1
Question
(a) Why are transgenic animals being produced?
(b) How can man benefit from the modifications introduced in transgenic animals?
(b) How can man benefit from the modifications introduced in transgenic animals?
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Solution
Introduction to transgenic animals :
The animals whose genome has been modified to carry and express a foreign gene (gene of other organisms) are called transgenic animals. Examples include transgenic mice, rats, pigs, cows etc. that have been modified to carry a transgene.
Reason of production of transgenic animals :
Transgenic animals are being produced for various purposes:
- For research purposes such as to study the effect of a drug, its toxicity and side effects and to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines.
- To produce a better yield of products obtained from animals as well as their nutritional enrichment such as milk.
- To produce good quality breeds.
- To develop a disease model and study the mechanism and prognosis of a disease.
Biological products:
- Good quality milk with increased albumin content. Rosie, the cow has produced milk containing more amounts of human alpha-lactalbumin that has higher nutritional value.
- Transgenic cattle are produced in a way that they express a particular protein that can be used for treatment of diseases, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin is expressed in cattle to treat emphysema.
Studying diseases:
Transgenic mice are widely used as disease models of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s diseases, cancer etc. to have a better understanding about the diseases and their prognosis.
Drug safety testing:
Transgenic animals are also used to study the effect and safety of a drug before making it commercially available.
Vaccine safety :
To check the efficacy, side-effects and safety of a vaccine, it is tested on transgenic animals or disease models before being introduced in human trials.
Basic understanding of normal physiology and development :
Transgenic animals such as transgenic mice are used to study the function of genes, their regulation. This is because mice share a lot of gene similarity with humans.
The animals whose genome has been modified to carry and express a foreign gene (gene of other organisms) are called transgenic animals. Examples include transgenic mice, rats, pigs, cows etc. that have been modified to carry a transgene.
Reason of production of transgenic animals :
Transgenic animals are being produced for various purposes:
- For research purposes such as to study the effect of a drug, its toxicity and side effects and to evaluate the efficacy of vaccines.
- To produce a better yield of products obtained from animals as well as their nutritional enrichment such as milk.
- To produce good quality breeds.
- To develop a disease model and study the mechanism and prognosis of a disease.
Biological products:
- Good quality milk with increased albumin content. Rosie, the cow has produced milk containing more amounts of human alpha-lactalbumin that has higher nutritional value.
- Transgenic cattle are produced in a way that they express a particular protein that can be used for treatment of diseases, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin is expressed in cattle to treat emphysema.
Transgenic mice are widely used as disease models of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s diseases, cancer etc. to have a better understanding about the diseases and their prognosis.
Drug safety testing:
Transgenic animals are also used to study the effect and safety of a drug before making it commercially available.
Vaccine safety :
To check the efficacy, side-effects and safety of a vaccine, it is tested on transgenic animals or disease models before being introduced in human trials.
Basic understanding of normal physiology and development :
Transgenic animals such as transgenic mice are used to study the function of genes, their regulation. This is because mice share a lot of gene similarity with humans.
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