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Genetics, Vol. 178, 215-234, January 2008, Copyright © 2008
doi:10.1534/genetics.107.081968
Spatial and Temporal Control of Gene Expression in Drosophila Using the Inducible GeneSwitch GAL4 System. I. Screen for Larval Nervous System Drivers
Louise Nicholson*,
Gunisha K. Singh*,
Thomas Osterwalder*,1,
Gregg W. Roman
,
Ronald L. Davis
and
Haig Keshishian*,2
* MCDB Department, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8103, Biology and Biochemistry Department, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030
2 Corresponding author: MCDB Department, Yale University, POB 208103, New Haven, CT 06520-8103.
E-mail: haig.keshishian{at}yale.edu
There is a critical need for genetic methods for the inducible expression of transgenes in specific cells during development. A promising approach for this is the GeneSwitch GAL4 system of Drosophila. With GeneSwitch GAL4 the expression of upstream activating sequence (UAS) effector lines is controlled by a chimeric GAL4 protein that becomes active in the presence of the steroid RU486 (mifepristone). To improve the utility of this expression system, we performed a large-scale enhancer-trap screen for insertions that yielded nervous system expression. A total of 204 GeneSwitch GAL4 lines with various larval expression patterns in neurons, glia, and/or muscle fibers were identified for chromosomes I–III. All of the retained lines show increased activity when induced with RU486. Many of the lines reveal novel patterns of sensory neurons, interneurons, and glia. There were some tissue-specific differences in background expression, with muscles and glia being more likely to show activity in the absence of the inducing agent. However, >90% of the neuron-specific driver lines showed little or no background activity, making them particularly useful for inducible expression studies.
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