Tools for genetic and genomic studies in Hydra

描述（由申请人提供）：由于其简单的组成和结构，易于实验操作，再生能力和干细胞系统，Hydra是在组织，细胞和分子水平上研究广泛的生物和健康相关问题的潜在重要模型系统。最近九头蛇基因组序列的完成和一种稳定转基因九头蛇的方法的发表为开发九头蛇作为模型系统提供了重要的新工具。本提案中描述的项目目标是产生资源，允许和激励研究界利用Hydra作为一个实验系统。为了实现这一目标，将有必要有一组具有不同性质的载体用于构建转基因系。因此，该项目的目标之一是开发和验证向量，这些向量将允许：转基因的条件表达；2. 表位标记蛋白的表达；3. 由RNA干扰和毒素基因表达导致的功能表型丧失。该项目的第二个主要目标是进行高通量原位杂交，以确定从Hydra基因组计划中鉴定的广泛基因的表达模式。这些将包括基因编码转录因子，信号蛋白，细胞外基质蛋白和细胞连接蛋白。将特别注意与人类疾病基因同源的九头蛇基因。由此产生的表达模式目录将为使用该项目开发的转基因工具进行基因功能研究提供一个起点。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Because of its simple composition and construction, ease of experimental manipulation, regenerative capacity, and stem cell systems, Hydra is a potentially important model system for investigation of a wide range of biological and health-related problems at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. The recent completion of the Hydra genome sequence and the publication of a method for making stably transgenic Hydra provide important new tools for exploiting Hydra as a model system. The goal of the project described in this proposal is to generate resources that will allow and motivate the research community to exploit Hydra as an experimental system. To achieve this goal it will be necessary to have a set of vectors with various properties for use in constructing transgenic lines. Thus one of the aims of this project is the development and validation of vectors that will allow: 1. Conditional expression of transgenes; 2. Expression of epitope- tagged proteins; 3. Loss of function phenotypes by RNA interference and expression of a toxin gene. The second major aim of the project is to carry out high-throughput in situ hybridization to determine the expression patterns of a wide range of genes identified from the Hydra genome project. These will include genes encoding transcription factors, signaling proteins, extracellular matrix proteins, and cell junction proteins. Particular attention will be paid to Hydra genes homologous to human disease genes. The resulting catalog of expression patterns will provide a starting point for functional studies of genes using the transgenic tools developed by the project. Public Health Relevance: Given the currently available tools and resources for Hydra research and the additional resources that we propose to generate, we envision using these resources to exploit Hydra as a model system for basic biological and biomedical research.