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Published November 8, 2005 | Published
Journal Article Open

Generation of tissue-specific transgenic birds with lentiviral vectors

Abstract

Birds are of great interest for a variety of research purposes, and effective methods for manipulating the avian genome would greatly accelerate progress in fields that rely on birds as model systems for biological research, such as developmental biology and behavioral neurobiology. Here, we describe a simple and effective method for producing transgenic birds. We used lentiviral vectors to produce transgenic quails that express GFP driven by the human synapsin gene I promoter. Expression of GFP was specific to neurons and consistent across multiple generations. Expression was sufficient to allow visualization of individual axons and dendrites of neurons in vivo by intrinsic GFP fluorescence. Tissue-specific transgene expression at high levels provides a powerful tool for biological research and opens new avenues for genetic manipulation in birds.

Additional Information

© 2005 The National Academy of Sciences. Freely available online through the PNAS open access option. Communicated by Susumu Tonegawa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, September 27, 2005 (received for review January 12, 2005). B.B.S. thanks A. Stolfi for assistance with egg injections and H. Y. Chung and L. Smith for help with figures. Author contributions: B.B.S. and C.L. designed research; B.B.S. performed research; B.B.S. analyzed data; and B.B.S. wrote the paper. Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.

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August 22, 2023
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