Oct4‐EGFP reporter gene expression marks the stem cells in embryonic development and in adult gonads of transgenic medaka12. Issue 1 (27th December 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Froschauer, Alexander; Khatun, Mst. Muslima; Sprott, David; Franz, Alexander; Rieger, Christiane; Pfennig, Frank; Gutzeit, Herwig O.
• Is Part Of: Molecular reproduction and development. Volume 80:Issue 1(2013:Jan.)
• Page Start: 48
• Page End: 58
• Publication Date: 2012-12-27
• Subjects: Reproduction -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Molecular genetics -- Periodicals; Embryology -- Periodicals; 571.8
• DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22135
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-452X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Maintenance of pluripotency in stem cells is tightly regulated among vertebrates. One of the key genes in this process is <italic>oct4</italic>, also referred to as <italic>pou5f1</italic> in mammals and <italic>pou2</italic> in teleosts. <italic>Pou5f1</italic> evolved by duplication of <italic>pou2</italic> early in the tetrapod lineage, but only monotremes and marsupials retained both genes. Either <italic>pou2</italic> or <italic>pou5f1</italic> was lost from the genomes of the other tetrapods that have been analyzed to date. Consequently, these two homologous genes are often designated <italic>oct4</italic> in functional studies. In most vertebrates <italic>oct4</italic> is expressed in pluripotent cells of the early embryo until the blastula stage, and later persist in germline stem cells until adulthood. The isolation and analysis of stem cells from embryo or adult individuals is hampered by the need for reliable markers that can identify and define the cell populations. Here, we report the faithful expression of EGFP under the control of endogenous <italic>pou2</italic>/<italic>oct4</italic> promoters in transgenic medaka (<italic>Oryzias latipes</italic>). In vivo imaging in <italic>oct4</italic>‐EGFP transgenic medaka reveals the temporal and spatial expression of <italic>pou2</italic> in embryos and adults alike. We describe the temporal and spatial patterns of endogenous <italic>pou2</italic> and <italic>oct4</italic>‐EGFP expression in medaka with respect to germline and adult stem cells, and discuss applications of <italic>oct4</italic>‐EGFP transgenic medaka in reproductive and stem cell biology. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80: 48–58, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</p> </abstract>