Electric organ discharge from electric eel facilitates DNA transformation into teleost larvae in laboratory conditions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Electric eels (Electrophorus sp.) are known for their ability to produce electric organ discharge (EOD) reaching voltages of up to 860 V. Given that gene transfer via intense electrical pulses is a well-established technique in genetic engineering, we hypothesized that electric eels could potentially function as a gene transfer mechanism in their aquatic environment.

Methods

To investigate this hypothesis, we immersed zebrafish larvae in water containing DNA encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and exposed them to electric eel's EOD.

Results and discussion

Some embryos exhibited a mosaic expression of green fluorescence, in contrast to the control group without electrical stimulation, which showed little distinct fluorescence. This sug

SUBMITTER: Sakaki S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10702328 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature