Transgenic Animals…Mostly Mice

For biotechnology course

1. The first transgenic mice had a growth hormone, somatotropin, expressed under the regulation of a metallothionein promoter. What supplement was added to the diet to induce somatotropin expression?
2. In Greek mythology, what does a chimera look like? What does a chimeric mouse (usually) look like?  Would you expect to see a chimeric mouse from a nuclear microinjection-based approach?  How about an ESC/blastocyst injection-based approach?  How about a retrovirus-based approach?
3. Does rBST or rTPA come from a transgenic farm animal?
4. How might you know whether a DNA cassette was inserted into a genome?
5. The LCR is full of HS. What does this tell you about the DNA in that region?  What would you expect for expression levels if a gene was cloned into the beta-globin cluster?
6. What benefit could come from having insulator sequences on either side of your transgene?
7. Graff thinks figure 16.9A is drawn wrong. What do you think?
8. How does the Lac operon work? How is this system used in transgenic animals?  Do you use lactose to induce transgene expression in mice?
9. Clontech sells “Tet-Off and Tet-On Gene Expression Systems”. How can it be both?
10. What would you do with a TRIM69-floxed mouse to knock out expression of TRIM69 in monocytic cells?