Name: silencing the spark: crispr/cas9 genome editing in weakly electric fish
Uploaded: 2019-10-27T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Silencing the Spark: CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in Weakly Electric Fish at JoVE.com

The authors acknowledge the heroic efforts of Monica Lucas, Katherine Shaw, Ryan Taylor, Jared Thompson, Nicole Robichaud, and Hope Healey for help with fish husbandry, data collection, and early protocol development. We would also like to thank the three reviewers for their suggestions to the manuscript. We believe the final product to be of better quality after addressing their comments. This work was funded by support from the National Science Foundation #1644965 and #1455405 to JRG, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council DG grant to VLS.

All methods described here have been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Michigan State University.
1. Selecting sgRNA Targets
NOTE: A protocol is provided for manual design of sgRNAs in step 1.1. This was utilized for scn4aa target selection. An additional protocol is provided to facilitate this process (step 1.2) using the EFISHGENOMICS web portal. It is advised that users select protocol 1.2, which featur...

The phenotypic richness of weakly electric fish, together with a recent proliferation of genomics resources, motivates a strong need for functional genomic tools in the weakly electric fish model. This system is particularly attractive because of the convergent evolution of numerous phenotypic traits in parallel lineages of fish, which are easily kept in the laboratory.
The protocol described here demonstrates the efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas9 technique in lineages of weakly electric fish that e...

Electroreception and electrogenesis have changed in the evolutionary history of vertebrates. Two lineages of teleost fish, osteoglossiformes and siluriformes, evolved electroreception in parallel, and five lineages of teleosts (gymnotiformes, mormyrids, and the genera Astroscopus, Malapterurus, and Synodontis) evolved electrogenesis in parallel. There is a striking degree of convergence in these independently derived phenotypes, which share a common genetic architecture1,2,3.
This is perhaps best exemplified by the numerous convergent features of gymnotiforms and mormyrids, two species-rich teleost clades, which produce and detect weak electric fields and are called weakly electric fish. In the 50 years since the discovery that weakly electric fish use electricity to sense their surroundings and communicate4, a growing community of scientists has gained tremendous insights into evolution of development1,5,6, systems and circuits neuroscience7,8,9,10, cellular physiology11,12, ecology and energetics13,14,15,16,17, behavior18,19, and macroevolution3,20,21.
More recently, there has been a proliferation of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic resources for electric fish1,22,23,24,25,26,27,28. Use of these resources has already produced important insights regarding the connection between genotype and phenotype in these species1,2,3,28,29,30. A major obstacle to integrating genomics data with phenotypic data of weakly electric fish is a present lack of functional genomics tools31.
One such tool is the recently developed Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats paired with Cas9 endonuclease (CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPR) technique. CRISPR/Cas9 is a genome editing tool that has entered widespread use in both model32,33,34 and non-model organisms35,36,37 alike. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has progressed to a point where a laboratory capable of basic molecular biology can easily generate gene-specific probes called short guide RNAs (sgRNAs), at a low cost using a non-cloning method38. CRISPR has advantages over other knockout/knockdown strategies, such as morpholinos39,40, transcription activator-like effector nucleases&#160;(TALENs), and zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), which are costly and time-consuming to generate for every target gene.
The CRISPR/Cas9 system functions to create gene knockouts by targeting a specific region of the genome, directed by the sgRNA sequence, and causing a double-stranded break. The double-stranded break is detected by the cell and triggers endogenous DNA repair mechanisms preferentially using the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. This pathway is highly error-prone: during the repair process, the DNA molecule will often incorporate insertions or deletions (indels) at the double-stranded break site. These indels can result in a loss of function due to either (1) shifts in the open reading frame, (2) insertion of a premature stop codon, or (3) shifts in the critical primary structure of the gene product. In this protocol, we utilize CRISPR/Cas9 editing to target point mutations in target genes using the NHEJ in weakly electric fish species. While simpler and more efficient than other techniques, this method of mutagenesis is expected to result in a range of phenotypic severities in F0, which is attributed to genetic mosaicism41,42,43,44.
Selection of Organisms 
For the purposes of facilitating future studies on the comparative genomics of weakly electric fish, a representative species for both gymnotiforms and mormyrids for protocol development needed to be selected. Following discussions during the 2016 Electric Fish meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, there was community consensus to utilize species that already could be bred in the laboratory and that had genomic resources available. The gymnotiform Brachyhypopomus gauderio and the mormyrid Brienomyrus brachyistius were selected as species that fit these criteria. In both species, natural cues to induce and maintain breeding conditions are easy to mimic in captivity. B. gauderio, a gymnotiform species from South America, has the advantage of low husbandry requirements: fish can be kept at relatively high density in relatively small (4 L) tanks. B. gauderio also has fast generational turnover under captive conditions. Under laboratory conditions, B. gauderio can develop from egg to adult in about 4 months.
B. brachyistius, a species of mormyrid fish from West-Central Africa, breeds readily in captivity. B. brachyistius is readily available through the aquarium trade, has been widely used in many studies, and now has a number of genomic resources available. Their life cycle spans 1&#8722;3 years, depending on laboratory conditions. Husbandry requirements are somewhat more intensive for this species, requiring moderately sized tanks (50&#8722;100 L) due to their aggression during breeding.
Laboratories studying other species of electric fish should be able to easily adapt this protocol as long as the species can be bred, and single cell embryos can be collected and reared into adulthood. Housing, larval husbandry, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) rates will likely change with other species; however, this protocol can be used as a starting point for breeding attempts in other weakly electric fish.
An Ideal Gene Target for Proof of Concept: scn4aa 
Weakly electric mormyrid and gymnotiform fish generate electric fields (electrogenesis) by discharging a specialized organ, called the electric organ. Electric organ discharges (EODs) result from the simultaneous production of action potentials in the electric organ cells called electrocytes. EODs are detected by an array of electroreceptors in the skin to create high-resolution electrical images of the fish&#8217;s surroundings45. Weakly electric fish are also capable of detecting features of their conspecifics&#8217; EOD waveforms18 as well as their discharge rates46, allowing EODs to function additionally as a social communication signal analogous to birdsong or frog vocalizations47.
A main component of action potential generation in the electrocytes of both mormyrid and gymnotiform weakly electric fish is the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.42. Non-electric teleosts express two paralogous gene copies, scn4aa and scn4ab, coding for the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.430. In both gymnotiform and mormyrid weakly electric fish lineages, scn4aa has evolved rapidly and undergone numerous amino acid substitutions that affect its kinetic properties48. Most importantly, scn4aa has become compartmentalized in both lineages to the electric organ2,3. The relatively restricted expression of scn4aa to the electric organ, as well as its key role in the generation of EODs, makes it an ideal target for CRISPR/Cas9 knockout experiments, as it has minimal deleterious pleiotropic effects. Because weakly electric fish begin discharging their larval electric organs 6&#8722;8 days post fertilization (DPF), targeting of scn4aa is ideally suited for rapid phenotyping following embryo microinjection.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>20 mg/mL RNA grade Glycogen</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>R0551</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 bp DNA ladder</td>
			<td>NEB</td>
			<td>N3236L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>borosilicate glass capillary with filament</td>
			<td>Sutter Instrument</td>
			<td>BF100-58-10</td>
			<td>(O.D. 1.0mm, I.D. 0.58 mm, 10 cm length)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cas9 protein with NLS; 1 mg/mL</td>
			<td>PNA Biology</td>
			<td>CP01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dneasy Blood &#38; Tissue Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>69506</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eppendorf FemptoJet 4i Microinjector</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>E5252000021</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eppendorf Microloader Pipette Tips</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>10289651</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hamilton syringe</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>14-824-654</td>
			<td>referred to as &#34;precision glass syringe&#34; in the protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kimwipe</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>06-666</td>
			<td>referred to as &#34;delicate task wipe&#34; in the protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MEGAscript T7 Transcription Kit</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM1334</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NEBuffer 3</td>
			<td>NEB</td>
			<td>B7003S</td>
			<td>used for in vitro cleavage assay</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>OneTaq DNA kit</td>
			<td>NEB</td>
			<td>M0480L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ovaprim</td>
			<td>Syndel USA</td>
			<td>https://www.syndel.com/ovaprim-ovammmlu010.html</td>
			<td>referred to as &#34;spawning agent&#34; in the protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>S37440</td>
			<td>referred to as &#34;thermoplastic&#34; in the protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipette puller</td>
			<td>WPI</td>
			<td>SU-P97</td>
			<td>sutter brand</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QIAquick PCR Purification Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>28106</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reusable needle- requires customization</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>7803-02</td>
			<td>Customize to 0.7 inches long; point style 4 and angle 25</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T4 DNA polymerase</td>
			<td>NEB</td>
			<td>M0203L</td>
			<td>Use with the 10X NEB buffer that is included</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Teflon coated tools</td>
			<td>bonefolder.com</td>
			<td>T-SPATULA4PIECE</td>
			<td>referred to as &#34;polytetrafluoroethene&#34; in the protocol</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

silencing the spark: crispr/cas9 genome editing in weakly electric fish

Electroreception and electrogenesis have changed in the evolutionary history of vertebrates. There is a striking degree of convergence in these independently derived phenotypes, which share a common genetic architecture. This is perhaps best exemplified by the numerous convergent features of gymnotiforms and mormyrids, two species-rich teleost clades that produce and detect weak electric fields and are called weakly electric fish. In the 50 years since the discovery that weakly electric fish use electricity to sense their surroundings and communicate, a growing community of scientists has gained tremendous insights into evolution of development, systems and circuits neuroscience, cellular physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior. More recently, there has been a proliferation of genomic resources for electric fish. Use of these resources has already facilitated important insights with regards to the connection between genotype and phenotype in these species. A major obstacle to integrating genomics data with phenotypic data of weakly electric fish is a present lack of functional genomics tools. We report here a full protocol for performing CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis that utilizes endogenous DNA repair mechanisms in weakly electric fish. We demonstrate that this protocol is equally effective in both the mormyrid species Brienomyrus brachyistius and the gymnotiform Brachyhypopomus gauderio by using CRISPR/Cas9 to target indels and point mutations in the first exon of the sodium channel gene scn4aa. Using this protocol, embryos from both species were obtained and genotyped to confirm that the predicted mutations in the first exon of the sodium channel scn4aa were present. The knock-out success phenotype was confirmed with recordings showing reduced electric organ discharge amplitudes when compared to uninjected size-matched controls.

The sgRNA target sites were identified within exon 1 of scn4aa in both B. gauderio and B. brachyistius as described in Section 1. The sgRNAs were generated as described in Section 2. Following successful sgRNA selection and synthesis (Figure 1), in vitro cleavage was tested (Figure 2). The sgRNAs demonstrating in vitro cutting were then selected for single cell microinjections.
Adult fish were conditioned fo...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Silencing the Spark: CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in Weakly Electric Fish at JoVE.com

Silencing the Spark: CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in Weakly Electric Fish

Here, a protocol is presented to produce and rear CRISPR/Cas9 genome knockout electric fish. Outlined in detail are the required molecular biology, breeding, and husbandry requirements for both a gymnotiform and a mormyrid, and injection techniques to produce Cas9-induced indel F0 larvae.

Electroreception and electrogenesis have changed in the evolutionary history of vertebrates. There is a striking degree of convergence in these ...

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