Friedmann / Giannelli Advances in Genetics

1. Auflage 2002
ISBN: 978-0-08-049354-1
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band Volume 47, 154 Seiten

Reihe: Advances in Genetics

Advances in Genetics increases its focus on modern human genetics and its relation to medicine with the merger of this long-standing serial with Molecular Genetic Medicine. This merger affirms the Academic Press commitment to publish important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines.
Genetics, the science of heredity, lies at the heart of biology, and many diseases are impacted by an individuals genetic make-up. The field of genetics is rapidly evolving and new medical break-throughs are occurring as a result of advances in knowledge of genetics. Advances in Genetics continually publishes important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines. This volume of Advances in Genetics contains the following articles: Targeted Expression of Tetanus Toxin; Germ-line Transformants Spreading Out to Many Insect Species; Genes Mediating Sex-Specific Behaviors in Drosophila; and Evolutionary Analyses of Genes and Their Functional Implications.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Friedmann, Theodore

Giannelli, Francesco

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Advances in Genetics;4
3;Copyright Page;5
4;Contents;6
5;Contributors;8
6;Chapter 1. Targeted Expression of Tetanus Toxin: A New Tool to Study the Neurobiology of Behavior;10
6.1;I. Introduction;11
6.2;II. Mechanism and Action of Tetanus Toxin Light Chain;13
6.3;III. From Electrophysiology to Behavior;20
6.4;IV. Dissecting Behavior;21
6.5;V. Conclusions and Perspectives;41
6.6;References;44
7;Chapter 2. Germline Transformants Spreading Out to Many Insect Species;58
7.1;I. Introduction: The Continuing Relevance of Genetic Transformation Technologies in the Genomics Era;59
7.2;II. Handling Nondrosophilid Insects;62
7.3;III. The P Element Paradigm Is Successful in Non-Drosophilids, but Not with P Elements;63
7.4;IV. Transformation of Nondrosophilid Insects by Transposable Elements;66
7.5;V. Insect Transformation and Genetic Analysis;77
7.6;VI. Promoter Analysis in Transgenic Insects;78
7.7;VII. Concluding Remarks: Generic Technologies and Insect Genetics;86
7.8;References;87
8;Chapter 3. Genes Mediating Sex-Specific Behaviors in Drosophila;96
8.1;I. Introduction;96
8.2;II. The Single-Gene Approach;99
8.3;III. Sex Determination Genes Direct Morphology, Biochemistry, and Behavior;101
8.4;IV. The Brain as a Sexual Organ;111
8.5;V. The Role of Serotonin;112
8.6;VI. Sexual Conflict;113
8.7;VII. Conclusions;118
8.8;References;119
9;Chapter 4. Evolutionary Behavioral Genetics in Drosophila;126
9.1;I. Introduction;127
9.2;II. Clock Genes;128
9.3;III. Genes Involved in Sexual Behavior;135
9.4;IV. Conclusion and Perspectives;148
9.5;References;149
10;Index;160

Leseproben

2 Germline Transformants Spreading Out to Many Insect Species
Peter W. Atkinson    Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 Anthony A. James    Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 ABSTRACT
The past 5 years have witnessed significant advances in our ability to introduce genes into the genomes of insects of medical and agricultural importance. A number of transposable elements now exist that are proving to be sufficiently robust to allow genetic transformation of species within three orders of insects. In particular all of these transposable elements can be used genetically to transform mosquitoes. These developments, together with the use of suitable genes as genetic markers, have enabled several genes and promoters to be transferred between insect species and their effects on the phenotype of the transgenic insect determined. Within a very short period of time, insights into the function of insect promoters in homologous and heterologous insect species are being gained. Furthermore, strategies aimed at ameliorating the harmful effects of pest insects, such as their ability to vector human pathogens, are now being tested in the pest insects themselves. We review the progress that has been made in the development of transgenic technology in pest insect species and conclude that the repertoire of transposable element-based genetic tools, long available to Drosophila geneticists, can now be applied to other insect species. In addition, it is likely that these developments will lead to the generation of pest insects that display a significantly reduced ability to transmit pathogens in the near future. © 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). I INTRODUCTION: THE CONTINUING RELEVANCE OF GENETIC TRANSFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE GENOMICS ERA
Genetic transformation is the process of integrating exogenous DNA into the germline of whole organisms so that it is inherited in subsequent generations. The intent of these efforts is to create a stable change in the phenotype of the target organism that can be used to answer basic questions about the physiological, genetic, or other effects of the integrated DNA. As such, transformation technologies have had a profound effect on our understanding of the molecular genetics of those organisms in which it has been developed. They provide a means by which the identification and function of cloned genes can be validated and directly enables the functional consequences of in vitro generated mutations in genes to be evaluated in the organism itself. As genomic technologies become applied to an increasing number of organisms, and whole genome sequencing projects become more commonplace, genetic transformation will be increasingly important in unequivocally establishing the genetic function of newly discovered genes and in establishing the interrelationships between genes and the proteins they encode. The inability to clearly define the function of presumptive genes identified from genomic sequencing projects may become a significant bottleneck in those species in which a robust gene transfer technology is absent. Fortunately, genetic transformation is now also becoming commonplace in many insect species. Genetic transformation of the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been a widely applied technique since 1982; the simplicity of the methods, together with the large number of both Drosophila mutant stocks and cloned genes, serves to further enhance genetic analyses of this insect. Within several years of the first report of D. melanogaster transformation, sophisticated transformation-based genetic techniques such as gene tagging and enhancer trapping were deployed, enabling genes to be identified and cloned on the basis of their tissue-specific or temporal expression properties. With the entire genome of D. melanogaster now sequenced and in excess of 13,000 genes being identified on the basis of gene organization and primary sequence (Adams et al., 2000), genetic transformation will play an important role in assigning function to a large number of these genes. For example, reverse-genetics approaches using gene replacement techniques (Rong and Golic, 2000) or RNA inhibition (Kennerdell and Carthew, 2000) will enable the assessment of the impact of null mutations of specific genes on phenotypes. A robust transformation technology consists of techniques that allow reasonably high efficiencies of integration of exogenous DNA into a target species. These techniques depend on the availability of efficient marker genes for transformation, and gene vectors that integrate the foreign DNA into the chromosomes. The most successful approaches in insects rely on transposable element-mediated integration of DNA. Until recently, this technology had not been developed in insects other than D. melanogaster and closely related drosophilids. This situation changed abruptly in late 1995 with the first demonstration of Minos transposable element transformation of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Loukeris et al., 1995a). Since then, there has been an impressive increase in both the number of insect species that have been transformed and the number of transposable element vectors that are capable of being used to transform them (Table 2.1). The number of insect species within each common group of transformed insects, combined with the number of transposable elements used to achieve this, is shown in Figure 2.1. If this same graph had been compiled by early 1995, the only group that would be represented would be the vinegar flies—the family Drosophilidae. The progress made in the past 5 years has been remarkable, particularly the development of four separate transformation systems for use in mosquitoes. Six insect-derived transposable elements now exist that can act as gene vectors in insects. Two of these, P and hobo, appear restricted for use in drosophilids only, while the remaining four, Hermes, mariner (represented by the Mos1 element), Minos, and piggyBac, have far wider host ranges. All are Class II transposable elements, mobilizing through a DNA intermediate (Finnegan, 1985). Table 2.1 Genetic Transformation of Insects by Transposase-Mediated Recombination of Transposable Elementsa Fruit flies Tephritidae Ceratitus capitata Minos Loukeris et al., 1995a. piggyBac Handler et al., 1998. Hermes Michel et al., 2001. Bactrocera dorsalis piggyBac Handler and McCombs, 2000. Anastrapha suspensa piggyBac Handler and Harrell, 2001. Vinegar flies Drosophilidae Drosophila melanogaster P Rubin and Spradling, 1982. hobo Blackman et al., 1989. Mos1 Lidholm et al., 1993. Minos Loukeris et al, 1995b. Hermes O’Brochta et al., 1996. piggyBac Handler and Harrell, 1999. Drosophila virilis hobo Lozovskaya et al., 1996. Mos1 Lohe and Hartl, 1996. Drosophila simulans P Scavarda and Hartl, 1984. Drosophila hawaiiensis P Brennan et al., 1984. Houseflies Muscidae Musca domestica piggyBac Hediger et al., 2001. Mos1 Yoshiyama et al., 2000. Stomoxys calcitrans Hermes Lehane et al., 2000 Blowflies Calliphoridae Lucilia cuprina piggyBac Heinrich et al., 2002. Mosquitoes Culicidae Aedes aegypti Hermes Jasinskiene et al.,...