Lab resources

Collaboration guidelines

  • We always welcome people who, like us, want to push the boundaries of science.
  • If you would like to collaborate or to have access to any of my lab’s resources, please write to “pmurawala@mdibl.org.“
  • MDIBL has a rich history of hosting visiting scientists at its campus in Salisbury Cove, on Mount Desert Island (MDI). The beauty of the Atlantic Ocean and Acadia National Park on MDI are bonus attractions if you are considering spending a few months here for your sabbatical or for a short research visit. 
  • To check out our transgenic axolotl repertoire, click here.
  • Click me – to learn more about MDIBL’s Visiting Scientist Program.

Institutes on Mount Desert Island

1.       MDIBL

2.       The Jackson Laboratory (JAX)

Murawala lab plasmids

Transgenic axolotl lines

The following axolotl lines are available in our laboratory at MDIBL, where they can be used by visiting investigators.  For use at other institutions, some lines can be ordered through the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC).

  • For lines to be used for research and academic purposes, please contact the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC). 
  • To help support studies in the salamander research community, we may supply transgenic lines upon request. Please contact “pmurawala@mdibl.org“ if you are interested in any of the below listed transgenic lines.
  • We do not supply axolotls to private individuals. 

Disclaimer!!! 

  • Many of these lines were developed by researchers who are not current or past members of our lab. 
  • Please cite and credit the transgenic lines appropriately—for each line, considerable time and effort is required to generate stable F1/F2 lines and to thoroughly characterize the transgenic line. 
  • Please also visit www.axobase.org for all published lines in the field.

Non-transgenic strains

1.        d/d strain – A strain with a homozygous mutation that causes a lack of skin pigmentation.  These animals are used frequently in molecular-biology and imaging experiments because of this phenotype; i.e., they are leucistic (Order from AGSC)

2.        Wild-type animals – Black animals (Order from AGSC)

Transgenic strains: ubiquitous fluorescence for grafting studies

1.        tgSceI (CAGGs:eGFP)Etnka – Ubiquitous GFP expression (Sobkow et al., Developmental Biology, 2006) (Order from AGSC)

2.        tgSceI (CAGGs:Cherrynuc)Etnka – Ubiquitous nuclear Cherry expression (Kragl et al., Nature, 2009) 

3.        tgSceI (CAGGs:lifeAct)Pmx – For visualizing the actin cytoskeleton (unpublished)

4.       tgSceI (CAGGs:Alpha-Tubulin)Pmx – For visualizing microtubules (unpublished)

Transgenic strains: fluorescent reporters

1.        tgSceI(Mmu.B3Tub:memGFP)Etnka  – For visualizing neurons (Khattak et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2013) (Order from AGSC)

2.        tgSceI(Mmu.B3Tub:Cherry)Pmx – For visualizing neurons (unpublished)

3.        tgSceI(Xla.Caract: GFP)Etnka  – For visualizing muscle fibers (Khattak et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2013)  (Order from AGSC)

4.        tgSceI(Mmu.CNP: GFP)Etnka  – For visualizing Schwann cells (Khattak et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2013) (Order from AGSC)

5.        tgSceI(RARE:GFP)Pmx  – For visualizing retinoic acid activity (Monaghan et al., Developmental Biology, 2012)

6.        tm(Sox2t/+:Sox2-T2A-Cherry)Etnka  – For visualizing neural progenitors (Fei et al., PNAS, 2017)

7.        tm(HoxA13t/+:HoxA13-T2A-Cherry)Etnka  – For visualizing hand-plate cells (Oliveira et al., Nature Communications, 2022)

8.        tgSceI(TRE:GFP)Pmx  –  For visualizing thyroid pathway activity (unpublished)

Transgenic strains: Cre drivers

1.        tgSceI (CAGGs:ERT2-Cre-ERT2-GFPnls)Etnka – Ubiquitous inducible Cre driver (Khattak et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2013) (Order from AGSC)

2.        tgSceI (Mmu.Col1A2:TFPnls-T2A-ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Etnka – For labeling various subtypes of connective-tissue cells across the body (Gerber et al., Science,  2018) (Order from AGSC)

3.        tm(Pax7t/+:Pax7-P2A-memCherry-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Etnka – For labeling satellite cells and the Pax7 domain of the neural tube (Fei et al., PNAS, 2017) (Order from AGSC)

4.        tgSceI (Mmu.Prrx1:TFPnls-T2A- Cre-ERT2)Etnka – For labeling limb mesenchyme derivatives (Gerber et al., Science,  2018) (Order from AGSC)

5.        tm(Sox2t/+:Sox2-P2A-memCherry-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Etnka – For labeling neural progenitors and lateral line cells (Fei et al., PNAS, 2017)

6.        tm(Twist3t/+:Twist3-T2A-GFPnls-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Pmx – For labeling dermal fibroblasts (Masselink et al., BioRxiv, 2024)

7.        tgSceI(Mmu.Lfng: GFPnls-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Pmx – For labeling asomitic stem cells (Masselink et al., BioRxiv, 2024)

8.        tm(Sox9t/+:Sox9-T2A-GFPnls-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Pmx – For labeling skeletal cells (unpublished)

9.        tm(MCKt/+:MCK-T2A-GFPnls-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Pmx – For labeling skeletal muscles and cardiac muscle (unpublished)

10.  tm(HoxA13t/+:HoxA13-T2A-GFPnls-T2A- ERT2-Cre-ERT2)Pmx – For labeling hand-plate fibroblasts (unpublished)

Transgenic strains: loxP reporters

1.        tgSceI(CAGGs:loxP-GFP-loxP-Cherry)Etnka – GFP to Cherry reporter (Khattak et al., Stem Cell Reports, 2013) (Order from AGSC)

2.        tgSceI(CAGGs:loxP-GFPdead(STOP)-loxP-Cherry)Etnka – No label to Cherry reporter (Kawaguchi et al., Dev Cell, 2024)

3.        tgSceI(CAGGs:loxP-BFPnls-loxP-Cherry-T2A-NTR2.0)Pmx – Conditional cell ablation line that uses metronidazole (García- García et al., BioRxiv, 2025)

4.        tgSceI(CAGGs:loxP-BFPnls-loxP-Cherry-T2A-DTR)Pmx – Conditional cell ablation line that uses diphtheria toxin (unpublished)

5.        tgSceI(CAGGs:loxP-BFPnls-loxP-mEOS2)Pmx – Conditional photo-convertible reporter (unpublished)

Gene Knockouts

1.        tm(Tyr733v6D4/733v6D4)Etnka – Tyrosinase gene (Fei et al., Stem Cell reports, 2014)

Technical expertise

1)        Axolotl husbandry

I.                             Khattak et al., Nature Protocols, 2014

2)        Axolotl transgenesis: I-SceI, Tol2

I.                             Khattak et al., Nature Protocols, 2014

3)        CRISPR knock-in: NHEJ

I.                             Fei et al., Nature Protocols, 2018

4)        Tissue-clearing and imaging

I.                             Masselink et al., Development, 2019

II.                          Pende et al., Science Advances, 2020

5)        Ectopic gene expression: baculovirus, foamy virus

I.                             Oliveira et al., Developmental Biology, 2018

II.                          Murawala et al., Methods Mol Bio, 2023

III.                          Masselink et al., BioRxiv, 2024

6)        Tissue-specific inducible Cre-loxP

I.                             Gerber et al., Science, 2018

7)        Single-cell transcriptomics

I.                             Gerber et al., Science, 2018

II.                          Masselink et al., BioRxiv, 2024

8)        Spatial transcriptomics

I.                             García- García et al., BioRxiv, 2025

Protocols

  • Coming soon…