Developing new tools for the application of site-specific recombinases in zebrafish

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In contrast to mammals, most non-mammalian vertebrates have retained the capacity to generate new neurons in many areas of the adult brain. Therefore, the identification of 16 highly conserved prolifera-tive domains in the adult zebrafish brain provides an important mean to our understanding of the me-chanisms that maintain adult stem cell activity. However, better understanding requires a different set of genetic tools. In mouse, site-specific recombinases like Cre have emerged as an indispensable resource for stem cell research. We recently showed that Cre is also highly efficient in zebrafish. In order to utilize this potential, we aim to expand the pool of conditional Cre driver lines and perform a large-scale promoter and gene trap screen to isolate novel alleles expressing Cre in different domains of the adult brain. Furthermore, we will use the flip-excision technology (FlEx) to isolate conditional knockout alleles which are currently unavailable in zebrafish. The results should provide better tools for the manipulation of the adult zebrafish brain and consequently insights into the mechanisms underlying adult neural stem cell activity in the vertebrate brain.