Introduction: Genetic manipulation of Aedes aegypti is key to developing a deeper understanding of this insects\' biology, vector-virus interactions and makes future genetic control strategies possible. Despite some advances, this process remains laborious and requires highly skilled researchers and specialist equipment. Methods: Here we present two improved methods for genetic manipulation in this species. Use of transgenic lines which express Cre recombinase and a plasmid-based method for expressing PhiC31 when injected into early embryos. Results: Use of transgenic lines which express Cre recombinase allowed, by simple crossing schemes, germline or somatic recombination of transgenes, which could be utilized for numerous genetic manipulations. PhiC31 integrase based methods for site-specific integration of genetic elements was also improved, by developing a plasmid which expresses PhiC31 when injected into early embryos, eliminating the need to use costly and unstable mRNA as is the current standard. Discussion: Here we have expanded the toolbox for synthetic biology in Ae. aegypti. These methods can be easily transferred into other mosquito and even insect species by identifying appropriate promoter sequences. This advances the ability to manipulate these insects for fundamental studies, and for more applied approaches for pest control.

Insect cells, especially Sf9 cells, are commonly used in biomanufacturing due to their advantages in high expression levels and post-translational modification. However, the development of stable expression cell lines via random integration tended to be unstable. Site-specific integration (SSI) is an alternative strategy. In this study, a φC31 -mediated cassette exchange system in Sf9 cells was established for SSI. The tagging cassette with the reporter gene egfp was randomly inserted into the cell genome. Potential platform cell lines were obtained by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and single-cell cloning. Platform cell lines were selected by assessing the fluorescence expression, stability, and growth kinetics of cell lines. The selected platform cell lines were co-transfected with the φC31-containing plasmid and the targeting cassette. Green-fluorescence-negative clones were screened by hygromycin resistance and FACS. The resulting cell clones exhibited the expression properties of the platform cell lines. The rapid development of cell lines for the production of influenza subunit vaccines by the cassette exchange system demonstrated that the system constituted a versatile and reusable platform for the production of various recombinant proteins. Overall, the φC31-mediated cassette exchange system in Sf9 cells has the potential to facilitate and accelerate biologics development.

Molecular biology techniques have a large impact on biomedical research and the availability of diverse tools to perform genome manipulations advances the ease of executing complicated genetic research. Here, we introduce in the fruit fly another such tool by harnessing the phage recombinase TP901-1 to perform site-directed recombination that leads to recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE). The TP901-1 system complements already existing recombination systems and enhances genome engineering in the fruit fly and other organisms.

Effective genome engineering should lead to a desired locus change with minimal adverse impact to the genome itself. However, flanking loci with site-directed recombinase recognition sites, such as those of the phage ΦC31 integrase, allows for creation of platforms for cassette exchange and manipulation of genomic regions in an iterative manner, once specific loci have been targeted. Here we show that a genomic locus engineered with inverted minimal phage ΦC31 attP/attB sites can undergo efficient recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

Rapid and reliable genome modifications provide the basis for detailed in vivo functional analysis of any genomic entity (gene, regulatory DNA, non-coding RNA, etc). With the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, manipulation of a particular genomic locus has become a routine undertaking in variety of model organisms, including the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. To further diversify the available tools for genome engineering, we successfully harnessed the phage recombinase Bxb1 to perform recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) in D. melanogaster. We demonstrate that Bxb1 possesses highly efficient recombinase activity and could be used alone or in conjunction with other currently available recombinases for creating platforms for cassette exchange of targeted loci.

BACKGROUND: The AAVS1 locus is viewed as a \'safe harbor\' for transgene insertion into human genome. In the present study, we report a new method for AAVS1 targeting in human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).
METHODS: We have developed two baculoviral transduction systems: one to deliver zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) and a DNA donor template for site-specific gene insertion and another to mediate Cre recombinase-mediated cassette exchange system to replace the inserted transgene with a new transgene.
RESULTS: Our ZFN system provided the targeted integration efficiency of a Neo-EGFP cassette of 93.8% in G418-selected, stable hiPSC colonies. Southern blotting analysis of 20 AASV1 targeted colonies revealed no random integration events. Among 24 colonies examined for mono- or biallelic AASV1 targeting, 25% of them were biallelically modified. The selected hiPSCs displayed persistent enhanced green fluorescent protein expression and continued the expression of stem cell pluripotency markers. The hiPSCs maintained the ability to differentiate into three germ lineages in derived embryoid bodies and transgene expression was retained in the differentiated cells. After pre-including the loxP-docking sites into the Neo-EGFP cassette, we demonstrated that a baculovirus-Cre/loxP system could be used to facilitate the replacement of the Neo-EGFP cassette with another transgene cassette at the AAVS1 locus.
CONCLUSIONS: Given high targeting efficiency, stability in expression of inserted transgene and flexibility in transgene exchange, the approach reported in the present study holds potential for generating genetically-modified human pluripotent stem cells suitable for developmental biology research, drug development, regenerative medicine and gene therapy.