In vivo electroporation for genetic manipulations of whole Hydra polyps

In vivo electroporation is used to study gene regulation and gene function in the freshwater polyp Hydra. Although this approach has been used successfully by several investigators, efficacy and handling continue to present a problem. Here we show technical aspects of in vivo electroporation for introducing fluorescent dyes, plasmid DNA and double stranded RNA into Hydra polyps. We describe the fundamentals of the electroporation delivery system, discuss recent studies where this approach has been used successfully, compare it to alternative transfection methods such as lipofection, and identify future directions.