Name: development of targeting induced local lesions in genomes (tilling) populations in small grain crops by ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis
Uploaded: 2019-07-16T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Development of Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes TILLING Populations in Small Grain Crops by Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1016879 and Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station via MAES Grant No. 2956952.

1. Preparation of dosage curve for effective mutagenesis
<ol>
	<li>Soak 100 seeds with the genotype of interest in six 250 mL glass flasks (100 in each flask) containing 50 mL of distilled water. Shake at 100 rpm for 8 h at room temperature (RT) for imbibition by the seeds.</li>
	<li>In a fume hood, prepare 50 mL of 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1.0%, and 1.2% (w/v) ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) solution by dissolving 0.167, 0.249, 0.331, 0.415, and 0.498 mL of EMS in distilled water, respectively. 
	NOTE: EMS is liquid at RT ...

<ol>
	<li>McCallum, C. M., Comai, L., Greene, E. A., Henikoff, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Targeted+screening+for+induced+mutations.">Targeted screening for induced mutations.</a> Nature Biotechnology. 18 (4), 455-457 (2000).</li><li>Bentley, A., MacLennan, B., Calvo, J., Dearolf, C. 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A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Advances+and+remaining+challenges+in+the+transformation+of+barley+and+wheat.">Advances and remaining challenges in the transformation of barley and wheat.</a> Journal of Experimental Botany. 63 (5), 1791-1798 (2012).</li><li>Henikoff, S., Comai, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Single-Nucleotide+Mutations+for+Plant+Functional+Genomics.">Single-Nucleotide Mutations for Plant Functional Genomics.</a> Annual Review of Plant Biology. 54 (1), 375-401 (2003).</li><li>Uauy, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+modified+TILLING+approach+to+detect+induced+mutations+in+tetraploid+and+hexaploid+wheat.">A modified TILLING approach to detect induced mutations in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat.</a> BMC Plant Biology. 9 (1), 115 (2009).</li><li>Uauy, C., Wulff, B. 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H., Dubcovsky, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Combining+Traditional+Mutagenesis+with+New+High-Throughput+Sequencing+and+Genome+Editing+to+Reveal+Hidden+Variation+in+Polyploid+Wheat.">Combining Traditional Mutagenesis with New High-Throughput Sequencing and Genome Editing to Reveal Hidden Variation in Polyploid Wheat.</a> Annual Review of Genetics. 51 (1), 435-454 (2017).</li><li>Li, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Sequences+of+1504+Mutants+in+the+Model+Rice+Variety+Kitaake+Facilitate+Rapid+Functional+Genomic+Studies.">The Sequences of 1504 Mutants in the Model Rice Variety Kitaake Facilitate Rapid Functional Genomic Studies.</a> The Plant Cell. 29 (6), 1218-1231 (2017).</li><li>Jiao, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+Sorghum+Mutant+Resource+as+an+Efficient+Platform+for+Gene+Discovery+in+Grasses.">A Sorghum Mutant Resource as an Efficient Platform for Gene Discovery in Grasses.</a> The Plant Cell. 28 (7), 1551-1562 (2016).</li><li>Krasileva, K. V., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Uncovering+hidden+variation+in+polyploid+wheat.">Uncovering hidden variation in polyploid wheat.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. , 201619268 (2017).</li><li>Dong, C., Dalton-Morgan, J., Vincent, K., Sharp, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+Modified+TILLING+Method+for+Wheat+Breeding.">A Modified TILLING Method for Wheat Breeding.</a> The Plant Genome. 2 (1), 39-47 (2009).</li><li>Till, B. J., Zerr, T., Comai, L., Henikoff, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+protocol+for+TILLING+and+Ecotilling+in+plants+and+animals.">A protocol for TILLING and Ecotilling in plants and animals.</a> Nature Protocols. 1 (5), 2465-2477 (2006).</li><li>Wu, J. -. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chemical-+and+Irradiation-induced+Mutants+of+Indica+Rice+IR64+for+Forward+and+Reverse+Genetics.">Chemical- and Irradiation-induced Mutants of Indica Rice IR64 for Forward and Reverse Genetics.</a> Plant Molecular Biology. 59 (1), 85-97 (2005).</li><li>Feldman, M., Levy, A. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome+Evolution+Due+to+Allopolyploidization+in+Wheat.">Genome Evolution Due to Allopolyploidization in Wheat.</a> Genetics. 192 (3), 763-774 (2012).</li><li>Comai, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+advantages+and+disadvantages+of+being+polyploid.">The advantages and disadvantages of being polyploid.</a> Nature Reviews Genetics. 6 (11), 836-846 (2005).</li><li>Guo, H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+of+a+High-Efficient+Mutation+Resource+with+Phenotypic+Variation+in+Hexaploid+Winter+Wheat+and+Identification+of+Novel+Alleles+in+the+TaAGP.L-B1+Gene.">Development of a High-Efficient Mutation Resource with Phenotypic Variation in Hexaploid Winter Wheat and Identification of Novel Alleles in the TaAGP.L-B1 Gene.</a> Frontiers in Plant Science. 8, (2017).</li><li>Rakszegi, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Diversity+of+agronomic+and+morphological+traits+in+a+mutant+population+of+bread+wheat+studied+in+the+Healthgrain+program.">Diversity of agronomic and morphological traits in a mutant population of bread wheat studied in the Healthgrain program.</a> Euphytica. 174 (3), 409-421 (2010).</li><li>Tsai, H., Ngo, K., Lieberman, M., Missirian, V., Comai, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Tilling+by+Sequencing.">Tilling by Sequencing.</a> Plant Functional Genomics: Methods and Protocols. , 359-380 (2015).</li></ol>

TILLING is a highly valuable reverse genetics tool for gene validation, especially for small grains where transformation-based approaches have serious bottlenecks11. Developing a mutagenized population with a high mutation frequency is one of the critical steps in conducting functional genomics studies. The most important step in developing a robust TILLING population is to determine the optimal concentration of EMS. The 40%-60% survival rate in the M1 has been found to be a good indica...

Point mutations in genomes can serve many useful purposes for researchers. Depending on their nature and location, these mutations can be used to assign functions to genes or even distinct domains of proteins of interest. On the other hand, as a source of novel genetic variation, useful mutations can be selected for desired traits using phenotyping screens and further used in crop improvement. TILLING is a powerful reverse genetics tool that includes chemical mutagenesis and detection of sequence variation in the target gene. First developed in Arabidopsis1 and Drosophilia melanogaster2, TILLING populations have been developed and utilized in many small grain crops such as hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)3, barley (Hordeum vulgare)4, tetraploid durum wheat (T. dicoccoides durum)5, diploid wheat (T. monococcum)6 and the &#34;D&#34; genome progenitor of wheat Aegilops tauschii7. These resources have been used to validate the roles of genes in regulating abiotic and biotic stress tolerance8, regulating flowering time9, and developing nutritionally superior crop varieties5.
TILLING, along with the use of alkylating mutagenic agents such as ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), sodium azide, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), has advantages over other reverse genetics tools for several reasons. First, mutagenesis can be conducted on practically any species or variety of plant10 and is independent of the transformation bottleneck, which is particularly challenging in the case of small grains11. Second, in addition to generating knockout mutations that can be obtained by other gene validation approaches, a range of missense and splicing mutations can be induced, which can discern functions of individual domains of the proteins of interest12. Moreover, TILLING generates an immortal collection of mutations throughout the genome; thus, a single population can be used for functional validation of multiple genes. In contrast, other reverse genetics tools generate resources specific to only the gene under study13. Useful mutations identified through TILLING can be deployed for breeding purposes and are not subject to regulation, unlike gene editing, whose non-transgenic classification is still uncertain in many countries. This becomes especially relevant to small grains that are internationally traded14.
TILLING is a simple and efficient gene validation strategy and requires mutagenized populations to be developed for investigating genes of interest. Developing an effective mutagenized population is key to determining the efficiency of a TILLING-based gene validation study. A TILLING population with a low overall mutation frequency indicates that an impractically large population must be screened for desired mutations, whereas a high mutagen concentration leads to high mortality in the population and an insufficient number of mutagenized individuals. Once a good population is developed, there are multiple ways to detect mutations in the genes of interest, and the choice of platform depends on the experimental scale and availability of resources. Whole genome sequencing and exome sequencing has been used to characterize all mutations in TILLING populations in plants with small genomes15,16. Exome sequencing of two TILLING populations has been performed in bread and durum wheat and is available to the public for identifying desirable mutations and ordering mutant lines of interest17. It is a great public resource in terms of availability of desirable mutations; however, in gene validation studies, the wild-type line should possess the candidate gene of interest. Unfortunately, it is still cost-prohibitive to sequence the exome of the entire TILLING population for reverse genetics-based validation of a few candidate genes in another background. Amplicon sequencing and Cel-1-based assays have been used in detecting mutations in targeted populations in wheat, and Cel-1 assays are simpler, requiring no computational knowledge, and are especially suitable for validation of a small number of genes with basic lab equipment6,18.
In the present article, described are methods for the development of a good TILLING population, including preparation of the dosage curve, mutagenesis and maintenance of the mutant population, and screening of the mutant population using the PCR-based Cel-1 assay. This protocol has already been implemented successfully in developing and utilizing mutagenized populations of Triticum aestivum, Triticum monoccocum6, barley, Aegilops tauchii7, and several others. Included are explicit details of these methods along with useful tips that will help researchers develop TILLING populations, using EMS as a mutagen in any small grain plant of choice.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>96 well 1.1 ml microtubes in microracks</td>
			<td>National Scientific</td>
			<td>TN0946-08R</td>
			<td>For collecting leaf tissues</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agarose I biotechnology grade</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>0710-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biosprint 96 DNA Plant Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>941558</td>
			<td>Kit for DNA extraction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cel-1 endonuclease</td>
			<td>Extracted as described by Till et al 2006</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Single strand specific endonuclease</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge 5430 R</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethyl methanesulfonate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M-0880-25G</td>
			<td>EMS, Chemical mutagen</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Freeze Dry/Shell freeze system</td>
			<td>Labconco</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>For lyophilization of leaf tissue</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kingfisher Flex purification system</td>
			<td>Thermo fisher scientific</td>
			<td>5400610</td>
			<td>High throughput DNA extraction robot</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>My Taq DNA Polymerase</td>
			<td>Bioline</td>
			<td>BIO-21107</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nuclease free water</td>
			<td>Sigma aldrich</td>
			<td>W4502-1L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NuGenius gel imaging system</td>
			<td>Syngene</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Orbit Environ-shaker</td>
			<td>Lab-line</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SPECTROstar Nano</td>
			<td>BMG LABTECH</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Nano drop for DNA quantification</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T100 Thermal cycler</td>
			<td>BIO-RAD</td>
			<td>1861096</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

development of targeting induced local lesions in genomes (tilling) populations in small grain crops by ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis

Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) is a powerful reverse genetics tool that includes chemical mutagenesis and detection of sequence variation in target genes. TILLING is a highly valuable functional genomics tool for gene validation, especially in small grains in which transformation-based approaches hold serious limitations. Developing a robust mutagenized population is key to determining the efficiency of a TILLING-based gene validation study. A TILLING population with a low overall mutation frequency indicates that an impractically large population must be screened to find desired mutations, whereas a high mutagen concentration leads to high mortality in the population, leading to an insufficient number of mutagenized individuals. Once an effective population is developed, there are multiple ways to detect mutations in a gene of interest, and the choice of platform depends upon the experimental scale and availability of resources. The Cel-1 assay and agarose gel-based approach for mutant identification is convenient, reproducible, and a less resource-intensive platform. It is advantageous in that it is simple, requiring no computational knowledge, and it is especially suitable for validation of a small number of genes with basic lab equipment. In the present article, described are the methods for development of a good TILLING population, including preparation of the dosage curve, mutagenesis and maintenance of the mutant population, and screening of the mutant population using the PCR-based Cel-1 assay.

Figure 2 shows the dosage curve of hexaploid bread wheat cultivar Jagger, diploid wheat Triticum monococcum6, and a genome donor of wheat Aegilops tauschii7. The EMS doses for desired 50% survival rates were about 0.25%, 0.6% and 0.7% for T. monococcum, Ae. tauschii, and T. aestivum, respectively. The higher EMS tolerance of hexaploid wheat is due to its genome buffer...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Development of Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes TILLING Populations in Small Grain Crops by Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis at JoVE.com

Development of Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes TILLING Populations in Small Grain Crops by Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis

Described is a protocol for developing a Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) population in small grain crops with use of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) as a mutagen. Also provided is a protocol for mutation detection using the Cel-1 assay.

Development of Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) Populations in Small Grain Crops by Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis

Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) is a powerful reverse genetics tool that includes chemical mutagenesis and detection of sequence ...

This protocol details the development of robust TILLING populations with high mutation frequency by EMS mutagenesis in small grain crops. TILLING populations can be used for functional genomics, as well as for forward genetic space gene discovery in small grain crops. The TILLING populations developed using this technique have high mutation frequencies, and this protocol can be applied to any genotype.The Cel-1 assay based mutation detection can be conducted using basic lab equipments. The most important step is to determine the optimal EMS concentration. Therefore, an EMS dosage curve should be made specifically for the individual population.To begin, soak 100 seeds with the genotype of interest in each of six 250 milliliter glass flasks, containing 50 milliliters of distilled water. Shake at 100 RPM for eight hours at room temperature for imbibition. Then, in a fume hood, prepare 50 milliliters of EMS solutions of five different concentrations by mixing EMS liquid and distilled water.After imbibition, decant the water out of five flasks. Add 50 milliliters of EMS solution in each of the five flasks containing imbibed seeds. Shake the flasks for 16 hours at 75 RPM and room temperature.Now, decant the EMS solution into an empty waste bottle and pour the treated seeds onto cheesecloth placed on an empty waste bottle to collect separately for each treatment. Use extra water to help pouring of the seeds. Also, spray several milliliters of EMS inactivating solution onto the wall of contaminated flasks.And immerse used pipette tips in the solution for 24 hours. Inactive the used EMS solution by adding one volume of EMS inactivating solution to treat for 24 hours. Using a twist tie, hold the EMS treated seeds inside the cheesecloth and wash under running tap water for two hours.After washing, transplant each seed individually into root trainers containing potting soil. Grow plants at 20 to 25 degrees Celsius for a 16 hour light period. After 15 days of transplantation, check the plants and count the number of seeds that failed to germinate.Record data of plant survival. If the survival rate is not within 40 to 60%conduct a second round of dosage optimization with a modified concentration until achieving the desired lethality rate of 40 to 60%After the mutagenesis experiment, collect the leaf tissue of M2 plants in a 96 well tissue collection box. Tissue is collected from M2 plants which were grown from selfed M1 plants.One M2 plant is shown from each M1 plant. Extract DNA using a plant DNA extraction kit with a DNA purification system following the manufacturer's recommendations. Then, load two microliters of the DNA extract into LV plates with 16 slots.Quantify DNA using a spectrophotometer at wavelengths of 260 and 280 nanometers. Dilute the DNA concentration to 25 nanograms per microliter with nuclease-free water. Create four times DNA pools of 200 microliters by combining the DNA from each well in the four 96 well blocks into a pool plate while maintaining the row and column identity of each sample.Next, prepare a PCR master mix tube for gene specific primers by adding into each tube PCR buffer, forward and reverse primers, and DNA polymerase according to the manuscript. Aliquot the master mix into the wells of a 96 well PCR plate. Then, add the pooled DNA template.Load the PCR tubes into a thermal cycler, and use a touchdown profile to run the PCR reaction on the thermal cycler. To generate heteroduplexes between mismatched DNAs, incubate PCR products in the thermal cycler in a different program. Then, add 2.5 microliters of homemade Cel-1 endonuclease to each of the heteroduplexed PCR products.Incubate for 45 minutes at 45 degrees Celsius. After that, terminate the Cel-1 reaction by adding 2.5 microliters of 0.5 molar EDTA at pH eight. Load 30.5 microliters of each Cel-1 treated product mixed with five microliters of dye onto a 3%agarose gel and run at 100 volts for two and a half hours.To deconvolute mutant pools, determine the zygosity of mutants by running two PCR reactions for individual M2 DNA in which the first reaction contains 2.5 microliters of M2 DNA and 2.5 microliters of wild type DNA and the second reaction contains only five microliters of M2 DNA. This protocol shows EMS mutagenizing of small grain crops and the characterization of mutant. The dosage curve indicates optimal EMS doses for the desired 50%survival rates for three different species of wheat.The presence of easily identifiable phenotypes in the M2 population confirms effectiveness of mutagenesis in small grain populations. Here are four examples of the mutant phenotypes in M2 TILLING populations, an albino mutant in a barley M2 population, a chlorina mutant in a barley M2 population, a variegated mutant with pink discoloration in an Aegilops tauschii M2 population, and a low-tillering mutant in a Triticum monococcum M2 population. A mutant identification using Cel-1 on agarose gel platforms shows a potential mutant pool identified out of 12 mutant pools by unique cleaved bands.The deconvolution of mutant pools determined the zygosity of mutation and helped to track the mutation down to individual samples. The A4 pool had heterozygous mutations, indicated by cleaved bands in both Box 4 and Box 4 wild type DNA samples. The H5 pool contained homozygous mutations as unique cleaved bands were only present in Box 5 H5 wild type DNA sample.The most important step is to determine the optimal concentration of EMS to achieve 40 to 60%lethality rate. Once a TILLING population with a high mutation frequency has been developed it can be used for functional characterization of any gene of interest. Additionally, the population can be a source of useful genetic variation for crop improvement.TILLING has been used extensively for functional genomic studies in model and crop plants. The range of mutations obtained can be missents, knockouts, silent, or even misspliced forms. EMS is a mutagen.Therefore, use appropriate personal protective equipment while handling the EMS. Decontaminate leftover solutions and used pipette tips.

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Quantitative Whole-mount Immunofluorescence Analysis of Cardiac Progenitor Populations in Mouse Embryos

The use of ever-advancing imaging techniques has contributed broadly to our increased understanding of embryonic development. Pre-implantation development ...

Application of RNAi and Heat-shock-induced Transcription Factor Expression to Reprogram Germ Cells to Neurons in C. elegans

Application of RNAi and Heat-shock-induced Transcription Factor Expression to Reprogram Germ Cells to Neurons in C. elegans

Studying the cell biological processes during converting the identities of specific cell types provides important insights into mechanism that maintain ...

Cell Aggregation Assays to Evaluate the Binding of the Drosophila Notch with Trans-Ligands and its Inhibition by Cis-Ligands

Cell Aggregation Assays to Evaluate the Binding of the Drosophila Notch with Trans-Ligands and its Inhibition by Cis-Ligands

Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved cell-cell communication system used broadly in animal development and adult maintenance. Interaction of the ...

Controlled Cortical Impact Model of Mouse Brain Injury with Therapeutic Transplantation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Cells

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Disease pathology due to TBI progresses from the primary mechanical ...

Murine Neural Plate Targeting by In Utero Nano-Injection (NEPTUNE) at Embryonic Day 7.5

Murine Neural Plate Targeting by In Utero Nano-Injection NEPTUNE at Embryonic Day 7.5

Manipulating gene expression in the developing mouse brain in utero holds great potential for functional genetics studies. However, it has previously ...