DiCre-Based Inducible Gene Expression

Methods Mol Biol. 2019:1971:225-235. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9210-2_11.

Abstract

Induction of gene expression is a valuable approach for functional studies since it allows for the assessment of phenotypes without the need for clonal selection. Inducible expression can find a wide range of applications, from the study of essential genes to the characterization of overexpression of genes of interest. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for the use of the DiCre-based inducible gene expression system in Leishmania parasites. This is a tightly regulated induction system that allows for time- and dose-controlled expression of gene products, as rapidly as within 12 h.

Keywords: Conditional genome engineering; DiCre; Dimerizable cre recombinase; Inducible gene expression; Leishmania; Trypanosomatids.

MeSH terms

  • Gene Deletion*
  • Genes, Protozoan*
  • Integrases*
  • Leishmania / genetics*
  • Recombination, Genetic*

Substances

  • Cre recombinase
  • Integrases