A novel gene trap line for visualization and manipulation of erbb3b+ neural crest and glial cells in zebrafish

Glia are a diverse and essential cell type in the vertebrate nervous system. Transgenic tools and fluorescent reporter lines are critical resources to investigate how glial subtypes develop and function. However, despite the many lines available in zebrafish, the community still lacks the ability to label all unique stages of glial development and specific subpopulations of cells. To address this issue, we screened zebrafish gene and enhancer trap lines to find a novel reporter for peripheral glial subtypes. From these, we generated the gSAIzGFFD37A transgenic line that expresses GFP in neural crest cells and central and peripheral glia. We found that the gene trap construct is located within an intron of erbb3b, a gene essential for glial development. Additionally, we confirmed that GFP+ ​cells express erbb3b along with sox10, a known glial marker. From our screen, we have identified the gSAIzGFFD37A line as a novel and powerful tool for studying glia in the developing zebrafish, as well as a new resource to manipulate erbb3b+ ​cells. [Display omitted] •Novel zebrafish line gSAIzGFFD37A labels neural crest and glial cells.•gSAIzGFFD37A transgene is inserted in the erbb3b locus.•gSAIzGFFD37A shares spatiotemporal expression patterns with erbb3b.•gSAIzGFFD37A can be used with existing UAS transgenic tools. Summary: This manuscript characterizes the zebrafish gene trap line gSAIzGFFD37A, which drives GFP expression in erbb3b ​+ ​cells. This line is a novel and valuable tool for studying neural crest cells and glia.