A transgenic animal is
genetically modified to
contain a gene from
another species
(including gene addition,
removal or modification)
Aim is to produce
a stable and
heritable change in
the genetic makeup
of an animal
Knock ins
Placing genes
at specific loci
Knock outs
Removing
genes
Used to control gene
function, increase
disease resistance,
modify metabolism or
production traits and
to produce
pharmaceuticals
Xenotransplantation
Transplantation of
living cells, tissues
or organs from one
species to another
Methods of
Producing
Transgenic
Animals
Pronuclear
Injection
DNA extracted
for the gene of
interest
Several hundred copies
are injected directly into
one (or both) pronuclei
of the fertilised zygote
Integration of many
copies tends to happen at
a single random point
during the many rounds of
replication of the cells
After injection,
the embryos are
returned directly
to a surrogate
10-20%
success
rate in mice
1-10%
success rate in
farm animals
Most animals
produced are
not transgenic
There is great
variation in transgene
expression between
transgenic individuals
Genes can be added, but not
removed, and the flock/herd
development is very slow
Sperm-Mediated
Gene Transfer
Demembranated
spermatids are incubated
with the DNA and then
injected into oocytes
Alternatively, mouse spermatocytes
have been removed, transfected in
culture and transplanted back into
the mouse, making transgenic sperm
ICSI is
used
Intra-cytoplasmic
sperm injection
The egg is held in place
using suction and the
sperm is injected into the
cytoplasm of the egg
Sperm
Cheaper, easier,
less equipment
and skill required
Spermatids
More efficient than a
pronuclear injection,
but it is more difficult
to perform ICSI
Spermatocytes
Difficult to produce the
transgenic male, but can
then be used in natural
breeding (easier)
Genes can only
be added, not
removed, except
for in transfected
spermatocytes
Random integration
of DNA results in
highly variable
expression of the
transfected DNA
Generation times of
farm animals are wuite
long, so reliance on
natural breeding is
time consuming
Embryonic
Stem Cells
Can be kept in
culture almost
indefinitely and so
are useful for
homologous
recombination
Useful for modelling
human diseases in mice,
looking at gene structure
and function, and to
study cell differentiation
Mouse ESCs can be
transfected with a
new gene in culture,
micro-injected into a
blastocyst and then
implanted into a
surrogate mouse
F1 generation are bred
for germline transmission,
creating ES-derived and
non-ES derived offspring
ES-derived
offspring are bred
to homozygosity
Results in the
incorporation of
a new gene into
a species
Nuclear
Transfer
Reconstruction of an
embryo via the transfer
of genetic material from
a donor cell to an
enucleated recipient
egg, from which the
original genetic material
has been removed
Creates a copy of
the animal the donor
cell came from
Can be
performed with
embryonic and
somatic cells
Nucleus is transferred,
de-differentiation occurs
where the somatic genes
are turned off and the
somatic chromatin marks
All animals
are transgenic
Allows the first
generation
produced to be
transgenic
Example
Polly the
sheep
First transgenic
cloned lamb
Allows
pre-selection of high
expression cells
Mammary cells can
be cultured, and a
human gene added
with a marker
The cell with the highest
expression of the gene of
interest can then be identified
and cloned, before carrying
out nuclear transfer
Transgenic animals can
also be used for producing
antibodies, as an alternative
to bacterial systems
The animals can be created
to produce high levels of
certain antibodies, which they
then expel in bodily fluids like
blood, milk and urine