The epithelial cells that line the intestine are organized in structures called crypts and vili. The Crypts are recessed while the vili extend into the intestinal lumen. The intestinal epithelia have short lifespans (on the order of a week) and they are replaced by an intestinal stem cell located at the very bottom of the crypt. These stem cells are marked by a protein called LGR5.You wish to use the CreER approach discussed in class to confirm that LGR5-expressing cells really do give rise to all epithelial cells. How could you do this in a mouse? Describe how long you would activate CreER and how long you would wait to assay. Justify your experimental setup. Remember that CreER is activated by a drug and is only active when the drug is around.

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