Pulsed irradiation improves target selectivity of infrared laser-evoked gene operator for single-cell gene induction in the nematode C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Methods for turning on/off gene expression at the experimenter's discretion would be useful for various biological studies. Recently, we reported on a novel microscope system utilizing an infrared laser-evoked gene operator (IR-LEGO) designed for inducing heat shock response efficiently in targeted single cells in living organisms without cell damage, thereby driving expression of a transgene under the control of a heat shock promoter. Although the original IR-LEGO can be successfully used for gene induction, several limitations hinder its wider application. Here, using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a subject, we have made improvements in IR-LEGO. For better spatial control of heating, a pulsed irradiation method using an optical chopper was introduced. As a result, s

SUBMITTER: Suzuki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3896399 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature