Tissue- and site-specific DNA recombination in transgenic mice.

TLDR

The system enables in vivo studies of gene function with defined spatial and temporal control. The method uses transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase and a loxP‑flanked β‑galactosidase transgene to achieve heritable, tissue‑specific, site‑specific DNA recombination. Cre-mediated recombination in doubly transgenic mice was tissue‑specific, highly efficient at distinct chromosomal sites, and can serve as a heritable marker for mitoses after Cre loss.

Abstract

We have developed a method of specifically modifying the mammalian genome in vivo. This procedure comprises heritable tissue-specific and site-specific DNA recombination as a function of recombinase expression in transgenic mice. Transgenes encoding the bacteriophage P1 Cre recombinase and the loxP-flanked beta-galactosidase gene were used to generate transgenic mice. Genomic DNA from doubly transgenic mice exhibited tissue-specific DNA recombination as a result of Cre expression. Further characterization revealed that this process was highly efficient at distinct chromosomal integration sites. These studies also imply that Cre-mediated recombination provides a heritable marker for mitoses following the loss of Cre expression. This transgene-recombination system permits unique approaches to in vivo studies of gene function within experimentally defined spatial and temporal boundaries.