Application of ALFA-Tagging in the Nematode Model Organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus

Abstract

The detection, manipulation and purification of proteins is key in modern life sciences studies. To achieve this goal, a plethora of epitope tags have been employed in model organisms from bacteria to humans. Recently, the introduction of the rationally designed ALFA-tag resulted in a highly versatile tool with a very broad spectrum of potential applications. ALFA-tagged proteins can be detected by nanobodies, the single-domain antibodies of camelids, allowing for super-resolution microscopy and immunoprecipitation in biochemical applications. Here, we introduce ALFA-tagging into the two nematode model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. We show that the introduction of the DNA sequence, corresponding to the 13 amino acid sequence of the ALFA-tag, can easily be accommodated by CRISPR engineering. We provide examples of high-resolution protein expression in both nematodes. Finally, we use the GW182 ortholog Ppa-ain-1 to show successful pulldowns in P. pacificus. Thus, the ALFA-tag represents a novel epitope tag for nematode research with a broad spectrum of applications.