoku University Division for Interdisciplinary Advanced Research and Education, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic and Behavioral Neuroscience, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.|Bioresource center, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Egawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic and Behavioral Neuroscience, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuchio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yanagawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.|Center for Gene & Cell Therapy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onimaru
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.|Department of Developmental Biology and Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yawo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial; D000229:Dependovirus; D018274:Electroporation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D019426:Integrases; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D019076:Transgenes; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
chemical_list: D019426:Integrases; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein; C045073:Cre recombinase