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‘Shocking’ developments in chick embryology: electroporation and in ovo gene expression

Nature Cell Biology volume 1, pages E203–E207 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Efficient gene transfer by electroporation of chick embryos in ovo has allowed the development of new approaches to the analysis of gene regulation, function and expression, creating an exciting opportunity to build upon the classical manipulative advantages of the chick embryonic system. This method is applicable to other vertebrate embryos and is an important tool with which to address cell and developmental biology questions. Here we describe the technical aspects of in ovo electroporation, its different applications and future perspectives.

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Figure 1: Electroporation-mediated gene expression in cultured chick and mouse embryos.
Figure 2: Electroporation into different chick tissues.
Figure 3: Spatially restricted expression in chick embryos, using region-specific enhancers from different species.
Figure 4: Application of electroporation to analysis of gene regulation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Manzanares for constructing the Hoxa3 vectors and help in testing their activity; A. Morrison, S. Nonchev, H. Popperl, M. Studer and H. Marshall for the region-specific enhancer constructs; and K. Kusumi, T. Jinks and M. Martínez-Pastor for discussions and testing approaches for electroporation. N.I. thanks H. Nakamura, J.-i. Funahashi and N. Osumi for technical suggestions; and Y. Imada and Y. Hayakawa for technical support. S.B.-V. was supported by fellowships from the French Cancer Research Association (ASC) and EMBO; N.I. was supported by an HFSP fellowship and the MRC; R.K.’s research was funded by the MRC.

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  1. Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, UK

    Nobue Itasaki, Sophie Bel-Vialar & Robb Krumlauf

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  1. Nobue Itasaki
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Correspondence to Robb Krumlauf.

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Itasaki, N., Bel-Vialar, S. & Krumlauf, R. ‘Shocking’ developments in chick embryology: electroporation and in ovo gene expression . Nat Cell Biol 1, E203–E207 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/70231

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