Does anyone know a strong transactivation domain like VP16 (used in mammalian cells) that would work in C. elegans?
The idea is to activate transcription using VP16 bound to some DBD (DNA binding domain).
Have you ever checked out the Q system by Kang’s lab? http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/v9/n4/full/nmeth.1929.html
I have actually, thats the first thing that came up on my searches, but if I understand the paper correctly they used a transactivation domain (TAD) from Neurospora crassa.
I was looking something from C. elegans.
But I guess if it works… it might be worth trying it out.
I was also thinking of using VP16 itself. Although I think most people don’t really use VP16 in C. elegans but there happen to be a few papers using it.
So it this point I’m thinking of trying both of these and also maybe use some TAD from nuclear receptors in C. elegans. But I have no idea which one to pick.
The basic transcriptional machinery is conserved across eukaryotes, so any activation domain that doesn’t require specific co-factors should work. VP16, QF, and GAL4 activation domains are three of the best characterized, and have been used in species from yeast to mammals.