Vertebrate Transgenesis by Transposition

Transposable elements represent a class of DNA molecules that have the ability to move genetic material from one location to another. Since the first recognition and description of their activities by Barbara McClintock beginning in the 1950s, researchers have been harnessing their molecular machinery to deliver and mutate genes in a variety of whole animal and single-cellular systems. In this chapter, we describe the recent advances in establishing robust gene transfer applications to vertebrate laboratory model systems by introducing transposon molecular machinery into the one-cell embryo of mouse, rats, or zebrafish. The method leads to highly reproducible transgenesis in these systems, enabling a variety of biomedical research applications using genetically modified animals.