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Caged Morpholino Oligonucleotide For Control Of Gene Expression In Zebrafish, Chad Michael Jarreau

LSU Master's Theses

To control gene expression in vivo with spatial and temporal precision remains a significant hurdle in laboratory studies of development as well as clinical genetic therapies. Here we demonstrate such control over gene expression by use of photochemistry to reversibly inactivate the hybridization of a nucleic acid analog used for specific protein knockdown. A morpholino oligonucleotide, commonly used for knockdown of protein expression in developmental studies, was “caged” using carbodiimide conjugate chemistry which yielded photocleavable adducts that can be removed with light exposure. Photochemical inactivation approaches to produce caged molecules have been used to control the spatiotemporal activity of biomolecules …