GENETIC-TRANSFORMATION OF AN ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODE BY MICROINJECTION

We report the first successful transformation of an entomopathogenic n ematode. Foreign genes were introduced in Heterorhabditis bacteriophor a HP88 by microinjection using vectors carrying the Caenorhabditis ele gans genes coding for the roller phenotype and 16-kDa heat shock prote in (hsp16) gene. A translational fusion made by inserting lacZ in fram e into hsp16 was expressed in the body musculature, hypodermis, and ph aryngeal muscles. The transcription of the hsp16/lacZ transgenes resul ted in the rapid synthesis of detectable levels of beta-galactosidase. This research opens new avenues for genetic modification of entomopat hogenic nematodes. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.