Question

Why are Transgenic animals being produced? Explain any four reasons.

Hint:

In PCR, each cycle doubles the amount of DNA, leading to exponential amplification. The key to success in PCR is using a heat-stable polymerase enzyme like Taq polymerase.

Answer 1

Transgenic animals are those that have had a foreign gene deliberately inserted into their genome. They are produced for a variety of scientific, medical, and industrial reasons. Here are four major reasons:

1. To study gene functions and regulation

Transgenic animals help scientists understand how specific genes work.

By adding or removing genes, researchers can study their role in development, immunity, diseases, and metabolism.

For example, knockout mice are used to investigate the function of individual genes.

2. To model human diseases

They are used to mimic human genetic disorders, helping researchers study the disease progression and test potential treatments.

Diseases like cystic fibrosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes have been studied using transgenic mice.

3. For production of therapeutic proteins

Transgenic animals can be engineered to produce human proteins in their milk, eggs, or blood (a process called “gene pharming”).

Example: Transgenic goats producing antithrombin, a protein used to prevent blood clots in humans.

4. To improve livestock quality

Genes can be inserted to improve traits such as growth rate, disease resistance, milk production, or meat quality.

This helps in creating more productive and disease-resistant animals, enhancing agricultural efficiency.