Generation of Viable Plant-Vertebrate Chimeras

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 30;10(6):e0130295. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130295. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The extreme dependence on external oxygen supply observed in animals causes major clinical problems and several diseases are related to low oxygen tension in tissues. The vast majority of the animals do not produce oxygen but a few exceptions have shown that photosynthetic capacity is physiologically compatible with animal life. Such symbiotic photosynthetic relationships are restricted to a few aquatic invertebrates. In this work we aimed to explore if we could create a chimerical organism by incorporating photosynthetic eukaryotic cells into a vertebrate animal model. Here, the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was injected into zebrafish eggs and the interaction and viability of both organisms were studied. Results show that microalgae were distributed into different tissues, forming a fish-alga chimera organism for a prolonged period of time. In addition, microscopic observation of injected algae, in vivo expression of their mRNA and re-growth of the algae ex vivo suggests that they survived to the developmental process, living for several days after injection. Moreover microalgae did not trigger a significant inflammatory response in the fish. This work provides additional evidence to support the possibility that photosynthetic vertebrates can be engineered.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Bioengineering
  • Chimera / embryology
  • Chimera / genetics
  • Chimera / microbiology*
  • Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / genetics*
  • Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / growth & development*
  • Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / metabolism
  • Larva / genetics
  • Larva / growth & development
  • Larva / microbiology
  • Microalgae / genetics
  • Microalgae / growth & development
  • Microalgae / metabolism
  • Microinjections
  • Photosynthesis
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Zebrafish / embryology
  • Zebrafish / genetics
  • Zebrafish / microbiology*

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger

Grants and funding

MA and JTE were funded by grants from FONDAP 15090007 and ICGEB CRP/CHI11-01. JTE was funded by a CIRM-BMBF Early Translational II Award. This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Technische Universität München within the funding programme Open Access Publishing. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.