Developing cell type-specific gene expression techniques in marmoset brain

Viral vectors carrying cell type-specific promoters allow us to express transgenes such as fluorescent proteins and/or functional molecules specifically in certain cell types in a temporally regulated manner. However, many cell type-specific promoters have relatively week promoter activity and large in size. Compact cell type-specific promoters having robust promoter activity are indispensable for viral vector-mediated selective labeling/functional alteration of a specific cell population or a specific neural circuit. In this project, we develop various cell type-specific promoters optimized in marmoset brain.