This
figure illustrates the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in
the eye of a transgenic tadpole (A) viewed with a dissecting microscope
equipped with a blue exciting light and appropriate filters. When the microscope
is advanced closer to the eye, individual rods can be seen in the living
tadpole's eye (B).The specific expression of foreign genes in frog retinas requires a way to restrict that gene's expression in the cell. This is accomplished by using a DNA segment called a promoter which controls both the temporal and cellular specificity of the transgene's expression. So far we have used the Xenopus laevsis opsin promoter (XOP) provided by Dr. Barry Knox at SUNY Syracuse Health Center. This specific promotor is used because it allows selective expression to occur in the retinal cells of the frogs. We have used DNA constructs to make over 60 transgenic frog lines expressing over 30 different transgenes.
The links listed on the left connect to pages describing the research we are currently conducting and the images we can obtain from the tadpole and frog retinas.
We
have made an albino transgenic frog expressing GFP in her eyes. Since she
was one of our first tadpoles to mature to an adult frog, we named her "Plucky".
We've adopted her image as our web navigator. Clicking on her image at the
bottom of our pages will take your forward or backward through this site.
Click HERE for a bio on Plucky
and how she was made! Hop
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Apoptosis
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Retinal Degeneration
Rhodopsin Biosynthesis
The Solomon's