Submitted By:.

Bikash Karki
Shrawan Shah
Submitted TO Dines S. Pujara
Anup Sharma
IVth Semester
Bsc.
Biotechnology
SANN college
 Presentation overview

# Introduction To GMO
# Transgenic Animal
# History
# Applications Of Transgenic Animals
#Methods To Produce GMO
# Knockout Mouse Project
# Application of KOMP
# Myths And Ethics
# Conclusion
# References
 WHAT ARE GMO or TRANSGENIC ANIMALS ?

A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered

organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered
using genetic engineering techniques.These techniques are generally known
as recombinant DNA technology. With this technology, DNA molecules from
different sources are combined into one molecule to create a new set of
genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism and causes the
organism to acquire modified or novel traits.

Transgenic Animals
A transgenic animal is one that carries a foreign gene that has been
deliberately inserted into its genome. The foreign gene is constructed using
recombinant DNA methodology. In addition to a structural gene, the DNA
usually includes other sequences to enable it
► to be incorporated into the DNA of the host and
► to be expressed correctly by the cells of the host.
 History of transgenic animal production:

 Discovery of DNA and the creation of the first recombinant

bacteria in 1973, i.e., E .coli expressing a salmonella gene
 1970's, first transgenic mice via viral infection, but not germline
transmission.
 1980's, first transgenic mice via microinjection, the most popular
technique
 1985, first transgenic rabbits, sheep, pigs and cattle
 80-90, commercial transgenic services, via transgenic facility
• 1990's, transgenic farm animal companies as bioreactors and organ
donors
 Applications Of GMO’s
IN GENERAL

Includes transgenic animals [mice, fish (aquaculture)], transgenic plants,

various microbes, such as fungi and bacteria.

 In research that addresses fundamental or applied questions in

biology or medicine, for the production of pharmaceuticals and
industrial enzymes
 applications aimed at improving human health (e.g., gene therapy)
 agriculture (e.g., golden rice).

The term “GMO" does not always imply targeted insertions of genes
from one into another species For example, a gene from a jellyfish,
encoding a fluorescent protein GFP, can be physically linked and co-
expressed with mammalian genes to identify the location of the protein.
 Transgenic microbes

Medical
 to produce the protein insulin, in treatment of treat diabetes
 to produce clotting factors to treat haemophilia
 human growth hormone to treat various forms of dwarfism
 genetically modified viruses allow gene therapy , is being developed for
a treatment of incurable diseases, such as cystic fibrosis,
sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy
 is also used in some soils to facilitate crop growth, and can also produce
chemicals which are toxic to crop pests

WHY TRANSGENIC MICROBES???

Because, these recombinant proteins are much safer than the products they
replaced, since the older products were purified from cadavers and could
transmit diseases.
 Transgenic Plants

 resistance to pests, herbicides (eg. glufosinate or glyphosate and events

producing the Bt toxin) or harsh environmental conditions
 improved shelf life
 increased nutritional value

Whenever GM plants are grown on open fields without forms of containment,

there is the possibility that there could be associated environmental risks.
Therefore, most countries require biosafety studies prior to the approval of a
new GM plant event, usually followed by a monitoring programme to detect
environmental impacts.

Results of insect infestation on Bt

(right) and non-Bt (left) cotton bolls.
Source: USDA
Effect of the herbicide bromoxynil on tobacco plants transformed with a bacterial
gene whose product breaks down bromoxynil (top row) and control plants (bottom
row). "Spray blank" plants were treated with the same spray mixture as the others
except the bromoxynil was left out. (Courtesy of Calgene, Davis, CA.)
 Transgenic Animals: Historical Background

During the 1970s, the first chimeric mice were produced (Brinster, 1974)
Cells of two different embryos of different strains were combined together at an
early stage of development (eight cells) to form a single embryo that subsequently
developed into a chimeric adult, exhibiting characteristics of each strain.
DNA microinjection, (Gordon and Ruddle ),1981
the first technique being proved successful in mammals, was first applied to mice
and then to various other species such as rats, rabbits, sheep, pigs, birds, and fish
the term transgenic was first used by J.W. Gordon and F.H. Ruddle (1981)
Two other main techniques were then developed
those of retrovirus-mediated transgenesis (Jaenisch, 1976) and embryonic stem
(ES) cell-mediated gene transfer (Gossler et al., 1986).
 Methods of creation of transgenic animals

Direct microinjection
Virus mediated gene transfer
Nuclear transfers
Sperm-mediated gene transfer
Artificial chromosomes for gene transfer
Embryonic stem cells
 (KNOCKOUT MOUSE)
Direct microinjection
• inject DNA molecules (transgenes) directly into male pronucleus
• manipulated fertilized ovum is transferred into the oviduct of a recipient female, or
foster mother
• most popular technology, commercial available
• the success rates range from 10-30% depending on skills and constructs
• the insertion of DNA is a random process, and there is a high probability that the
introduced gene will not insert itself into a site on the host DNA that will permit its
expression
• the efficiency is not related to the copies of transgenes injected
• initial investment is high, a minimum of $100K to start
 Virus Mediated Gene Transfer

 gene transfer is mediated by means of a carrier or vector, generally a

virus or a plasmid
 Retroviruses are commonly used as vectors
 killed virus is replication defective
 the virus gene is replaced with transgene
 the transgene is delivered to the host cell by transfection (gene therapy)
 can be used to transfect a wide range of cells, e.g., ES cells
 Nuclear transfer

• creation of Dolly
• somatic cells be transfected, or genetically altered prior to NT
• 100% efficiency of any progeny
• abnormal development

WHAT IS DOLLY????
 The Embryonic Stem Cell Method
 Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to differentiate into any
type of cell.
 These cells are incorporated into an embryo at the blastocyst stage of
development.
 Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are harvested from the inner cell mass (ICM) of
mouse blastocysts.
 Structural gene of desire is inserted OR knocked out via DNA-Recombination.
 Successfully transformed cells are selected and injected into inner cell mass of
mouse blastocyst.
 Embryo transfer
Prepare a pseudopregnant mouse (by mating a female mouse with a vasectomized
male). The stimulus of mating elicits the hormonal changes needed to make her
uterus receptive.
Transfer the embryos into her uterus.
What is a knockout mouse?

A knockout mouse is a genetically engineered mouse in which one or more genes

have been turned off through a gene knockout.

Knockout mice are important animal models for studying the role of genes which have
been sequenced, but have unknown functions. By causing a specific gene to be
inactive in the mouse, and observing any differences from normal behaviour or
condition, researchers can infer its probable function.

Mice are currently the most closely related laboratory animal species to humans, for
which the knockout technique can easily be applied.
 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007
"for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene
modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells“
is awarded to..

Mario R. Capecchi Sir Martin J. Evans Oliver Smithies

USA United Kingdome USA
University of Utah Cardiff University University Of North Carolina

The first knockout mouse was created by Mario R. Capecchi, Martin Evans and Oliver
Smithies in 1989, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2007.
 PRODUCTION OF KNOCKOUT MICE.

CONCEPT OF KNOCKOUT MOUSE PRODUCTION BEGINS AFTER THE HARVESTING

OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS FROM EARLY-STAGE MOUSE ENBRYOS 4 DAYS
AFTER FERTILIZATION.

WHY ALWAYS EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS, NOT Others ?

 TOTIPOTENCY: Capable to differentiate into nearly any type of adult cell

 GERMLINE EFFECT: If a gene is knocked out in an ES cell, the effects can be
observed in any tissue in an adult mouse.
 VIABILITY: ES cells grown in the lab can be used to make knockout mice as
long as 10 years after they were harvested.

Harvesting of ES cells
Depending upon methods of insertion of artificial DNA into the chromosome of ES
cells nuclei there are TWO METHODS TO PRODUCE KNOCKOUT MOUSE. Both
methods are carried out in vitro.

o Homologous recombination OR Gene targeting

o Gene trapping

introduction of an artificial piece of DNA sharing identical, or homologous, sequence to the

target gene.
homologous sequence flanks the existing gene's DNA sequence both upstream and
downstream of the gene's location on the chromosome.
cell's own nuclear machinery automatically recognizes the identical stretches of sequence
and swaps out the existing gene or portion of a gene with the artificial piece of DNA.
Because the artificial DNA is inactive, bearing only a genetic tag, or "reporter gene,"
designed for use in tracking, the swap eliminates, or "knocks out," the function of the existing
gene.
appearance of change in any phenotypic sign implies the function of knocked out gene.
BLASTOCYST

herpes virus thymidine kinase (tk) gene

 Targeted ES cells are
inserted in to
blastocyst of foster
mother

Chimeric F1 mice

Chimeric male is crossed

with normal female.

Targeted (homozygous) & normal mice. (F2)

Gene Trapping OR Random Insertion
 AND……….

 For both gene targeting and gene trapping, a modified viral vector or a linear
fragment of bacterial DNA is used to insert the artificial DNA into ES cell.
 After insertion, the genetically altered ES cells are grown in a lab dish for several
days and injected into early-stage mouse embryos.
 The embryos are implanted into the uterus of a female mouse and allowed to
develop into mouse pups.
 The resulting mouse pups are not complete knocked out, that is with both normal
& altered ES cells. These are crossbreed to produce lines of mice in which both
copies of the gene are knocked out in all tissues, called homozygous knockouts.

Altered or mutated phenotype (appearance, biochemical characteristics, behavior

etc.) of the pups give clue about the gene’s normal function.
 Which Production Method Is Best?

 Gene trapping do not need target DNA to be sequenced.

 Single vector can be used to knock out various genes.
BUT,
 Not every successful insertion of artificial DNA into a
gene leads to a loss of function.
 Must spend considerable time conducting tests to
identify ES cells in which gene actually have been
knocked out .

So Gene Targeting is widely used.

Some NGOs are still working on further development of gene targeting and to
reduce biological ethics of knockout mouse and transgenic animal.

 KNOCKOUT MOUSE PROJECT DATA COORINATION CENTRE (KOMP DCC), centered at

The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor Maine
 EUROPIAN CONDITIONAL MOUSE MUTAGENESIS PROGRAMS (EUCOMM)
 NORTH AMERICAN CONDITIONAL MOUSE MUTAGENESIS PROGRAMS (NACMM)
 Significance of gene targeting for physiology and medicine

Knockout mice gives information that can be used to better understand how a similar
gene may cause or contribute to disease in humans.
Atherosclerosis
Inherited Heart Disease
Monogenic Disease Complex Disease
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
Essential hypertension
Cystic fibrosis Atherosclerosis
inherited heart diseases

Cancer
Other diseases
Obesity, Diabetes, Arthritis, Substance abuse, Anxiety, Aging and Parkinson's disease.
 Gene Targeting In Disease Diagnosis And Study

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, due to mutation in HPRT (phosphoribosyltransferase ) gene cause a

defective nucleotide metabolism in human. Similar gene adenine phosphoribosyltransferase
(APRT) for purine salvage in mouse was observed, cause of neuropathological & change in
behavioral feature.

Cystic fibrosis, Defective chloride transport through cAMP-activated chloride channel in mouse
due to knocking out of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.
The similar phenotypes is observed in human as in mice.

Essential Hypertension, 10 genes are responsible for altering blood pressure.

Angiotensinogen (AGT) gene polymorphism is associated with essential hypertension.
Targeting of Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) coding gene in mouse is observed to be
effective in reduction of hypertension. Similarly renin-angiotensin system is applied in human for
hypertension.

Cancer, Protooncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, angiogenetic factors targeted in mice to

know about the induction and spreading of tumours & their role in the formation of tumors.
These targeted mouse being solid support to study of cancer in human.
 How do transgenic animals contribute to human welfare????

Agricultural Applications
 Breeding;
 Quality
 Disease Resistance

Medical Application
 Xenotransplantation
 Nutritional Supplements and Pharmaceuticals
 Human Gene Therapy

Industrial Application
Nexia Biotechnologies in Canada transformed spider gene in goat & it began to secrete tiny
silk strands from their body. By extracting polymer strands from the milk and weaving them
into thread, the scientists can create a light, tough, flexible material that could be used in such
applications as military uniforms, medical microsutures, and tennis racket strings.
Ethical concerns surrounding transgenesis

Transgenic animals raise several particular moral issues

 Should there be universal protocols for transgenesis?

 Is human welfare the only consideration? What about the welfare of other life forms?
 Should scientists focus on in vitro (cultured in a lab) transgenic methods rather than, or
before, using live animals to alleviate animal suffering?
 Will transgenic animals radically change the direction of evolution, which may result in
drastic consequences for nature and humans alike?
 Should patents be allowed on transgenic animals, which may hamper the free exchange of
scientific research?
 Organ rejection!!
 Fail to give observable change.
Religious views of transgenic animals:
God laid down the structure of creation and any tampering with it is sinful
 CONCLUSION

Interestingly, the creation of transgenic animals has resulted in a shift in the

use of laboratory animals, from the use of higher-order species such as dogs
to lower-order species such as microbes, and has decreased the number of
animals used in such experimentation, especially in the development of
disease models. This is certainly a good turn of events since transgenic
technology holds great potential in many fields, including agriculture, medicine,
and industry.

THANK