Knock Out Mouse
Transgenic Mouse Gene Knockouts - Targeted Disruption
Organ / Tissue-Specific Knockouts
Knockout Mouse
Information on the generation of Knock Out Mice.
Definition of a knockout mouse:
A knockout mouse is a genetically modified mouse which has one or several genes made inoperable by the insertion of a mutated gene or a disrupted form of the gene.
The generation of knockout mice is important for the analysis of the function of many unknown genes. However, complications arise when knockouts of genes result which are lethal to the animal. Embryonic lethals or death of mice at early embryonic stages is a common effect of knocking out genes which are important in development. Recently, progress has been made in creating knockout mice which are not embryonic lethal. Embryonic lethality has been minimized by the introduction of inducible knockouts which knockout the gene later in the life of the mouse (i.e. the adult stage).
(A transgenic mouse is a mouse which has foreign inserted DNA sequences, however these may not lead to a gene knockout.)