Biology subjects

Ollerenshaw, D. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Ollerenshaw, D. R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2017

A suite of transgenic driver and reporter mouse lines with enhanced brain cell type targeting and functionality

Modern genetic approaches are powerful in providing access to diverse types of neurons within the mammalian brain and greatly facilitating the study of their function. We here report a large set of driver and reporter transgenic mouse lines, including 23 new driver lines targeting a variety of cortical and subcortical cell populations and 26 new reporter lines expressing an array of molecular tools. In particular, we describe the TIGRE2.0 transgenic platform and introduce Cre-dependent reporter lines that enable optical physiology, optogenetics, and sparse labeling of genetically-defined cell populations. TIGRE2.0 reporters broke the barrier in transgene expression level of single-copy targeted-insertion transgenesis in a wide range of neuronal types, along with additional advantage of a simplified breeding strategy compared to our first-generation TIGRE lines. These novel transgenic lines greatly expand the repertoire of high-precision genetic tools available to effectively identify, monitor, and manipulate distinct cell types in the mouse brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Mouse hue and wavelength-specific luminance contrast sensitivity are non-uniform across visual space

Mammalian visual behaviors, as well as responses in the neural systems thought to underlie these behaviors, are driven by luminance and hue contrast. With tools for measuring activity in cell-type specific populations in the mouse during visual behavior gaining traction, it is important to define the extent of luminance and hue information that is behaviorally-accessible to the mouse. A non-uniform distribution of cone opsins in the mouse potentially complicates both luminance and hue sensitivity: opposing gradients of short (UV-shifted) and middle (blue/green) cone opsins suggest that hue discrimination and wavelength-specific luminance contrast sensitivity may differ depending on retinotopic location. Here we ask if, and how well, mice can discriminate color and wavelength-specific luminance across visuotopic space. We found that mice were able to discriminate hue, and were able to do so more broadly across visuotopic space than expected from the cone-opsin distribution. We also found wavelength-band specific differences in luminance sensitivity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Aberrant Cortical Activity In Multiple GCaMP6-Expressing Transgenic Mouse Lines

Transgenic mouse lines are invaluable tools for neuroscience but as with any technique, care must be taken to ensure that the tool itself does not unduly affect the system under study. Here we report aberrant electrical activity, similar to interictal spikes, and accompanying fluorescence events in some genotypes of transgenic mice expressing GCaMP6 genetically-encoded calcium sensors. These epileptiform events have been observed particularly, but not exclusively, in mice with Emx1-Cre and Ai93 transgenes, across multiple laboratories. The events occur at >0.1 Hz, are very large in amplitude (>1.0 mV local field potentials, >10% df/f widefield imaging signals), and typically cover large regions of cortex. Many properties of neuronal responses and behavior seem normal despite these events, though rare subjects exhibit overt generalized seizures. The underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unclear, but we speculate about possible causes on the basis of diverse observations. We encourage researchers to be aware of these activity patterns while interpreting neuronal recordings from affected mouse lines and when considering which lines to study.

neuroscience↗