Abstract
Transgenic Animal Technology, in four parts and 21 total chapters, written by 41 contributors who are known and experienced in the transgenic animal field, covers essentials to consider in the production of genetically manipulated animals. Part 1 is an overview of transgenic technology. Part 2 covers production, with emphasis on the mouse. Specific methods as well as strategy information are reviewed for deoxyribonucleic acid, gene targeting, conditional expression, knockout, retrovirus-mediated gene transfer, and nuclear transfer. Part 3 reviews other laboratory and domestic animals, including rats, rabbits, fish, poultry, swine, ruminants, and nonhuman primates. Part 4 discusses molecular biology, analyses, and enabling technologies that are essential for the successful production and use of transgenic animals. This section discusses vector design, analysis of transgene integration, polymerase chain reaction usage, transgene expression, and special reproductive technologies. The final chapter on databases, Internet resources, and nomenclature is a very useful resource.
Similar in content and style to the first edition, the second edition contains more detailed techniques, reflecting the rapid advances in this ever-changing field. The editor and authors have added much new information as well as revising old information.
Although a 2002 text, it does not cover information about ribonucleic acid interference technology, which is the most recent area of intense interest in transgenic animal technology. Also lacking are methods to characterize phenotypically the animals produced. A brief discussion on phenotypic characterization and use of transgenics would have been appreciated as a means to guide transgenic producers to the appropriate resources in these areas.
Transgenic Animal Technology, A Laboratory Handbook is an easy-to-read and useful text with good illustrations, detailed explanations and protocols, and an excellent list of references for transgenic animal production. It is a useful book for molecular biologists who have little or no in vivo experiences as well as veterinarians, including pathologists and animal biologists, who may be weak in molecular biology. Veterinary pathologists working with genetically manipulated animals would find this a useful addition to their library.