New tool for comparative ge...( A great deal is known about how model...)

A great deal is known about how model organisms such as fruit flies, nematodes and mice develop. But what about beetles, frogs, and birds? Scientists who study gene function in non-model organisms may get a boost from a new technique developed by Nipam Patel, Ph.D., assistant professor of organismal biology & anatomy and Howard Hughes Investigator at the University of Chicago.

Patels technique allows scientists to introduce desired genes directly into embryonic cells using the baculovirus, which normally infects and reproduces in only a few species of moths. He has used the virus to carry foreign genes into frog and beetle, as well as fruit fly embryonic cells and believes the virus will prove effective in a wide range of other species.

The results of his findings are published in the November 18 issue of Current Biology.

"The baculovirus vector can easily infect a wide range of species," says Patel. "But outside of its normal moth host, the virus is unable to replicate, so there are minimal side effects."

Previously, the opportunity to study gene expression in non-model organisms was very limited. Techniques to create animals in which new genes are permanently inserted into their genomes have only been established for a few animals. Even then, the usefulness of these transgenic organisms is only realized after several generations. This presents a problem when studying animals with generation times measured in months or years.

Since the baculovirus cant reproduce outside of its normal moth host, infection is limited to cells near the injection site. This allows researchers to target experimental genes to specific areas.

As infected cells divide, the introduced genes eventually become diluted. But researchers who study developmental processes that occur early in embryogenesis need the genes to work for only a short time in order to test their theories.

Patel has already used this technique to study the gene 'wingless' (w
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Contact: Sharon Parmet
sparmet@mcis.bsd.uchicago.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center
17-Nov-1999