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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Leetown, West Virginia » Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #241727
Title: Transfer of foreign DNA into aquatic animals by electroporation

Author
item CHEN, THOMAS - University Of Connecticut
item CHEN, MARIA - University Of Connecticut
item CHIOU, TZU-TING - University Of Connecticut
item LU, J - National Taiwan University

Submitted to: Electrophoresis
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/3/2008
Publication Date: 2/20/2009
Citation: Chen, T.T., Chen, M.J., Chiou, T., Lu, J.K. 2009. Transfer of foreign DNA into aquatic animals by electroporation. In: Nakamura,H., editor. Electroporation and Sonoporation in Developmental Biology. Tokyo, Japan: Springer. p. 229-237.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This chapter describes the principle, procedure and application of the electroporation method to produce various types of transgenic marine organisms including finfish, shellfish and marine algae. Electroporation utilizes a series of short electrical pulses to induce formation of short-lived pores on the phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane of newly fertilized or unfertilized eggs or sperm, thereby permitting the entry of foreign DNA molecules into cells. We have used this technique to introduce antimicrobial genes into rainbow trout or American white shrimp. The resulting transgenic rainbow trout displayed resistance characteristics to infection by bacterial or viral pathogens. This technique has also been shown to be effective in introducing foreign genes into macroalgae with high efficiency. Recently, micro-electroporation probes have been developed for in situ electroporating DNA into whole animals. Therefore, electroporation is considered as an efficient, simple and versatile method for achieving successful production of a variety of transgenic organisms.