Tg(Per2-DsRed*T3)12Obr

The transgene comprises bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) #RP24-391L2 containing the mouse period 2 (Per2) gene into which a DsRed.T3-NLS-PEST fusion gene has been inserted. The DsRed.T3 variant contains eight point mutations relative to the parent DsRed gene that increase the protein's maturation kinetics ~10-fold. To improve the protein's kinetic properties further, the PEST domain of the mouse ornithine decarboxylase gene was introduced following the penultimate codon of the gene. A nuclear localization signal (NLS) was cloned in-frame between the DsRed coding sequence and the PEST domain. The sequence encoding the fusion protein is preceded by a human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) promoter and followed by an SV40 polyadenylation signal. Its robust expression in neuronal cells of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus is cyclic and light-inducible; it is also expressed at lower levels in glial cells of brain regions outside the SCN. (J:150729)