Hacettepe University Zebrafish Research Laboratory: zebrafish disease modeling by genome editing tools

Kural Mangıt E., Kayman Kürekçi G., Koyunlar C., Dinçer P. R.

41st FEBS Congress, Molecular and Systems Biology for a Better Life, İzmir, Türkiye, 3 - 08 Eylül 2016, ss.116

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: İzmir
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.116
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Zebrafish has become one of the most popular model organisms

of choice in the biomedical research area covering a broad range

of arrays since they were first used in the research in the late

1960s. Approximately 70% of human genes have at least one

zebrafish orthologue. High fecundity, ex-utero developing transparent

embryos, and easy laboratory maintenance makes the zebrafish

attractive and advantageous for biomedical research.

Newly emerging gene editing tools like transcription activatorlike

effector nucleases (TALENs) or clustered regularly interspaced

short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) provides capabilities

to efficiently achieve specific gene manipulation by inducing double-

stranded break at a specific site in the genome.

Hacettepe University is a major reference center for rare disorders

with high in-out patient capacity.We used these availability of

diversified patient phenotypes as an advantage and conducted a

TUBITAK project in order to establish a Zebrafish Research Laboratory

to investigate effects of new mutations on zebrafish. The

first step of the project is to model a desmin mutation related to

muscular dystrophy (LGMD2R, MIM 615325) using CRISPR/

Cas 9 and TALEN technologies and generate a mutant zebrafish

line to study the effects in a comprehensive perspective. However

desma and desmb known as duplicated genes in zebrafish. To reveal

the differentiated expression profile we performed In Situ

Hybridization experiments and created desma and desmb knockout

models to see if they replace for each other. In the long run, we

aim to investigate the role of different muscular dystrophy genes

identified by our group and mutations in different genetic diseases.

Furthermore we have planned to form a catalogue of mutant zebrafish

stocks consist of specific mutations that we hope to contribute

to future studies of drug, treatment and more.

Acknowledgement: It was supported by the Scientific and

Technological Research Council of Turkey, 214S174 to P.D.