Kiss1^tm1Rla

Exon 1 was replaced with a neomycin resistance cassette. Southern blotting confirmed recombination but RT-PCR of exon 2 detected a transcript from the gene. Amplification and sequencing of the transcript revealed a previously unknown exon upstream of the targeted exon that was splicing to exon 2. Because no translational start site was found in this sequence, the mutation was predicted not to produce a functional protein. This was confirmed by immunohistochemistry on the hypothalamus. (J:126704)