Strategies in Generating Transgenic Mammals

The ability to manipulate genes in mammals is providing insights into most aspects of modern biology, including the regulation and function of genes, the mechanisms of developmental and pathological processes, and the generation of animal models for human disorders. Furthermore, the development of gene transfer techniques is stimulating efforts to treat human diseases with gene-based therapies, and is establishing a new area for biotechnology in which transgenesis can be used for the improvement of domestic animals and plants, as well as for the production of rare products. The focus of this chapter will be to provide an overview of the strategies that can be used to alter the mammalian genome through gene transfer. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be discussed, and specific examples of how each strategy can be applied to address problems in mammalian biology will be provided in order to illustrate the potential scope of transgenesis.