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Title: THE QUEST FOR TRANSGENIC POULTRY: BIRDS ARE NOT MICE WITH FEATHERS

Author
item Proudman, John
item WENTWORTH, A - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item WENTWORTH, B - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Submitted to: Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2000
Publication Date: 10/10/2000
Citation: Proudman, J.A., Wentworth, A.L., Wentworth, B.C. 2001. The quest for transgenic poultry: birds are not mice with feathers. In: Renaville, R., Burny, A., editors. Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers b.v. p. 283-299.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Although the production of transgenic mice for research is no routine, and the application of this technology to many livestock species has met with considerable success, the production of transgenic poultry has been severely hindered by biological obstacles that have prevented the direct application of mammalian technology to birds. Many of these obstacles have ebeen overcome in recent years, resulting in success in the production of either chimeric or transgenic individuals by microinjection of naked DNA into the newly fertilized ovum, transfer of blastodermal cells or primordial germ cells from donor to recipient embryos, and development of replication-defective retroviral vectors for DNA insertion. Stable integration of foreign DNA into the poultry genome remains problematical, but recent research demonstrating the use of the Drosophila element mariner to integrate foreign DNA into the chicken chromosome with a high frequency of germline transmission seems promising. Much basic research remains in order to achieve the routine production of transgenic poultry and to regulate expression of transgenes in tissues and amounts that are appropriate for their intended use. The short generation time and large number of progeny possible with poultry species should ensure that interest in the production of transgenic poultry for research and commercial purposes will increase.