Manipulation of the prairie vole genome
Catherine
Barrett1, 2, 3*,
Zoe
Donaldson4,
Shang-Hsun
Yang3,
Anthony
W.
Chan1, 3, 5 and
Larry
J.
Young1, 2, 3, 5
-
1
University of Zagreb, Program in Neuroscience, United States
-
2
University of Zagreb, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, United States
-
3
University of Zagreb, Yerkes National Primate Center, United States
-
4
Columbia University, Psychology Department, United States
-
5
University of Zagreb, Department of Psychiatry, United States
Prairie voles(Microtus ochrogaster) rich sociosexual repertoire of behavior Characterized by lifelong social attachments and biparental care make them ideal model organisms for studying the genetic and neurobiological mechanism regulating behavior. Molecular mechanisms mediating this social organization may shed light on social behavioral disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. However, the field is limited in its understanding of the mechanistic control of social behavior as no routine transgenic manipulations exist for nontraditional organisms. Our lab has recently created a line of voles expressing a GFP transgene, and we are beginning to extend this technology to more detailed research of behavioral genetics. Here we present our preliminary attempts at generating transgenic voles with altered vasopressin (V1a) receptor expression using RNA interference, in which short hairpin RNAs chosen based on their knockdown efficacy in vitro are inserted into the genome of single-cell embryos using lentiviral vector gene transfer. This manipulation will allow us to investigate the causal relationship between V1a receptor expression and social behavioral outcomes. Methods, preliminary results, and potential complications of in vivo shRNA expression are discussed. The ability to manipulate the genome of prairie voles will open the door for a wide variety of investigations using nontraditional organisms chosen based on their relevance to specific behavioral questions rather than their ease of study.
Conference:
2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences, Atlanta , United States, 5 Mar - 7 Mar, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Posters
Citation:
Barrett
C,
Donaldson
Z,
Yang
S,
Chan
AW and
Young
LJ
(2010). Manipulation of the prairie vole genome.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.04.00024
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Received:
15 Mar 2010;
Published Online:
15 Mar 2010.
*
Correspondence:
Catherine Barrett, University of Zagreb, Program in Neuroscience, Atlanta, United States, cbarre2@emory.edu