Genetic targeting of chemical indicators in vivo

Snap-tag reporter mice allow flexible yet efficient targeting of chemical indicators to genetically labeled cells in vivo . With this strategy, cells can either be labeled fluorescently or ablated using the same reporter. Fluorescent protein reporters have become the mainstay for tracing cellular circuitry in vivo but are limited in their versatility. Here we generated Cre-dependent reporter mice expressing the Snap-tag to target synthetic indicators to cells. Snap-tag labeling worked efficiently and selectively in vivo , allowing for both the manipulation of behavior and monitoring of cellular fluorescence from the same reporter.