Generation of LexA enhancer-trap lines in <i>Drosophila</i> by an international scholastic network
Ella S. Kim, Arjun Rajan, Kathleen Chang, Sanath Govindarajan, Clara Gulick, Eva English, Bianca Rodriguez, Orion Bloomfield, Stella Nakada, Charlotte Beard, Sarah E. O’Connor, Sophia Mastroianni, Emma Downey, Matthew S. Feigenbaum, Caitlin Tolentino, Abigail Pace, Marina Khan, Soyoun Moon, Jordan DiPrima, Amber Syed, Flora Lin, Yasmina Abukhadra, Isabella Bacon, John Beckerle, Sophia Cho, Nana Esi Donkor, Lucy Garberg, Ava Harrington, Mai Hoang, Nosa Lawani, Ayush Noori, Euwie Park, Ella Parsons, Philip Oravitan, Matthew Chen, Cristian Molina, Caleb Richmond, Adith Reddi, Jason H. Huang, Cooper Shugrue, Rose Coviello, Selma Unver, Matthew Indelicarto, Emir Islamovic, Rosemary McIlroy, Alana Yang, Mahdi Hamad, Elizabeth Griffin, Zara Ahmed, Asha Alla, Patricia Fitzgerald, Audrey H. Choi, Tanya Das, Yuchen Cheng, Joshua Yu, Tabor Roderiques, Ethan Lee, Longchao Liu, Jaekeb Harper, Jason Wang, Chris Suhr, Max Tan, Jacqueline Luque, A. Russell Tam, Emma Chen, Max Triff, Lyric Zimmermann, Eric Zhang, Jackie D. Wood, Kaitlin Clark, Nat Kpodonu, Antar Dey, Alexander S. Ecker, Maximilian Chuang, Ramón Kodi Suzuki López, Harry Sun, Zijing Wei, H. Stone, Chia Yu Joy, Aiden Silvestri, Petra Orloff, Neha Nedumaran, Aletheia Zou, Leyla Ünver, Oscair Page, Minseo Kim, Terence Yan Tao Chan, Akili Tulloch, Andrea Hernández, Aruli Pillai, Caitlyn Chen, Neil Chowdhury, Lina Huang, Anish Mudide, Garrett Paik, Alexandra Wingate, Lily Quinn, Chris Conybere, Luca Laiza Baumgardt, Rollo Buckley
Abstract
Conditional gene regulation in Drosophila through binary expression systems like the LexA-LexAop system provides a superb tool for investigating gene and tissue function. To increase the availability of defined LexA enhancer trap insertions, we present molecular, genetic, and tissue expression studies of 301 novel Stan-X LexA enhancer traps derived from mobilization of the index SX4 line. This includes insertions into distinct loci on the X, II, and III chromosomes that were not previously associated with enhancer traps or targeted LexA constructs, an insertion into ptc, and seventeen insertions into natural transposons. A subset of enhancer traps was expressed in CNS neurons known to produce and secrete insulin, an essential regulator of growth, development, and metabolism. Fly lines described here were generated and characterized through studies by students and teachers in an international network of genetics classes at public, independent high schools, and universities serving a diversity of students, including those underrepresented in science. Thus, a unique partnership between secondary schools and university-based programs has produced and characterized novel resources in Drosophila, establishing instructional paradigms devoted to unscripted experimental science.