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Visualizing axon guidance phenotypes induced by RNAi in chicken embryos

Nature Methods volume 4, pages i–ii (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The ability to turn off a gene of interest in a temporally and spatially controlled manner is key to the analysis of gene function in developing organisms. However, the induction of temporally controlled loss-of-function phenotype is very difficult. A combination of RNA interference (RNAi) with fluorescence microscopy analysis is proving to be a very good solution to this problem. Here we show that the Olympus SZX stereo and upright BX microscopes, both with fluorescence illumination capabilities, are perfect for use in these situations.

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Figure 1: Specific and efficient silencing of target genes by in ovo RNAi, visualized using an Olympus BX51 microscope equipped with fluorescence optics.
Figure 2: In this 5-day-old chicken embryo imaged with an Olympus SZX12 stereo microscope equipped with fluorescence optics, GFP can easily be detected in the spinal cord.
Figure 3: Axonal pathfinding in the peripheral nervous system can be visualized by anti-neurofilament staining of intact embryos.

References

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the assistance of E. Stoeckli in the development of this manuscript.

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  1. Olympus Life Science Europa, Microscopy, Wendenstrasse 14-18, Hamburg, D-20097, Germany

    Winfried Busch

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  1. Winfried Busch
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Correspondence to Winfried Busch.

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Busch, W. Visualizing axon guidance phenotypes induced by RNAi in chicken embryos. Nat Methods 4, i–ii (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth1140

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