BIO 308 - Genes and Development - Dr. Daley

 

Nucleus or Cytoplasm: Which Controls Heredity?

     Thomas Hunt Morgan allied himself with embryologist that believed the control of development lay within the cytoplasm

 

     Edmund Beecher Wilson - allied himself with Theordor Boveri - nucleus contained the instructions for development

 

Split Between Embryology and Genetics

     EB Wilson and Nettie Stevens demonstrated a critical correlation between nuclear chromosomes and organismal development - XO and XY became male and XX became female

     Then Morgan began to find mutations correlated with sex and the X chromosome

   He now viewed genes as being physically linked to one another on the chromosomes

   Thus Morgan had shown that nuclear chromosomes are responsible for the development of inherited characters

 

Split Between Embryology and Genetics

     By the 1930’s - this type of genetics began to be considered to be separate from embryology

     Geneticists needed to demonstrate the existence of inherited variants during early development

   They also needed to show how the same chromosomes could produce different cell types

     So early embryologist did not want to ground their science in gene action

 

Developmental Genetics

     Early - Salome Gluecksohn-Schoenheimer & Conrad Hal Waddington contributed to the reunion of development and genetics

     Genomic equivalence -

   salamander regeneration - lens removed then a new lens can form from the cells of the dorsal iris

   A common example of metaplasia - Respiratory epith. - undergo metaplasia in response to inhaled irritants in tobacco smoke

 

Wolffian Regeneration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amphibian Cloning - Restriction of Nuclear Potency

   Totipotent - cells nucleus is capable of directing the entire development of the organism when transplanted into an enucleated egg

   King and Briggs in 1952 - transplanted a blastula stage nucleus into an enucleated egg and got the embryo to the tadpole stage

 

Amphibian Cloning - Restriction of Nuclear Potency

   Later stages were less able to direct development  - nuclei of somatic cells of tail bud stage - no develop

   Thus most somatic cells lose their ability to direct development as they become determined and differentiated

 

Success of Nuclear Transplants

 

 

 

 

 

Amphibian Cloning

 

 

 

 


The Pluripotency of Somatic Cells

   Gurdon and colleagues - worked with Xenopus

   Similar results to King and Briggs

   However intestinal endodermal cells were generally more capable of directing development

 

Clone of Xenopus

 

 

 

Intestinal Nuclei and Development

 

 

 

 

Cloning in Mammals

   Ian Wilmut in 1997 - announced cloning of a somatic cell into an adult sheep - Dolly

   Cells from mammary gland of adult pregnant ewe - into culture

  Maintained in G0 of cell cycle

   Next oocytes from different strain - removed nuclei

   Next the fusion of donor cells and enucleated oocyte via electrical pulses

  Fused the cells and activated development

 

Cloning in Mammals

   Next the embryos transferred to uteri of pregnant sheep

   Of 434 sheep oocytes - only one survives - Dolly

   DNA analysis confirmed that the nuclei of Dolly’s cells  were derived from the donor nucleus

   Similar results with cows - Kato et al. 1998 and mice (Wakayama et al. 1998)

Cloned Mammals

 

 

 

Cloning in Mice

 

 

 

 

 

Differential Gene Expression

   Only a small percentage of the genome is expressed in each cell & a portion of the RNA synthesized in the cell is specific for that cell type

   Polytene chromosomes (DNA that replicates without mitosis and is - 512 (29), 1024 (210) or more parallel DNA strands held together)

   The puffed out regions are transcribing RNA

DNA-RNA Hybridization

   Used to confirm differential gene expression

   Accomplished by annealing single-stranded pieces of RNA and DNA - to allow complementary strands to form double stranded hybrids

   Some mRNA in all cells - encode metabolic enzymes

   Other mRNA’s only in certain cell types and not in others

  How this occurs - next lecture

RNA Localization Techniques

   Northern blotting

  First extract RNA from different organs of the same embryo

  Developmental Northern blots

  Place samples on gel and separate by applying electrical current - electrophoresis

  Separated by size - smallest move the fastest

  Place separated RNA’s on nitrocellulose paper

  Now incubate papers in solution of radioactive single-stranded DNA fragment from a particular gene

  The DNA only binds to regions of the filter paper where complementary RNA is located

 

RNA Localization Techniques

  Northern blotting cont.

  X-ray film is placed above the filter and incubated in the dark

  Dark spots on film - indicate where the radioactive DNA has bound

 

Northern Blot

 

 

 

 

Northern Blot

 

 

 

 

 

RNA Localization Techniques

   In situ Hybridization

  The Embryos or organs are fixed to preserve structure & prevent RNA from being degraded

  Section  for microscopy - placed on slide

  Radioactive DNA probe added - binds only where complementary mRNA is present

  Slide cover with photographic emulsion for autoradiography

 

 In situ Hybridization

 

 

 

 

 

 

RNA Localization Techniques

   Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

  Method of in vitro gene cloning - making numerous copies of the same DNA sequence

  Method provides a means for finding mRNA for specific proteins in embryos - especially helpful because only a small amount would be present

  mRNA via reverse transcriptase into complementary DNA

  DNA polymerase & S1 nuclease - now make double stranded cDNAs

  Next specific cDNA is targeted for amplification

 

Transgenic Cells and Organisms

   Inserting new DNA

  Cloned DNA can be injected into nucleus - in transfection, DNA is incubated so that the host cells takes it up - incorporation of the donor DNA is rare

  If however the new gene is mixed with a gene giving resistance to an antibiotic, then only those cells with the new genes survive in a antibiotic culture

  Electroporation - high-voltage pulse pushes DNA into host cell

 

Chimeric Mice

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) with new gene microinjected into host embryo

   Transgenic ES cells integrate into embryo

   Chimeric mouse (two different genomes)

 

Transgenic Mice

 

 

 

 

 

Transgenic Mice

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gene Targeting Experiments

   “Knockout experiments”

   ES cells are cultured - target gene cut with a restriction enzyme - cut gene replace with neomycin resistant gene - ES cells selected by neomycin resistance

   Next ES cells injected into blastocyst - then into uterus of pregnant female rat

 

Gene Targeting

 

 

 

 

Gene Targeting

 

 

 

 

Antisense RNA - Determining message function

   Use antisense copies of a mRNA to block the function of the message - reveals the function of the message

   Clone DNA into vectors that have promoters at both ends of the inserted gene

 

Antisense RNA - Determining message function

   RNA polymerase - promoter will initiate transcription in the wrong direction

  The transcript is complementary to the natural one - called antisense RNA

   Injection of antisense RNA into cells with normal mRNA - the two bind - then degraded - functional deletion of the message

Embryonic Stem Cells (ES)

 

 

 

 

 

Embryonic Stem Cells (ES)