The baculovirus expression vector system has been widely used to produce proteins originating from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic sources. It offers easy cloning techniques and abundant viral propagation, and since it is based on an insect cell environment, it provides eukaryotic posttranslational modification machinery. Surface modifications of the viral capsid enable specific targeting. Such modifications can be used to enhance viral binding and entry to a wide variety of both dividing and nondividing mammalian cells, as well as to produce antibodies against the displayed antigen. In addition, the technology should enable modifications of intracellular behavior, i.e., trafficking of recombinant “nanoparticles,” a highly relevant feature for studies of targeted gene or protein delivery. In the March issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, Christian Oker-Blom and colleagues provide a suite of articles detailing the use of baculovirus-based display and gene delivery systems. Their protocol for Creation of Baculovirus Display Libraries is a featured article for March, and is freely available, along with nearly 90 other featured articles.

The incorporation of thymidine analogues, such as 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU), into newly synthesized DNA is a powerful tool for analysis of DNA replication, repair and other aspects of DNA metabolism. In Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Synthesis by BrdU Immunoprecipitation on Tiling Microarrays (BrdU-IP-chip) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Oscar Aparicio and colleagues from the University of Southern California couple BrdU immunoprecipitation with DNA microarrays to enable genome-wide identification of BrdU-labeled chromosomal DNA. BrdU-IP-chip has many potential applications and has already been used to identify replication origins, make quantitative comparisons of origin firing between strains, and examine replication fork progression. As one of February’s featured articles in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, the protocol is freely available to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

mRNA in situ hybridization is a standard laboratory technique for analyzing gene expression. In a small, transparent specimen like a zebrafish embryo, this technique is straightforward and works well. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols has a set of protocols (here, here and here) describing the method from Cecilia Moens. But what happens when you’re dealing with a larger, opaque zebrafish tissue like the adult brain? Unlike mammals, zebrafish exhibit intense ongoing neurogenesis in all areas of the central nervous system. Adult zebrafish are increasingly being used in behavioral studies as well. Because the number of antibodies useful for examining expression in zebrafish is limited, mRNA in situ hybridization is a vital tool for understanding what’s happening during these processes. In the February issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, Reinhard Köster and colleagues from the Helmholtz Zentrum München provide an adaptation of the standard in situ method that deals with these larger, opaque tissues by staining them after vibratome sectioning, Analysis of Gene Expression by In Situ Hybridization on Adult Zebrafish Brain Sections. While the brain is used as the sample tissue in this protocol, it can easily be modified for analysis of other adult tissues.

Mapping DNase I hypersensitive sites has long been the standard method for identifying genetic regulatory elements such as promoters, enhancers, silencers, insulators, and locus control regions. Sequences that are nucleosome-depleted, presumably to provide access for transcription factors, are selectively digested by DNase I. Traditional low-throughput methods use Southern blots to then identify these hypersensitive sites. In the February issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, Gregory Crawford and colleagues from Duke University present DNase-seq: A High-Resolution Technique for Mapping Active Gene Regulatory Elements Across the Genome from Mammalian Cells. DNase-seq is a high-throughput method that identifies DNase I hypersensitive sites across the whole genome by capturing DNase-digested fragments and applying next-generation sequencing techniques. In a single experiment, DNase-seq can identify most active regulatory regions from potentially any cell type, from any species with a sequenced genome. As one of February’s featured articles, it is freely available to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

January’s issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols wraps up the second volume of our ongoing Emerging Model Organisms series. The idea behind the series is that technical advances have allowed for great expansion in the range of organisms used for research. Each set of articles is meant to introduce the reader to a new organism, to explain why it’s useful for laboratory research and to provide information on husbandry, genetics and genomics, and a set of basic laboratory protocols. The first set of 23 emerging model systems was collected in a laboratory manual, and the current set of 18 will soon be as well. January’s organisms are:

The Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus): The rabbit is a valuable animal model for a variety of biomedical research areas including in vitro fertilization, early embryology and organogenesis, neurophysiology, ophthalmology, and cardiovascular research. The rabbit is also used as a model for toxicology studies and analyses of drug effects on embryo and fetal development, as well as for research involving the immune system, not to mention its common use in antibody production. Christoph Viebahn and colleagues from the University of Göttingen provide an overview of the rabbit as an experimental system, and protocols for mating and embryo isolation, dissection and fixation of embryos, embryo culture, staining and imaging, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, mounting, embedding and sectioning, embryo transfer, artificial insemination and cryopreservation of embryos.

Paramecium tetraurelia: Paramecium makes an interesting unicellular model, as the authors note:

Paramecium tetraurelia is a widely distributed, free-living unicellular organism that feeds on bacteria and can easily be cultured in the laboratory. Its position within the phylum Ciliophora, remote from the most commonly used models, offers an interesting perspective on the basic cellular and molecular processes of eukaryotic life. Its large size and complex cellular organization facilitate morphogenetic studies of conserved structures, such as cilia and basal bodies, as well as electrophysiological studies of swimming behavior. Like all ciliates, P. tetraurelia contains two distinct types of nuclei, the germline micronucleus (MIC) and the somatic macronucleus (MAC), which differentiate from copies of the zygotic nucleus after fertilization. The sexual cycle can be managed by controlling food uptake, allowing the study of a developmentally regulated differentiation program in synchronous cultures. Spectacular genome rearrangements occur during the development of the somatic macronucleus. Their epigenetic control by RNA-mediated homology-dependent mechanisms, which might underlie long-known cases of non-Mendelian inheritance, provides evolutionary insight into the diversity of small RNA pathways involved in genome regulation. Being endowed with two alternative modes of sexual reproduction (conjugation and autogamy), P. tetraurelia is ideally suited for genetic analyses, and the recent sequencing of its macronuclear genome revealed one of the largest numbers of genes in any eukaryote. Together with the development of new molecular techniques, including complementation cloning and an easily implemented technique for reverse genetics based on RNA interference (RNAi), these features make P. tetraurelia a very attractive unicellular model.

Eric Meyer and colleagues from the CNRS have written an overview of P tetraurelia as a model system, and protocols for maintaining cell lines, mass culture, gene silencing, DNA microinjection, immunocytochemistry, and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

We have some new organisms in the works for Volume 3, but would welcome your suggestions.

Metagenomics, the study of DNA isolated from naturally occurring populations and samples, is rapidly growing. Improvements to cloning and sequencing techniques are allowing researchers to study organism in environmental samples, and new knowledge of species interactions and community dynamics is emerging. The identification of microorganisms in these samples is of vital importance to their interpretation. In the January issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, Annelie Wendeberg of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research presents a protocol for Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization for the Identification of Environmental Microbes. The methods described allow the phylogenetic identification of microorganisms in environmental samples (e.g., water and sediments) by means of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes followed by signal amplification with catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD). The protocol is one of January’s featured articles, and like all featured articles in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, it is freely accessible to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

Cold Spring Harbor Protocols is hosting the movie figures that accompany the new lab manual, Live Cell Imaging, Second Edition, edited by Robert Goldman, Jason Swedlow and David Spector, . These movies are freely accessible to all, and worth a look if you’re interested in seeing the state of the art in time lapse imaging.

With the recent progress in understanding epigenetic mechanisms, methods for profiling patterns of DNA modification have become important tools for analysis of gene regulation. DNA methylation, in which cytosine is modified to form 5-methylcytosine, is a well-characterized epigenetic modification essential for normal development in plants and mammals. In the December issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, Jon Reinders presents Amplification of Bisulfite-Converted DNA for Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiling. This method utilizes the treatment of DNA with sodium bisulfite, which converts unmethylated cytosine to uracil (5-methylcytosine is not converted). This is followed with PCR amplification, where the uracil amplifies as thymine, creating a C-to-T transition. The genome can then be analyzed for these transitions using an array-based platform. Reinders protocol mitigates the major issues with bisulfite conversion (DNA fragmentation and poor reproducibility) and reduces bias during the amplification step. While the protocol is optimized for use in Arabidopsis, it can potentially be adapted for use in other organisms.

Live cell imaging techniques are driving a revolution in biological research. Instead of viewing dead tissues and cells fixed at a particular stage of activity, scientists can now visualize dynamic changes as they happen, permitting a better understanding of complete processes. The revolution has been fueled by the implementation of genetically encoded fluorescent proteins, the subject of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The diverse array of applications benefiting from fluorescent proteins ranges from markers targeted at organelles and protein fusions designed to monitor intracellular dynamics to reporters of transcriptional regulation and in vivo probes for whole-body imaging and detection of cancer. Fluorescent proteins have enabled the creation of highly specific biosensors to monitor a wide range of intracellular phenomena, including pH and metal-ion concentration, protein kinase activity, apoptosis, membrane voltage, cyclic nucleotide signaling, and tracing neuronal pathways. In the December issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, David Piston and colleagues present Fluorescent Protein Tracking and Detection: Fluorescent Protein Structure and Color Variants, a comprehensive overview of the wide variety of fluorescent proteins that are currently available. The article features more than twenty movies of different fluorescent proteins in action and is a great primer for planning imaging experiments. As one of December’s featured articles, it is freely available to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

In addition, the same authors have also contributed Fluorescent Protein Tracking and Detection: Applications Using Fluorescent Proteins in Living Cells. This article provides some general tips for the practical aspects of using and imaging enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and newer members of the color palette, as well as quantitative imaging of fluorescent proteins and imaging of several fluorescent proteins at the same time. Finally, an overview is provided for the different types of biosensors that have been derived from flourescent proteins.

Both articles are adapted from the spectacular new manual, Live Cell Imaging: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition which is due out by month’s end.

CSH Protocols December Cover

We’re getting toward the end of the second volume of our Emerging Model Organisms series in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, and November’s issue brings us a look at the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid and the genus Dioscorea, or True Yams.

Euprymna scolopes, the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid (our cover model this month, see below) is a cephalopod that’s well-suited for study in the laboratory. E. scolopes is primarily studied in three contexts:
1) as a model for cephalopod development–the embryos and protective chorions are clear, making it amenable for the observations and manipulations common in other studied model systems
2) as a model of animal-bacteria symbioses with the luminous marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri
3) as a system for studying the interaction of tissues with light, as the squid features a specialized light organ.

Heinz Gert de Couet and colleagues supply an overview of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid as a model system, along with protocols for Preparation of Genomic DNA, Confocal Immunocytochemistry, Whole-Mount In Situ Hybridization (parts 1 and 2), and Culture and Observation.

Dioscorea is a large genus of plants that are monocots but that look like dicots, and are closely related to the phylogenetically derived group containing the grasses. It’s interesting evolutionarily because of the position it occupies, as a link between the eudicots and grasses–groups that contain all the model flowering plant species. The true yam is also important as a food crop. R. Geeta and colleagues provide an overview of the genus, and protocols for husbandry, culturing tissues, management of plantlets, controlled crosses, and DNA extraction.

CSH Protocols November Cover