Targeted single-cell induction of gene products inCaenorhabditis elegans: A new tool for developmental studies

✍ Scribed by Stringham, Eve G. ;Candido, E. Peter M.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 835 KB
• Volume: 266
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402660309

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Heat shock promoters have been employed to achieve tightly regulated expression of transformed genes in a wide variety of model systems including tissue culture cells, bacteria, yeast, Drosophila, and more recently Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we investigate the feasibility of using a laser microbeam to induce a sub‐lethal heat shock response in individual cells of C. elegans. We demonstrate that in transgenic strains carrying heat shock promoter‐lacZ fusions, single cell expression of β‐galactosidase in a variety of cell types of endodermal, mesodermal, or ectodermal origin can be achieved after pulsing with a laser. A tissue‐general, inducible promoter can therefore be converted into one of single cell specificity which can be induced rapidly at any point in development, offering unique opportunities to study cell‐cell interactions in C. elegans. This technique defines a new approach to generate mosaic animals and may be adaptable to other organisms or tissues. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.