This work was performed with the support of a grant, 5R21HD080684-02, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The author wishes to thank Ken Cho for his continuing enthusiasm and support. The author would also like to acknowledge Bruce Blumberg for use of his camera, Rebekah Charney, for the critical reading of the manuscript, and Sean McNamara and Marcin Wlizla at the National Xenopus Resource (RRID:SCR_013731), for the valuable conversations regarding X. tropicalis feeding and animal care regimens.

All methods described here have been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of California, Irvine.
1. Preparations for PGC Transplantation
<ol>
	<li>Prepare dissection tools in advance, as previously described23. 
	NOTE: Eyebrow hair knives are used to make incisions with the assistance of a hair loop to stabilize the embryo while performing the surgeries. Eyebrow hairs and hair loops are glued into borosilicate glass Pasteur pipettes that have first been drawn in a flame and broken on the thinned portion (see Figure 1A, arrowhead) to create a shorter, narrower tip (Figure 1B) for greater dexterity when performing surgeries.</li>
	<li>Generate sgRNAs using procedures previously described24 . 
	NOTE: Briefly, short DNA templates coding for sgRNAs are created using overlapping deoxyoligonucleotides containing 5&#39; bacteriophage T7 promoters, which are annealed and &#34;filled in&#34; by an error-free, thermostable DNA polymerase. In vitro sgRNA synthesis reactions are incubated for several hours to overnight (depending on the kit used). Reactions are DNAse-treated to remove the template. The sgRNAs are purified by standard methods of phenol/chloroform extraction and ammonium acetate/isopropanol precipitation, according to the kit manufacturer&#39;s instructions24.</li>
	<li>Shortly before performing microinjections, prepare Cas9-sgRNA complexes by first denaturing ~250 ng of sgRNA in a 3 &#181;L total volume of RNAse-free (diethylpyrocarbonate-treated) H2O at 60-65 &#176;C for 5 min, followed by quick-cooling on ice for 5 min. Centrifuge the sgRNA for a few seconds, add 1 &#181;L of 1 &#181;g/&#181;L Cas9 protein, and incubate for 10 min at 37 &#176;C to promote complex formation. 
	NOTE: Following this incubation, the tube can be kept on ice while preparing the embryos for microinjection.</li>
	<li>Obtain X. tropicalis embryos by in vitro fertilization using standard methods, as previously described25. De-jelly25,26 the embryos at 10 min post-fertilization. 
	NOTE: Fertilization time is considered the time after the sperm suspension is added to the eggs and the dish is flooded with 1/9thX Marc&#39;s Modified Ringers (MMR)26. For X. tropicalis25, unlike X. laevis, perform the de-jellying in 1/9x MMR containing 3% cysteine free base (not the HCl salt), pH adjusted to 7.8-8.0, followed by multiple washes in 1/9x MMR. Transfer the embryos to an agarose (1%)-coated dish containing 1/9x MMR at room temperature.</li>
	<li>Immediately transfer the embryos to be injected to a 1% agarose-coated dish containing 1x MMR using a Pasteur pipette.</li>
	<li>Inject at the 1-cell stage. See references26,27 for detailed descriptions of Xenopus microinjection methods.
	<ol>
		<li>Inject each embryo at a single site in the animal pole, with 4 nL of Cas9-sgRNA complex (final amount = 1 ng of Cas9 and ~250 pg of sgRNA; see the Discussion)24. After 10-20 min of injection site healing, transfer the embryos to an agarose-coated dish containing 1/9x MMR and incubate at 25 &#176;C. Also create a dish of uninjected sibling embryos that will serve as graft recipients.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Prepare Petri plates (60 mm) that contain a ~5 mm-thick layer of 1% agarose made in 0.3x MMR, if doing transplantations in X. tropicalis, or 1x MMR for X. laevis.
	<ol>
		<li>Create depressions ~3-4 mm deep by inserting a 3- x 4-well mold (created by cutting a 96-well PCR plate) into the molten agarose when pouring the plates (see Figure 1C and D). Hold the mold several millimeters above the bottom of the Petri dish using a clamp attached to a ring stand until the agarose has hardened.</li>
		<li>Additionally, make a 24-well plate to house individual embryos by coating the wells with a thin layer of 1% agarose made in 1/9x MMR. 
		NOTE: The culture medium added to these wells is 1/9x MMR supplemented with 50 &#181;g of gentamycin sulfate/mL.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Transplantation of PGCs
<ol>
	<li>When the embryos just reach Nieuwkoop and Faber28 blastula stage 9 (Figure 2A), ~4.5 h post-fertilization (hpf) for X. tropicalis, remove them from the 25 &#176;C incubator and allow them to equilibrate to room temperature for an additional 0.5 h.</li>
	<li>To begin the transplantation at 5 hpf (Figure 2B), use a Pasteur pipette to transfer one PGC donor embryo (injected with Cas9-sgRNA) to the 60 mm agarose dish containing depressions (created in step 1.7) in 0.3x MMR (or 1x MMR if using X. laevis). Also transfer one uninjected sibling embryo, the graft recipient, to this dish. 
	NOTE: It is critical that the identities of each of these embryos are not confused.</li>
	<li>Manually remove the vitelline envelopes from each embryo using forceps and rotate both embryos so that their vegetal poles are in view and accessible for surgery. 
	NOTE: A description of manual de-vitellination of embryos has previously been described26.</li>
	<li>Using the sharp tip of an eyebrow hair knife, make four shallow incisions in the shape of a square on the vegetal pole of the recipient embryo, inside the zone where future bottle cells that mark the blastopore will form. Make the incisions by inserting the tip of the eyebrow hair knife into the embryo, just below the surface, and make upward slicing movements while stabilizing the embryo with the hair loop. 
	NOTE: Figure 2 shows vegetal views of an embryo at half-hourly intervals from 4.5-7.0 hpf to show the cell size and to provide a guide for estimating where the bottles cells will form (dashed white circle). The aim is to make incisions where the dashed black box is indicated.</li>
	<li>Once the four sides of the square are delineated by incisions, deepen each incision with the eyebrow hair knife using similar cutting motions to reach a depth of approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the distance to the blastocoel floor.</li>
	<li>Free the vegetal tissue explant from the recipient embryo (Figure 3A and B) by making a horizontal (parallel to the vegetal surface) cut(s) in the deep vegetal region. 
	NOTE: The size of the PGC-containing vegetal explant is approximately 0.4-0.45 mm per side and 0.25-0.3 mm in depth. This vegetal explant from the recipient embryo is no longer needed and should therefore be set aside to be discarded.</li>
	<li>Working quickly, repeat this procedure (steps 2.4-2.6) on the PGC donor embryo to create a similarly sized vegetal tissue fragment for transplantation. 
	NOTE: It is important to carry out this second dissection with little delay to minimize the time for the recipient embryo to heal its open wound.</li>
	<li>Once the tissue containing PGCs is removed from the donor embryo, use the eyebrow hair knife and hair loop to move this explant into position in the opening created in the recipient embryo. 
	NOTE: The interior surface of the donor graft must be facing the interior of the recipient embryo. It is not necessary to match the orientations of the dorsal-ventral and left-right axes of the graft with the recipient embryo.</li>
	<li>Use the long edge of the shaft of the eyebrow hair knife, held parallel to the surface of the graft, to gently press the graft into the opening in the vegetal surface of the recipient embryo.</li>
	<li>Once the graft has been placed, use a hairloop or the shaft of an eyebrow hair knife to gently slide the &#34;carcass&#34; of the donor embryo across the agarose surface and into an agarose depression. Make sure that the open wound of the carcass is facing the bulk liquid. If not, use the eyebrow hair knife to rotate the embryo to achieve this orientation.</li>
	<li>Slide the recipient embryo, with the graft healing in place, into an adjacent depression and likewise make sure that the grafted vegetal pole tissue is facing the bulk liquid.</li>
	<li>Repeat this procedure (steps 2.1-2.11) using another pair of donor and recipient embryos to create another transplant/carcass pair; transfer these to empty depressions. 
	NOTE: It is critical that one makes notations to keep track of matched pairs of carcasses and transplant-bearing embryos. The donor carcasses will be used as a proxy for the efficiency of Cas9-sgRNA-induced mutagenesis in the transplanted PGCs, which cannot be easily assayed until the transplant-bearing animals reach sexual maturity (see step 3.3, below, and the Discussion).</li>
	<li>Continue making transplants until the embryos reach approximately early gastrula stage 10, which is approximately 6.5 hpf in X. tropicalis (see Figure 2E).</li>
</ol>
3. Post-healing Care of Embryos
NOTE: Grafts heal into place within ~30 min, and it is normal to observe some yolky debris from cell lysis exuding from the embryo (Figure 3C).
<ol>
	<li>Once healed, use a Pasteur pipette to very gently transfer embryos from the depressions to individual wells of an agarose-coated 24-well plate. The exudate will be removed (Figure 3D) by fluid mixing during the transfer.
	<ol>
		<li>Rotate the embryos so that they are placed vegetal-pole up, facing the bulk solution. Again, place the donor carcasses and graft recipients in adjacent wells to assist in keeping track of embryo pairs; record this information.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Transfer the 24-well plate containing embryos to a 25 &#176;C incubator for overnight culture. 
	NOTE: The next day, the embryos will have reached tailbud stages.</li>
	<li>Move the graft recipients to clean agarose-coated 6-well plates containing 1/9x MMR supplemented with 50 &#181;g of gentamycin sulfate/mL, with 1 embryo per well. Maintain a clear record of donor carcasses that match these graft recipients.</li>
	<li>To assess mutagenesis efficiency by sequencing PCR amplicons5,17,24 or using other methods that rely on PCR amplicons (see the Discussion), move individual carcasses to 0.2 mL PCR strip tubes. Remove most of the medium and homogenize in 100 &#181;L lysis buffer24 containing proteinase K (PK) by repeated up-and-down pipetting using a P200 pipette.</li>
	<li>Perform embryo lysis24 at 56 &#176;C for 6 h to overnight to permit PK digestion. Inactivate PK by heating it to 90-95 &#176;C for 10 min, followed by quick cooling to 4 &#176;C. Use lysates without further cleanup steps to seed the PCR reactions to obtain short amplicons for direct Sanger DNA sequencing24. Store the lysates at -20 &#176;C. 
	NOTE: Within several days, the tadpoles will reach feeding stages (approximately stage 45-46) and can be fed a suspension of planktonic powder (sera Micron).</li>
	<li>After ~1 week, with daily changes of culture medium to maintain cleanliness and minimize microbial overgrowth, move tadpoles to small tanks in a circulating aquatic system with drip flow. Use the sequencing data to segregate tadpoles with highly efficiently mutagenized PGCs from tadpoles with lower mutagenesis efficiency. Once metamorphosis is complete, move the froglets to the adult aquatic system in the lab. 
	NOTE: Regimens developed by the National Xenopus Resource (Marine Biology Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA) provide a guide for tadpole feeding29 and adult frog maintenance30.</li>
</ol>

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K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CRISPR/Cas9:+An+inexpensive,+efficient+loss+of+function+tool+to+screen+human+disease+genes+in+Xenopus.">CRISPR/Cas9: An inexpensive, efficient loss of function tool to screen human disease genes in Xenopus.</a> Dev Biol. 408 (2), 196-204 (2015).</li><li>Yu, C., Zhang, Y., Yao, S., Wei, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+PCR+Based+Protocol+for+Detecting+Indel+Mutations+Induced+by+TALENs+and+CRISPR/Cas9+in+Zebrafish.">A PCR Based Protocol for Detecting Indel Mutations Induced by TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 in Zebrafish.</a> PLoS ONE. 9 (6), e98282 (2014).</li><li>Mock, U., Hauber, I., Fehse, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Digital+PCR+to+assess+gene-editing+frequencies+(GEF-dPCR)+mediated+by+designer+nucleases.">Digital PCR to assess gene-editing frequencies (GEF-dPCR) mediated by designer nucleases.</a> Nat Protoc. 11 (3), 598-615 (2016).</li><li>Varshney, G. K., 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=High-throughput+gene+targeting+and+phenotyping+in+zebrafish+using+CRISPR/Cas9.">High-throughput gene targeting and phenotyping in zebrafish using CRISPR/Cas9.</a> Genome Res. 25 (7), 1030-1042 (2015).</li><li>Shi, J., Wang, E., Milazzo, J. P., Wang, Z., Kinney, J. B., Vakoc, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Discovery+of+cancer+drug+targets+by+CRISPR-Cas9+screening+of+protein+domains.">Discovery of cancer drug targets by CRISPR-Cas9 screening of protein domains.</a> Nat Biotechnol. 33 (6), 661-667 (2015).</li><li>Koebernick, K., Loeber, J., Arthur, P. K., Tarbashevich, K., Pieler, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Elr-type+proteins+protect+Xenopus+Dead+end+mRNA+from+miR-18-mediated+clearance+in+the+soma.">Elr-type proteins protect Xenopus Dead end mRNA from miR-18-mediated clearance in the soma.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 107, 16148-16153 (2010).</li><li>Yang, J., Aguero, T., King, M. 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+Xenopus+maternal-to-zygotic+transition+from+the+perspective+of+the+germline.">The Xenopus maternal-to-zygotic transition from the perspective of the germline.</a> Curr Top Dev Biol. 113, 271-303 (2015).</li></ol>

The author has nothing to disclose.

This report provides a detailed protocol for the transplantation of vegetal tissue containing PGCs. Transplantation of PGCs is used in conjunction with genome-editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9) to modify the germline of an animal while maintaining nearly all of its somatic tissues as genetically wild type. For leapfrogging to be successful, there are a number of critical factors to consider prior to performing performing transplantations.
To ensure the complete replacement of th...

How genotype encodes phenotype has been a major question in biology since the rediscovery of Mendel&#39;s laws. An understanding of the roles of genes, their regulation and interactions within gene networks, and the functions of encoded products promises to provide tools for uncovering new biology and ameliorating disease states. For over half a century1, the African clawed frog, Xenopus, has been a leading model for studies on a wide variety of topics in basic biology and biomedicine, including the genetic control of development. Historically, most research on Xenopus has used the allotetraploid frog, X. laevis, but more recently, due to its diploidy, X. tropicalis has been developed as an amphibian genetic model. Complete genome sequences have been assembled from both Xenopus species2,3. The &#34;frog community&#34; is now at a turning point where basic genome modification technology permits the study of gene function, virtually at will. Programmable CRISPR/Cas9 endonucleases have made the mutagenesis of genes highly efficient, with biallelic mutation possible in most cells of the animal4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. These studies, underscored by Bhattacharya et al.12 and Shigeta et al.13, have shown that the function of many genes can be studied by mutagenesis in F0 mosaic animals. This approach has many advantages; however, Cas9-sgRNA-microinjected embryos often display variable phenotypes due to incomplete loss of function (LOF). More significantly, the generation of mutant lines is highly advantageous for some applications&#8212;in particular when studying genes that have a maternal mRNA contribution. Maternal mRNAs and proteins, and their influences on epigenetics, persist for an extended period into embryogenesis14,15,16, rendering the early developmental contributions of many genes refractory to F0 analyses. Therefore, other LOF approaches are required.
When seeking to create mutant lines, the path to obtaining homozygous LOF embryos has several obstacles. First, efficient mutagenesis to produce biallelic mutations can be disadvantageous because loss of essential gene functions results in failure to survive to sexual maturity, interfering with the production of a viable line. A common solution is the careful titration of the amount of Cas9-sgRNA delivered. Here, the goal is to achieve a balance between reducing lethality while also maximizing germline mutagenesis efficiency. A second problem arises from the standard breeding scheme, where phenotypic analyses are deferred until the F2 generation. Using the standard approach, sexually mature F0 animals that transmit mutant alleles through the germline are outcrossed to produce F1 heterozygous &#34;carriers&#34;, which are then grown to sexual maturity. Two F1 heterozygotes are then intercrossed to produce F2 mutant embryos at an expected Mendelian frequency of 25%. Thus, two generations of breeding are necessary for analysis of mutant phenotypes. Mutant animals could be either homozygotes or compound heterozygotes (i.e., progeny containing two different mutant alleles, which depends on the genotypes of the parental animals used in the F1 intercross).
These obstacles can be overcome by confining programmable nuclease-mediated mutagenesis to germ cells, which underlies a new method called leapfrogging17. Leapfrogging has two main components: (1) the microinjection of Cas mRNA together with sgRNA, or nuclease-sgRNA complexes (or, in principle, TALENs or zinc finger nucleases) at the single-cell stage to efficiently mutagenize embryonic genomes, followed by (2) the transplantation of PGCs into wildtype sibling embryos, where the endogenous PGCs were removed. When both steps are efficient, complete germline replacement with mutant germ cells can be obtained. Blackler demonstrated in the early 1960s that Xenopus PGCs could be transplanted between embryos at the late neurula and early tailbud stages18,19. For leapfrogging, Blackler&#39;s approach was modified by performing the transplantations at the blastula stage17, when PGCs are localized in the vegetal pole of the embryo20,21. Transplantation before gastrulation has two main advantages. First, the engraftment of transplants and the subsequent normal development was found to be more efficient when the transplantation is performed at the blastula stage (unpublished observations). Second, by performing blastula-stage transplantations shortly after zygotic transcription has begun, one can avoid the lethality arising from developmental gene mutations that disrupt gastrulation or that otherwise lead to malformed late neurulae. PGC transplant-bearing (&#34;leapfrogged&#34;) embryos are grown to sexual maturity, and intercrosses between these F0 animals have demonstrated that, in many cases, 100% of the F1 progeny display the LOF phenotype (most being compound heterozygotes), indicating complete germline replacement with the targeted mutations.
It is expected that leapfrogging will accelerate genetic approaches in Xenopus. Leapfrogging also provides an alternative to the &#34;host transfer&#34; method22 for the LOF analysis of maternal-effect genes (unpublished observations). In the current publication, a detailed description of the method, especially focusing on PGC transplantation, is presented in X. tropicalis (with minor modifications for X. laevis). The transplantation of PGCs is demonstrated here to facilitate a more rapid transfer of this technology to other laboratories working with Xenopus. The principles of this method should be successful in other amphibians (e.g., urodeles), and organism-specific modifications in the methodology should allow for application to many other animals in which efficient mutagenesis can be accomplished and PGCs are readily transplantable.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Dumont #5 forceps</td>
			<td>Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td>11252-20 or 11252-30</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eyebrow hair knife</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Homemade</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hair loop</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Homemade</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pasteur pipettes, borosilicate glass</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-678-20A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Krazy Glue (Cyanoacrylate-based)</td>
			<td>Elmer&#39;s Products, Inc.</td>
			<td>KG581</td>
			<td>To affix eyebrow hair and hair loops into Pasteur pipettes, other similar glues can be used.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oligodeoxynucleotides, custom ordered</td>
			<td>Integrated DNA Technologies</td>
			<td>Custom ordered</td>
			<td>Template oligos for sgRNA synthesis, see Nakayama et al., 2014 for design details.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Megascript T7 kit</td>
			<td>Ambion/ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>AM1334</td>
			<td>Or use Megashortscript T7 (AM1354) kit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phenol, Tris buffered</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>High quality distilled phenol from any commercial supplier</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chloroform</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>High quality chloroform from any commercial supplier</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>High quality ethanol from any commercial supplier</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC)</td>
			<td>Sigma Chemical Co.</td>
			<td>D5758-50ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cas9 protein, with nuclear localization signal</td>
			<td>PNA Bio, Inc.</td>
			<td>CP01</td>
			<td>Reconstituted using DEPC-treated water according to manufacturer&#39;s recommendations</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10X Marc&#39;s Modified Ringers solution</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Homemade. Recipe (ref 26) for 1X MMR (lacking EDTA) is 100mM NaCl, 2 mM KCl, 1 mM MgSO4, 2 mM CaCl2, 5 mM HEPES. Solution is pH adjusted to 7.4.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agarose</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Any Molecular Biology grade agarose is sufficient</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>60 X15 mm Petri plates</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>351007</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>24-well plates</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>3047</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L-Cysteine</td>
			<td>Sigma Chemical Co.</td>
			<td>C7352-100G</td>
			<td>Free base, not HCl salt</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Proteinase K</td>
			<td>Roche</td>
			<td>03 115 828 001</td>
			<td>Typically ~20mg/ml from Roche</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sera Micron</td>
			<td>sera</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Tadpole food. Resuspend in growth medium. Can be purchased from a variety of online retailers</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

primordial germ cell transplantation for crispr/cas9-based leapfrogging in xenopus

The creation of mutant lines by genome editing is accelerating genetic analysis in many organisms. CRISPR/Cas9 methods have been adapted for use in the African clawed frog, Xenopus, a longstanding model organism for biomedical research. Traditional breeding schemes for creating homozygous mutant lines with CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis have several time-consuming and laborious steps. To facilitate the creation of mutant embryos, particularly to overcome the obstacles associated with knocking out genes that are essential for embryogenesis, a new method called leapfrogging was developed. This technique leverages the robustness of Xenopus embryos to &#34;cut and paste&#34; embryological methods. Leapfrogging utilizes the transfer of primordial germ cells (PGCs) from efficiently-mutagenized donor embryos into PGC-ablated wildtype siblings. This method allows for the efficient mutation of essential genes by creating chimeric animals with wildtype somatic cells that carry a mutant germline. When two F0 animals carrying &#34;leapfrog transplants&#34; (i.e., mutant germ cells) are intercrossed, they produce homozygous, or compound heterozygous, null F1 embryos, thus saving a full generation time to obtain phenotypic data. Leapfrogging also provides a new approach for analyzing maternal effect genes, which are refractory to F0 phenotypic analysis following CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis. This manuscript details the method of leapfrogging, with special emphasis on how to successfully perform PGC transplantation.

Following transplantation, the qualitative determination of the efficacy of CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis should be performed before expending the effort in animal husbandry to grow and maintain the animals to sexual maturity. Because animals carrying leapfrog transplants are somatically wildtype and the germline is difficult to access for direct measurements, saving the carcasses of donor embryos becomes important. DNA analysis from the carcasses serves as a proxy for the extent of mutagenesis...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Primordial Germ Cell Transplantation for CRISPR/Cas9-based Leapfrogging in Xenopus at JoVE.com

Primordial Germ Cell Transplantation for CRISPR/Cas9-based Leapfrogging in Xenopus

Genes essential for survival pose technical hurdles for creating mutant lines. Leapfrogging circumvents lethality by combining genome editing with primordial germ cell transplantation to create wild-type animals carrying germline mutations. Leapfrogging also permits the efficient generation of homozygous null mutants in the F1 generation. Here, the transplantation step is demonstrated.

Primordial Germ Cell Transplantation for CRISPR/Cas9-based Leapfrogging in Xenopus

The creation of mutant lines by genome editing is accelerating genetic analysis in many organisms. CRISPR/Cas9 methods have been adapted for use in the ...

primordial-germ-cell-transplantation-for-crisprcas9-based

Universidad San Sebastian

Research

JoVE Journal

Genetics

8.3K Views.  University of California, Irvine. Genes essential for survival pose technical hurdles for creating mutant lines. Leapfrogging circumvents lethality by combining genome editing with primordial germ cell transplantation to create wild-type animals carrying germline mutations. Leapfrogging also permits the efficient generation of homozygous null mutants in the F1 generation. Here, the transplantation step is demonstrated.

Video: Primordial Germ Cell Transplantation for CRISPR/Cas9-based Leapfrogging in Xenopus

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus

Advances in genomics have raised the possibility of probing biodiversity at an unprecedented scale. However, sequence alone will not be informative without tools to study gene function. The development and sharing of detailed protocols for the establishment of new model systems in laboratories, and for tools to carry out functional studies, is thus crucial for leveraging the power of genomics. Coleoptera (beetles) are the largest clade of insects and occupy virtually all types of habitats on the planet. In addition to providing ideal models for fundamental research, studies of beetles can have impacts on pest control as they are often pests of households, agriculture, and food industries. Detailed protocols for rearing and maintenance of D. maculatus laboratory colonies and for carrying out dsRNA-mediated interference in D. maculatus are presented. Both embryonic and parental RNAi procedures-including apparatus set up, preparation, injection, and post-injection recovery-are described. Methods are also presented for analyzing embryonic phenotypes, including viability, patterning defects in hatched larvae, and cuticle preparations for unhatched larvae. These assays, together with in situ hybridization and immunostaining for molecular markers, make D. maculatus an accessible model system for basic and applied research. They further provide useful information for establishing procedures in other emerging insect model systems.

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus

Here, we present protocols for rearing an intermediate-germ beetle, Dermestes maculatus (D. maculatus) in the lab. We also share protocols for embryonic and parental RNAi and methods for analyzing embryonic phenotypes to study gene function in this species.

Advances in genomics have raised the possibility of probing biodiversity at an unprecedented scale. However, sequence alone will not be informative ...

Detection of Copy Number Alterations Using Single Cell Sequencing

Detection of genomic changes at single cell resolution is important for characterizing genetic heterogeneity and evolution in normal tissues, cancers, and microbial populations. Traditional methods for assessing genetic heterogeneity have been limited by low resolution, low sensitivity, and/or low specificity. Single cell sequencing has emerged as a powerful tool for detecting genetic heterogeneity with high resolution, high sensitivity and, when appropriately analyzed, high specificity. Here we provide a protocol for the isolation, whole genome amplification, sequencing, and analysis of single cells. Our approach allows for the reliable identification of megabase-scale copy number variants in single cells. However, aspects of this protocol can also be applied to investigate other types of genetic alterations in single cells.

Single cell sequencing is an increasingly popular and accessible tool for addressing genomic changes at high resolution. We provide a protocol that uses single cell sequencing to identify copy number alterations in single cells.

Detection of genomic changes at single cell resolution is important for characterizing genetic heterogeneity and evolution in normal tissues, cancers, and ...

Single-cell Gene Expression Profiling Using FACS and qPCR with Internal Standards

Gene expression measurements from bulk populations of cells can obscure the considerable transcriptomic variation of individual cells within those populations. Single-cell gene expression measurements can help assess the role of noise in gene expression, identify correlations in the expression of pairs of genes, and reveal subpopulations of cells that respond differently to a stimulus. Here, we describe a procedure to measure the expression of up to 96 genes in single mammalian cells isolated from a population growing in tissue culture. Cells are sorted into lysis buffer by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), and the mRNA species of interest are reverse-transcribed and amplified. Gene expression is then measured using a microfluidic real-time PCR machine, which performs up to 96 qPCR assays on up to 96 samples at a time. We also describe the generation and use of PCR amplicon standards to enable the estimation of the absolute number of each transcript. Compared with other methods of measuring gene expression in single cells, this approach allows for the quantification of more distinct transcripts than RNA FISH at a lower cost than RNA-Seq.

We describe a method to sort single mammalian cells and to quantify the expression of up to 96 target genes of interest in each cell. This method includes the use of internal qPCR standards to enable the estimation of absolute transcript counts.

Gene expression measurements from bulk populations of cells can obscure the considerable transcriptomic variation of individual cells within those ...

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Targeted Integration In Vivo Using a Homology-mediated End Joining-based Strategy

As a promising genome editing platform, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has great potential for efficient genetic manipulation, especially for targeted integration of transgenes. However, due to the low efficiency of homologous recombination (HR) and various indel mutations of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)-based strategies in non-dividing cells, in vivo genome editing remains a great challenge. Here, we describe a homology-mediated end joining (HMEJ)-based CRISPR/Cas9 system for efficient in vivo precise targeted integration. In this system, the targeted genome and the donor vector containing homology arms (~800 bp) flanked by single guide RNA (sgRNA) target sequences are cleaved by CRISPR/Cas9. This HMEJ-based strategy achieves efficient transgene integration in mouse zygotes, as well as in hepatocytes in vivo. Moreover, a HMEJ-based strategy offers an efficient approach for correction of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (Fah) mutation in the hepatocytes and rescues Fah-deficiency induced liver failure mice. Taken together, focusing on targeted integration, this HMEJ-based strategy provides a promising tool for a variety of applications, including generation of genetically modified animal models and targeted gene therapies.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Targeted Integration In Vivo Using a Homology-mediated End Joining-based Strategy

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system provides a promising tool for genetic engineering, and opens up the possibility of targeted integration of transgenes. We describe a homology-mediated end joining (HMEJ)-based strategy for efficient DNA targeted integration in vivo and targeted gene therapies using CRISPR/Cas9.

As a promising genome editing platform, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has great potential for efficient genetic manipulation, especially for targeted integration ...

Embryo Microinjection and Transplantation Technique for Nasonia vitripennis Genome Manipulation

The jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis has emerged as an effective model system for the study of processes including sex determination, haplo-diploid sex determination, venom synthesis, and host-symbiont interactions, among others. A major limitation of working with this organism is the lack of effective protocols to perform directed genome modifications. An important part of genome modification is delivery of editing reagents, including CRISPR/Cas9 molecules, into embryos through microinjection. While microinjection is well established in many model organisms, this technique is particularly challenging to perform in N. vitripennis primarily due to its small embryo size, and the fact that embryonic development occurs entirely within a parasitized blowfly pupa. The following procedure overcomes these significant challenges while demonstrating a streamlined, visual procedure for effectively removing wasp embryos from parasitized host pupae, microinjecting them, and carefully transplanting them back into the host for continuation and completion of development. This protocol will strongly enhance the capability of research groups to perform advanced genome modifications in this organism.

Embryo Microinjection and Transplantation Technique for Nasonia vitripennis Genome Manipulation

Microinjection of Nasonia vitripennis embryos is an essential method for generating heritable genome modifications. Described here is a detailed procedure for microinjection and transplantation of Nasonia vitripennis embryos, which will greatly facilitate future genome manipulation in this organism.

The jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis has emerged as an effective model system for the study of processes including sex determination, haplo-diploid sex ...

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Cells should respond properly to temporally changing environments, which are influenced by various factors from surrounding cells. The Notch signaling pathway is one of such essential molecular machinery for cell-to-cell communications, which plays key roles in normal development of embryos. This pathway involves a cell-to-cell transfer of oscillatory information with ultradian rhythms, but despite the progress in molecular biology techniques, it has been challenging to elucidate the impact of multicellular interactions on oscillatory gene dynamics. Here, we present a protocol that permits optogenetic control and live monitoring of gene expression patterns in a precise temporal manner. This method successfully revealed that intracellular and intercellular periodic inputs of Notch signaling entrain intrinsic oscillations by frequency tuning and phase shifting at the single-cell resolution. This approach is applicable to the analysis of the dynamic features of various signaling pathways, providing a unique platform to test a functional significance of dynamic gene expression programs in multicellular systems.

Here, we present a protocol to analyze cell-to-cell transfer of oscillatory information by optogenetic control and live monitoring of gene expression. This approach provides a unique platform to test a functional significance of dynamic gene expression programs in multicellular systems.

Cells should respond properly to temporally changing environments, which are influenced by various factors from surrounding cells. The Notch signaling ...

Endogenous Protein Tagging in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using CRISPR/Cas9

A protocol is presented for generating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) that express endogenous proteins fused to in-frame&#160;N- or C-terminal fluorescent tags. The prokaryotic CRISPR/Cas9 system (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9) may be used to introduce large exogenous sequences into genomic loci via homology directed repair (HDR). To achieve the desired knock-in, this protocol employs the ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-based approach where wild type Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 protein, synthetic 2-part guide RNA (gRNA), and a donor template plasmid are delivered to the cells via electroporation. Putatively edited cells expressing the fluorescently tagged proteins are enriched by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Clonal lines are then generated and can be analyzed for precise editing outcomes. By introducing the fluorescent tag at the genomic locus of the gene of interest, the resulting subcellular localization and dynamics of the fusion protein can be studied under endogenous regulatory control, a key improvement over conventional overexpression systems. The use of hiPSCs as a model system for gene tagging provides the opportunity to study the tagged proteins in diploid, nontransformed cells. Since hiPSCs can be differentiated into multiple cell types, this approach provides the opportunity to create and study tagged proteins in a variety of isogenic cellular contexts.

Described here is a protocol for tagging endogenously expressed proteins with fluorescent tags in human induced pluripotent stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9. Putatively edited cells are enriched by fluorescence activated cell sorting and clonal cell lines are generated.

A protocol is presented for generating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) that express endogenous proteins fused to in-frame&#160;N- or ...

Assessing Stem Cell DNA Integrity for Cardiac Cell Therapy

Stem and stem-cell-derived cells have immense potential as a regenerative therapy for various degenerative diseases. DNA is the storehouse of genetic data in all cells, including stem cells, and its integrity is fundamental to its regenerative ability. Stem cells undergo rapid propagation in labs to achieve the necessary numbers for transplantation. Accelerated cell growth leads to the loss of DNA integrity by accumulated metabolites, such as reactive oxygen, carbonyl, and alkylating agents. Transplanting these cells would result in poor engraftment and regeneration of the deteriorating organ. Moreover, transplanting DNA-damaged cells leads to mutations, DNA instability, cellular senescence, and possibly, life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Therefore, there is an immediate need for a quality control method to evaluate the cell's suitability for transplantation. Here, we provide step-by-step protocols for the assessment of the DNA integrity of stem cells prior to cell transplantation.

Here, we provide a detailed description of an experimental setup for an analysis of the assessment of DNA integrity in stem cells prior to cell transplantation.

Stem and stem-cell-derived cells have immense potential as a regenerative therapy for various degenerative diseases. DNA is the storehouse of genetic data ...

Genome Editing in Mammalian Cell Lines using CRISPR-Cas

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system functions naturally in bacterial adaptive immunity, but has been successfully repurposed for genome engineering in many different living organisms. Most commonly, the wildtype CRISPR associated 9 (Cas9) or Cas12a endonuclease is used to cleave specific sites in the genome, after which the DNA double-stranded break is repaired via the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway or the homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway depending on whether a donor template is absent or present respectively. To date, CRISPR systems from different bacterial species have been shown to be capable of performing genome editing in mammalian cells. However, despite the apparent simplicity of the technology, multiple design parameters need to be considered, which often leave users perplexed about how best to carry out their genome editing experiments. Here, we describe a complete workflow from experimental design to identification of cell clones that carry desired DNA modifications, with the goal of facilitating successful execution of genome editing experiments in mammalian cell lines. We highlight key considerations for users to take note of, including the choice of CRISPR system, the spacer length, and the design of a single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) donor template. We envision that this workflow will be useful for gene knockout studies, disease modeling efforts, or the generation of reporter cell lines.

CRISPR-Cas is a powerful technology to engineer the complex genomes of plants and animals. Here, we detail a protocol to efficiently edit the human genome using different Cas endonucleases. We highlight important considerations and design parameters to optimize editing efficiency.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system functions naturally in bacterial adaptive immunity, but has been ...

Intraventricular Transplantation of Engineered Neuronal Precursors for In Vivo Neuroarchitecture Studies

Gene control of neuronal cytoarchitecture is currently the subject of intensive investigation. Described here is a simple method developed to study in vivo gene control of neocortical projection neuron morphology. This method is based on (1) in vitro lentiviral engineering of neuronal precursors as "test" and "control" cells, (2) their co-transplantation into wild-type brains, and (3) paired morphometric evaluation of their neuronal derivatives. Specifically, E12.5 pallial precursors from panneuronal, genetically labeled donors, are employed for this purpose. They are engineered to take advantage of selected promoters and tetON/OFF technology, and they are free-hand transplanted into neonatal lateral ventricles. Later, upon immunofluorescence profiling of recipient brains, silhouettes of transplanted neurons are fed into NeurphologyJ open source software, their morphometric parameters are extracted, and average length and branching index are calculated. Compared to other methods, this one offers three main advantages: it permits achieving of fine control of transgene expression at affordable costs, it only requires basic surgical skills, and it provides statistically reliable results upon analysis of a limited number of animals. Because of its design, however, it is not adequate to address non cell-autonomous control of neuroarchitecture. Moreover, it should be preferably used to investigate neurite morphology control after completion of neuronal migration. In its present formulation, this method is exquisitely tuned to investigate gene control of glutamatergic neocortical neuron architecture. Taking advantage of transgenic lines expressing EGFP in other specific neural cell types, it can be re-purposed to address gene control of their architecture.

Based on in vitro lentiviral engineering of neuronal precursors, their co-transplantation into wild-type brains and paired morphometric evaluation of "test" and "control" derivatives, this method allows accurate modeling of in vivo gene control of neocortical neuron morphology in a simple and affordable way.

Gene control of neuronal cytoarchitecture is currently the subject of intensive investigation. Described here is a simple method developed to study in ...