Tg(Dcx-cre/ERT2)DC-F30Zqx

A BAC clone (RP23-462G16) containing the Dcx locus as well as 30 kb upstream and 60 kb downstream was homologously recombined with a targeting vector to insert the cre/ERT2 open reading frame, a bovine growth hormone polyA tag and an Frt-flanked neo marker into exon 2 of Dcx which silenced the BAC copy of Dcx. Arabinose-induced flp expression in bacterial cells removed the neo cassette from the construct. The linearized, purified construct was microinjected into pronuclei of fertilized C57BL/6 eggs. In a cross to Rosa26-YFP reporter mice, line DC-F30 showed robust tamoxifen-induced ectopic YFP labeling in layer III. IV, and VI of the cortex with some of these neurons from these layers projecting to the dentate gyrus through the perforant pathway. Labeling of cortical axons allowed delineation of molecular layer dendritic fields and facilitated analysis of spine differentiation in the inner molecular layer. (J:187505)