Efficient target-selected mutagenesis in zebrafish

E Wienholds, F van Eeden, M Kosters, J Mudde… - Genome …, 2003 - genome.cshlp.org
E Wienholds, F van Eeden, M Kosters, J Mudde, RHA Plasterk, E Cuppen
Genome research, 2003genome.cshlp.org
One of the most powerful methods available to assign function to a gene is to inactivate or
knockout the gene. Recently, we described the first target-selected knockout in zebrafish.
Here, we report on the further improvements of this procedure, resulting in a highly efficient
and easy method to do target-selected mutagenesis in zebrafish. A library of 4608 ENU-
mutagenized F1 animals was generated and kept as a living stock. The DNA of these
animals was screened for mutations in 16 genes by use of CEL-I-mediated heteroduplex …
One of the most powerful methods available to assign function to a gene is to inactivate or knockout the gene. Recently, we described the first target-selected knockout in zebrafish. Here, we report on the further improvements of this procedure, resulting in a highly efficient and easy method to do target-selected mutagenesis in zebrafish. A library of 4608 ENU-mutagenized F1 animals was generated and kept as a living stock. The DNA of these animals was screened for mutations in 16 genes by use of CEL-I-mediated heteroduplex cleavage (TILLING) and subsequent resequencing. In total, 255 mutations were identified, of which 14 resulted in a premature stop codon, 7 in a splice donor/acceptor site mutation, and 119 in an amino acid change. By this method, we potentially knocked out 13 different genes in a few months time. Furthermore, we show that TILLING can be used to detect the full spectrum of ENU-induced mutations in a vertebrate genome with the presence of many naturally occurring polymorphisms.
genome.cshlp.org