Presentation Information
[P01-050]Transposon-based genetic technologies in distinct biological systems
○Akihiro Urasaki1, Jun Ishii1 (1. Kobe University (Japan))
Keywords:
transposon
Transposons are mobile genetic elements present in all domains of life and play fundamental roles in genome evolution. In microorganisms, transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis has been widely used as a powerful approach for gene function analysis. Based on this framework, we have developed transposon–based genetic technologies in model animals.
The Tol2 transposon system enables efficient genomic integration into vertebrate genomes. With this system, gene trap and enhancer trap approaches have been established in zebrafish. These constructs carry either a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter or the yeast Gal4 transcriptional activator, and their random integration generates transgenic fish expressing GFP or Gal4 in specific cells, tissues, or organs. These lines serve as valuable resources for developmental biology. In particular, Gal4-expressing lines enable ectopic expression of genes of interest under the control of upstream activating sequences (UAS), allowing targeted visualization, manipulation, or ablation of specific cell populations. In addition, we established an in vivo transposition system that enables transposon mobilization without microinjection, in which transposition events are efficiently induced by simple genetic crossing between a transposon donor line and a transposase-expressing line.
Tol2 has become a versatile tool in vertebrate biology. Beyond vertebrate systems, microbial genome engineering is gaining increasing importance in addressing global sustainability challenges, including fossil resource use and carbon dioxide emissions. In this context, we are extending transposon technologies in microorganisms beyond conventional gene disruption toward applications such as gene expression visualization, inducible gene regulation, and metabolic engineering. These approaches could contribute to more precise and scalable manipulation of microbial systems for both fundamental research and industrial applications. In this presentation, we summarize these transposon-based technologies and discuss their future applications in genome engineering and synthetic biology.
The Tol2 transposon system enables efficient genomic integration into vertebrate genomes. With this system, gene trap and enhancer trap approaches have been established in zebrafish. These constructs carry either a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter or the yeast Gal4 transcriptional activator, and their random integration generates transgenic fish expressing GFP or Gal4 in specific cells, tissues, or organs. These lines serve as valuable resources for developmental biology. In particular, Gal4-expressing lines enable ectopic expression of genes of interest under the control of upstream activating sequences (UAS), allowing targeted visualization, manipulation, or ablation of specific cell populations. In addition, we established an in vivo transposition system that enables transposon mobilization without microinjection, in which transposition events are efficiently induced by simple genetic crossing between a transposon donor line and a transposase-expressing line.
Tol2 has become a versatile tool in vertebrate biology. Beyond vertebrate systems, microbial genome engineering is gaining increasing importance in addressing global sustainability challenges, including fossil resource use and carbon dioxide emissions. In this context, we are extending transposon technologies in microorganisms beyond conventional gene disruption toward applications such as gene expression visualization, inducible gene regulation, and metabolic engineering. These approaches could contribute to more precise and scalable manipulation of microbial systems for both fundamental research and industrial applications. In this presentation, we summarize these transposon-based technologies and discuss their future applications in genome engineering and synthetic biology.
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