Genetic transformation of Artemia franciscana by electroporation

Artemia franciscana also known as brine shrimp, and sea monkey is a halophilic crustacean used in aquaculture as living food and had a little role in research as toxicological model. Despite its easy handling and availability, Artemia barely has genetic engineering. The objective of this work is to develop a protocol for the genetic transformation of Artemia franciscana using electroporation and diapause cysts. Decapsulated cysts were electroporated with exponential decay voltage and square wave pulse, the efficiency was calculated. The effect of the plasmid DNA used, and the voltage were evaluated. Square wave pulse shows a better efficiency compared to the exponential. The concentration of DNA has no effect on the efficiency of transfection. Voltage at one level (1000 V·cm-1) had the best efficiency of transfection, but also the worst hatching. With protocol and the information generated, it will be possible to evaluate genetic regulatory elements to the future develop of a tool box for genetic manipulation.