Adenoviral Infection

Replication-defective adenoviruses (Ads), in which the E1 A and E1B genes essential for replication are deleted, have several advantages as the vectors for introducing foreign genes into host cells. They are able to infect a large range of host cells and to transfer genes into nonproliferating cells without the replication of viral genome. However, there had been no reports of generating transgenic animals using this type of vector until we demonstrated that Ad-mediated transgenesis is possible and has distinct advantages over conventional microinjection and retrovirus vectors (1 ). The major advantage compared to the microinjection method is that the methodology is relatively simple so that sophisticated skill and an apparatus for micromanipulation are not needed and a large number of eggs can be handled simultaneously. Instead, you will need some expertise for constructing a recombinant Ad (rAd) and also for handling zona-free eggs. The former aspect is described herein only briefly; for details see refs. 2 –4 .