Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Höltystraße 10, 31535 Neustadt, Germany.
Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 51-59, 63225 Langen, Germany.
Genes (Basel). 2012 Oct 12;3(4):615-33. doi: 10.3390/genes3040615.
Recently, we described a simplified injection method for producing transgenic pigs using a non-autonomous Sleeping Beauty transposon system. The founder animals showed ubiquitous expression of the Venus fluorophore in almost all cell types. To assess, whether expression of the reporter fluorophore affects animal welfare or fecundity, we analyzed reproductive parameters of two founder boars, germ line transmission, and organ and cell specific transgene expression in animals of the F1 and F2 generation. Molecular analysis of ejaculated sperm cells suggested three monomeric integrations of the Venus transposon in both founders. To test germ line transmission of the three monomeric transposon integrations, wild-type sows were artificially inseminated. The offspring were nursed to sexual maturity and hemizygous lines were established. A clear segregation of the monomeric transposons following the Mendelian rules was observed in the F1 and F2 offspring. Apparently, almost all somatic cells, as well as oocytes and spermatozoa, expressed the Venus fluorophore at cell-type specific levels. No detrimental effects of Venus expression on animal health or fecundity were found. Importantly, all hemizygous lines expressed the fluorophore in comparable levels, and no case of transgene silencing or variegated expression was found after germ line transmission, suggesting that the insertions occurred at transcriptionally permissive loci. The results show that Sleeping Beauty transposase-catalyzed transposition is a promising approach for stable genetic modification of the pig genome.
最近,我们描述了一种使用非自主睡美人转座子系统生产转基因猪的简化注射方法。该方法产生的创始动物在几乎所有细胞类型中均普遍表达了 Venus 荧光蛋白。为了评估报告荧光蛋白的表达是否影响动物福利或繁殖力,我们分析了两只创始公猪的繁殖参数、生殖系传递以及 F1 和 F2 代动物的器官和细胞特异性转基因表达。对射出精子细胞的分子分析表明,两个创始动物中均有三个 Venus 转座子的单体整合。为了测试三个单体转座子整合的生殖系传递,我们用野生型母猪进行了人工授精。后代被饲养至性成熟,并建立了半合子系。单体转座子的分离遵循孟德尔定律,在 F1 和 F2 后代中均得到清晰观察。显然,几乎所有的体细胞、卵母细胞和精子都以细胞类型特异性水平表达了 Venus 荧光蛋白。没有发现 Venus 表达对动物健康或繁殖力有不利影响。重要的是,所有半合子系都以可比水平表达荧光蛋白,并且在生殖系传递后未发现转基因沉默或斑驳表达的情况,这表明插入发生在转录允许的位点。结果表明,睡美人转座酶催化的转座是稳定遗传修饰猪基因组的一种很有前途的方法。