Artificial Chromosome Transgenesis Reveals Long-Distance Negative Regulation of ragl in Zebrafish

Abstract

Despite the essential roles played by the recombination activating genes (ragl and rag2) during V(D)J recombination, the mechanisms that restrict their expression to lymphoid cells are undefined. Using a novel approach to achieve artificial chromosome transgenesis in zebrafish, we demonstrate that distal regulatory elements are critical to suppress ragl expression in inappropriate tissues. In contrast to smaller reporter gene constructs, 125 and 75 kb artificial chromosomes containing the zebrafish rag genomic locus directed GFP expression in a pattern reflective of endogenous rag 1. Mapping experiments identified a positive element 5' of ragl that enhances GFP expression in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues and a negative element 5' of ra g l that specifically suppresses GFP expression in the skeletal muscle. Our transgenic zebrafish also express GFP in olfactory neurons which we show represent an authentic ra g l expression site in zebrafish.