Enhanced Golic+: Gene targeting with 100% recovery in Drosophila male germ cells

Abstract

The efficiency of gene targeting can vary drastically. Even utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 does not ensure rapid, successful gene targeting. In Drosophila, we previously established Golic+ to augment gene-targeting productivity simply through fly pushing. This transgene-based system elicits gene targeting in germ cells. It further implements lethality selection to enrich for progeny with accurate gene targeting. However, limitations still remain. Here we deliver an improved Golic+ technique that we name Enhanced Golic+ (E-Golic+). E-Golic+ incorporates genetic modifications to eliminate false positives while simultaneously boosting efficiency. Strikingly, male germ cells are exceptionally susceptible to gene targeting using E-Golic+. With male founders, we easily achieve 100% recovery of correct gene targeting. Given the superior efficiency/specificity and relatively effortless scalability, E-Golic+ promises to triumph in any challenging and otherwise unattainable gene targeting projects in Drosophila.