Archive for the ‘genes’ Category
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
- 2011 Course on “Genetics of Laboratory Rodents”, Inst. Pasteur-Montevideo, December 5-14
Martina Crispo, Head of the Transgenic and Experimental Animal Unit of the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay and ISTT Member, along with Jean-Jacques Panthier (Inst. Pasteur, Paris) organize the 2011 Course on “Genetics of Laboratory Rodents“, that will be held at the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 5-14. This course is co-sponsored by the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT). As in the first edition, the aim of this course is to offer a training opportunity to South American research scientists and veterinarians in charge of laboratory animal facilities, in the most prominent areas of mammalian genetics (mostly mouse). This course offers an opportunity to receive an intensive training and get in touch with scientist of the region working in the same fields of interest. The final program includes the following topics:
Tools for genetic analysis
Laboratory animal husbandry
Basic of mouse reproduction physiology
Population genetics, the breeding systems and the different categories of mouse strains
Origin and phylogeny of the rodent laboratory strains
Wild derived inbred strains
Spontaneous and induced mutations – phenotype driven and genotype driven mutagenesis
Genetic mapping; physical mapping; positional cloning; candidate gene identification
Statistical genetics and complex trait analysis
Transgenesis under its various forms, gene expression analysis, strategies in induced mutagenesis (knockout, knock in, conditional knockout, etc.)
Bioinformatics in genetics and genomics, database mining
Design of experiments and selection of the best animal models
The list of invited speakers includes:
- Jean Jacques Panthier (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Xavier Montagutelli (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Jean Louis Guénet (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Jean Jaubert (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Michel Cohen Tannoudji (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Ignacio Anegón (Institut de Transplantation-Urologie-Néphrologie,France)
- Marcelo Rubinstein (Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UBA, Argentina)
- Andreia Salgado (CEMIB, UNICAMP, Brazil)
- Fernando Benavides (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, USA)
- Mariela Bollati (Institut Pasteur de Montevideo)
- Martina Crispo (Institut Pasteur de Montevideo)
Here you can download a Poster for the 2011 Course. There are 2 slots reserved for ISTT Members. Additional information can be requested to: curso-genetica-raton@pasteur.edu.uy
Tags: ISTT Members, practical course, rodents genetics, Uruguay
Posted in animal experimentation, course, genes, ISTT Members, practical course, rodent genetics, transgenic research, web site, workshop | No Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Mouse genomic variation and its effect on phenotypes and gene regulation. Keane et al. Nature 2011, 289–294, (15 September 2011), doi:10.1038/nature10413
Most of our current understanding and genome research in mice has been based, so far, on the genome of the mouse inbred strain C57BL/6J, published in 2002 and accessible through a number of genome browsers, such as Ensembl. Yesterday, Keane et al. published in Nature the results of their sequencing efforts and the release of the genome sequences from 17 additional mouse inbred strains: C3H/HeJ, CBA/J, A/J, AKR/J, DBA/2J, LP/J, BALB/cJ, NZO/HlLtJ, NOD/ShiLtJ, 129S5SvEv<Brd>, 129P2/OlaHsd, 129S1/SvImJ, C57BL/6NJ, and the four wild-derived inbred strains CAST/EiJ, PWK/PhJ, WSB/EiJ and SPRET/EiJ. This is an enormous amount of information, obtained using next-generation sequencing, that these researchers from The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and other collaborating institutions now release to the public scientific community. Most of these inbred strains are very relevant in biomedical research and they are regularly used for the generation of genetically-modified mice. Notably, among them the C57BL/6NJ inbred strain, selected by the International KnockOut Mouse Consortium (IKMC) to produce the collection of systematic gene knockouts covering the entire mouse genome. This publication and the subsequent analyses derived from this study should greatly contribute to our understanding of the genetic diversity among different mouse strains and the different phenotypes that are often observed across inbred strains, associated with identical genetic modifications.
Tags: genes, genetic background, high-throughput, publication, rodents genetics, transgenic research
Posted in animal biotechnology, general, genes, information, knockout, phenotyping, rodent genetics, transgenic research, web site | No Comments »
Monday, July 25th, 2011
Early Bird Registration for the TT2011 meeting ends on July 31st !!!
Have you not yet registered for attending the 10th Transgenic Technology (TT2011) meeting? You can’t miss the best forum where to discuss the latest advances in animal transgenic technology, for the generation and the analyses of genetically-modified animals!. If you haven’t registered please don’t forget to do so by this next Sunday, July 31st, the announced deadline for early bird registration at reduced fees. Thereafter, and just before the meeting, to be held in Florida, on 24-26 October 2011, you still be able to register, though at slightly increased fees (+70 USD). Please, hurry up and don’t miss this opportunity to meet again all your colleagues from around the world, to openly discuss with them your problems and solutions in your daily work with transgenic animals. Hope to seeing you all in Florida!
Tags: ISTT, Transgenesis, transgenic research, TT2011, TT2011 Meeting
Posted in animal biotechnology, animal experimentation, ES cells, general, genes, information, ISTT Members, meetings, phenotyping, transgenic, transgenic research, TT meeting, web site | No Comments »
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Publication of the Academy of Medical Sciences Report on Animals containing human material
The
Academy of Medical Sciences has published the report of a working group study on ‘
animals containing human material (ACHM)’ today. The report was prepared by a working group, chaired by Professor Martin Bobrow CBE FRS FMedSci. The
working group of experts included Prof. Robin Lovell-Badge (NIMR-MRC, UK), member of the
International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT). The Academy of Medical Sciences promotes advances in medical science and campaigns to ensure these are translated into healthcare benefits for society. The report examines the use of ACHM from scientific, social, ethical, safety and regulatory perspectives, and highlights how ACHM are used both in investigational research, and in the development and production of therapeutics. The study was informed by open call for evidence, expert evidence, and a commissioned public dialogue.
The report concludes that the majority of ACHM research does not pose ethical or regulatory difficulties, but identifies 3 areas that will need careful oversight in future:
- Modification of an animal’s brain which might lead to human-like cognition;
- Changing an animal so it has human appearance or characteristics (e.g. skin, facial or limb features, speech); and the
- Development of human-derived sperm or eggs in an animal (especially if fertilisation may occur).
It recommendations include:
- That the Home Office puts in place an expert oversight body, within the current system of animal research regulation, to oversee the most sensitive types of ACHM research.
- Close alignment of several regulatory bodies that oversee aspects of ACHM research (particularly the Home Office and HFEA).
- Raising international awareness of ACHM, promoting international consistency in research practice, and the development of international standards and guidance.
These recommendations should ensure that valuable and justifiable ACHM research can proceed within a robust, proportionate regulatory system, which is capable of responding to developing scientific knowledge and social attitudes, and which avoids undue bureaucracy and duplication of regulation.
The study was supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Sciencewise-ERC programme, the Department of Health, Medical Research Council, and Wellcome Trust. A report synopsis has been prepared by Dr Geoff Watts FMedSci.
Tags: animal experimentation, animal welfare, ethical issues, report, Transgenesis, transgenic mice, transgenic research
Posted in animal biotechnology, animal experimentation, animal welfare, bioethics, general, genes, information, legislation, publication, rules, transgenic, transgenic research, web site | No Comments »
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Targeting strategies and constructs used by KOMP-CSD and EUCOMM
Today’s issue of Nature includes the article reporting the great initiative, efforts and results achieved so far by the International KnockOut Mouse Consortium (IKMC) towards the systematic gene-targeting of the mouse genome, aiming to functionally annotate and thus deciphering the precise role of all genes encoded by a mammalian genome (mouse), most similar to the human genome. The authors are members of the KOMP (the National Institutes of Health Knockout Mouse Program) and EUCOMM (the European Conditional Mouse Mutagenesis) international projects.
In this work, the authors report the establishment of a high-throughput gene-targeting efficient strategies and a successful pipeline to produce reporter-tagged, conditional alleles on an unprecedent scale. As they report, “more than 12,000 vectors and 9,000 conditional targeted alleles“ have been produced so far. Targeted ES cells and targeting vectors are available from KOMP and EUMMCR. Mice derived from EUCOMM ES cells are available as live animals or cryopreserved embryos from EMMA.
A conditional knockout resource for the genome-wide study of mouse gene function
William C. Skarnes, Barry Rosen, Anthony P. West, Manousos Koutsourakis, Wendy Bushell, Vivek Iyer, Alejandro O. Mujica, Mark Thomas, Jennifer Harrow, Tony Cox, David Jackson, Jessica Severin, Patrick Biggs, Jun Fu, Michael Nefedov, Pieter J. de Jong, A. Francis Stewart & Allan Bradley. Nature 474 (337-342) Date published: 16 June 2011 DOI: doi:10.1038/nature10163
Additional comments available here.
Tags: functional genomics, high-throughput, knockout mice, mouse ES cells
Posted in database, embryos, ES cells, gene trap, general, genes, information, knock-outs, knockout, mouse strains, web site | No Comments »
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Course on "Genetics of Laboratory Rodents", Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay, December 5-14, 2011
The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) is pleased to announce the co-sponsorship of the second edition of the International Course on “Genetics of Laboratory Rodents“, to be held at the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo (IPMONT), Uruguay, on 5-14 December 2011. This course is organized by Martina Crispo (IPMONT, ISTT member) and co-organized by Jean Jacques Panthier (Inst. Pasteur Paris). Following a most successful first edition in 2008, the aim of this course is to offer a training opportunity to South American research scientists and veterinarians in charge of laboratory animal facilities, in the most prominent areas of mammalian genetics (mostly mouse). This course offers an opportunity to receive an intensive training and get in touch with scientist of the region working in the same fields of interest.
The invited speakers at this international 2011 course on “Genetics of Laboratory Rodents” include the following experts in the field:
- Jean Jacques Panthier (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Xavier Montagutelli (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Jean Louis Guénet (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Jean Jaubert (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France) – ISTT member
- Michel Cohen Tannoudji (Institut Pasteur de Paris, France)
- Ignacio Anegón (Institut de Transplantation-Urologie-Néphrologie,France) – ISTT member
- Marcelo Rubinstein (Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UBA, Argentina)
- Andreia Salgado (CEMIB, UNICAMP, Brazil)
- Fernando Benavides (MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, USA) – ISTT member
- Mariela Bollati (Institut Pasteur de Montevideo)
- Martina Crispo (Institut Pasteur de Montevideo) – ISTT member
Interested participants should sent their applications by email to: curso-genetica-raton@pasteur.edu.uy by September 25, 2011, and include their CV, letter of motivation and letter of support of their advisors, all in PDF format. Two seats are reserved for qualifying ISTT members. There is no registration fee for this course. The 2011 International Course on “Genetics of Laboratory Rodents” is generously sponsored by CABBIO, AMSUD PASTEUR, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, ISTT and Ambassade de France en Uruguay.
Tags: course, ISTT Members, Montevideo, Pasteur, rodents genetics
Posted in animal experimentation, coat color, course, embryos, ES cells, genes, information, ISTT Members, knock-outs, meetings, practical course, rat, rodent genetics, transgenic research, workshop | No Comments »
Monday, May 30th, 2011
TT2011 Meeting: 24-26 October 2011, Trade Winds Island Grand Resort, St Pete Beach, Florida, USA
The 10th Transgenic Technology meeting (TT2011) will be held at the Trade Winds Island Grand Resort, in St Pete Beach, Florida, USA, on 24-26 October 2011, organized by the International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT). The first deadline for submitting abstracts and applying for the various awards (Registration and Young Investigator Awards) will be due in about one month, on 30th June 2011. Accepted abstracts will be published in the scientific journal Transgenic Research, associated with the ISTT. Results from the various awards will be communicated by 16th July 2011.
Please, mark the TT2011 meeting in your agendas and don’t miss this opportunity to discuss the latest developments on Transgenic Technologies, at the International Level, with the world experts in the field. Looking froward to receive your latest work, experiments, designs, developments, your hottest research achievements using genetically modified animals.
Tags: ISTT, ISTT Members, registration awards, Transgenesis, transgenic mice, transgenic research, TT2011 Meeting
Posted in animal experimentation, animal welfare, cryopreservation, database, embryos, ES cells, genes, information, iPS cells, ISTT, ISTT booth, ISTT Prize, knock-outs, knockout, meetings, phenotyping, rat, rodent genetics, sperm, Springer, transgenic, transgenic research, travel awards, TT meeting, web site, Young Investigator Award | No Comments »
Saturday, April 9th, 2011
Advanced Protocols for Animal Transgenesis. An ISTT Manual. Shirley Pease & Thomas L. Saunders (eds.), Springer 2011, 1st edition (Due: August 2011)
The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT), in collaboration with Springer, is pleased to announce the next publication of the book entitled “Advanced Protocols for Animal Transgenesis. An ISTT Manual“, edited by Shirley Pease and Thomas L. Saunders, whose 1st edition is expected to be published by August 2011.
This laboratory manual, published by Springer in cooperation with the International Society for Transgenic Technology (ISTT), provides almost all current methods that can be applied to the creation and analysis of genetically modified animals. The chapters have been contributed by leading scientists who are actively using the technology in their laboratories, most of them members of the ISTT. Based on their first-hand experience the authors also provide helpful notes and troubleshooting sections.
Topics range from standard techniques, such as pronuclear microinjection of DNA, to more sophisticated and modern methods, such as the derivation and establishment of embryonic stem (ES) cell lines, with defined inhibitors in cell culture medium. In addition, related topics with relevance to the field are addressed, including global web-based resources, legal issues, colony management, shipment of mice and embryos, and the three R’s: refinement, reduction and replacement.
Table of contents:
- Karen S. Canady: Patent and licensing issues in transgenic technology.
- Lluís Montoliu: Global Resources: Including Gene Trapped ES Cell Clones: Is Your Gene Already Knocked Out?.
- Eduardo Moltó, Cristina Vicente-García and Lluís Montoliu: Designing Transgenes for Optimal Expression.
- Thomas L. Saunders: Gene Targeting Vector Design for Embryonic Stem Cell Modifications.
- Thomas J. Fielder and Lluis Montoliu: Transgenic Production Benchmarks.
- Katja Becker and Boris Jerchow: Generation of Transgenic Mice by Pronuclear Microinjection.
- Séverine Ménoret, Séverine Remy, Laurent Tesson, Claire Usal , Anne-Laure Iscache and Ignacio Anegon: Generation of Transgenic Rats using Microinjection of Plasmid DNA or Lentiviral vectors.
- Almudena Fernández, Diego Muñoz and Lluís Montoliu: Generation of Transgenic Animals by Use of YACs.
- Michael G. Zeidler, Margaret L. Van Keuren and Thomas L. Saunders: BAC Transgenes, DNA Purification, and Transgenic Mouse Production.
- Carlos Lois: Generation of Transgenic Animals with Lentiviral Vectors.
- Aron Geurts, Lajos Mates and Darius Balciunas: Vertebrate Transgenesis by Transposition.
- Karen M. Chapman, Dalia Saidley-Alsaadi, Andrew E. Syvyk, James R. Shirley, Lindsay M. Thompson and F. Kent Hamra: Rat Spermatogonial Stem Cell Mediated Gene Transfer.
- Sayaka Wakayama, Nguyen Van Thuan and Teruhiko Wakayama: Mouse Cloning by Nuclear Transfer.
- Elizabeth D. Hughes and Thomas L. Saunders: Gene Targeting in Embryonic Stem Cells.
- Wojtek Auerbach and Anna B. Auerbach: The Importance of Mouse ES Cell Line Selection.
- Marina Gertsenstein: Tetraploid Complementation Assay.
- Elizabeth Williams, Wojtek Auerbach, Thomas M. DeChiara and Marina Gertsenstein: Combining ES cells with Embryos.
- Kristina Nagy and Jennifer Nichols: Derivation of Murine ES Cell Lines.
- Ping Li, Eric N Schulze, Chang Tong and Qi-Long Ying: Rat Embryonic Stem Cell Derivation and Propagation.
- Han Li, Katerina Strati, Verónica Domínguez, Javier Martín, María Blasco, Manuel Serrano and Sagrario Ortega: Induced pluripotency: generation of iPS cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
- Anna B. Auerbach, Peter J. Romanienko and Willie H. Mark: The Preparation and Analysis of DNA for Use in Transgenic Technology.
- Karen Brennan: Colony Management.
- Belen Pintado and Juan Hourcade: Cryopreservation.
- Shirley Pease: Shipment of Mice and Embryos.
- Jorge M. Sztein, R.J. Kastenmayer and K.A. Perdue: Pathogen Free Mouse Rederivation by IVF, Natural Mating and Hysterectomy.
- Jan Parker-Thornburg: Refinement, Reduction and Replacement
ISTT Members are entitled to a 33% discount on the book price.
Tags: animal experimentation, animal welfare, ISTT, ISTT Manual, ISTT Members, methods, mouse ES cells, Springer, Transgenesis, transgenic mice, transgenic research
Posted in animal biotechnology, animal welfare, coat color, cryopreservation, ES cells, facility, gene trap, general, genes, information, iPS cells, ISTT, ISTT Members, knock-outs, knockout, legislation, Manual, mouse strains, publication, rat, rodent genetics, transgenic research, web site | No Comments »
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Online book freely available from the ISTT web site: Benavides & Guénet, 2003; Genetics Manual of Laboratory Rodents: Basic Principles and Applications
The International Society for Transgenic Technologies (ISTT) is proud to announce a new section in its web site, devoted to the free dissemination of online books on subjects related to animal transgenesis. The first book that has been included, most generously provided by their authors, is the “Manual de Genética de Roedores de Laboratorio: Principios Básicos y Aplicaciones” [in Spanish] (Genetics Manual of Laboratory Rodents: Basic Principles and Applications), by Fernando Benavides and Jean-Louis Guénet, initially published by the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain, 2003) and sponsored by SECAL.
This manual was the first laboratory animal genetics book to be published in Spanish. Unfortunately, the book has gone out-of-print, all copies were rapidely sold, and, currently, it is no longer available nor the former Publisher will print it again. Therefore at the ISTT, with this new initiative now being launched, we have rescued it in the form of an online book for the benefit of the entire scientific community of professionals, researchers, veterinarians, technicians and students in Spanish-speaking countries (Spain, Central and South American countries,…) and the high numbers of colleagues speaking Spanish in the USA and elsewhere in the world interested in the field of rodent genetics.
Fernando Benavides and Jean-Louis Guénet (2010)
Fernando Benavides, DVM, PhD and ISTT member, is Associate Professor and Director of Genetic Services at the Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, USA. Jean-Louis Guénet, DVM, PhD is Emeritus Professor at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, and a world authority in mouse genetics, with more than 300 scientific publications, books and chapters published on the subject.
In the near future, additional books will be hopefully added to this collection of online books freely available from the ISTT web site. If you know about other books that are no longer available, in any language, on a subject related to animal transgenesis and you own their rights or happen to know who owns their rights, please contact us to explore the possibility to include them in the new section on ONLINE BOOKS at the ISTT WEB SITE.
Tags: animal experimentation, online books, rodents genetics, transgenic research
Posted in animal biotechnology, animal experimentation, genes, information, online boks, rodent genetics, transgenic, transgenic research, web site | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
4th International Rabbit Biotechnology Meeting, 30 June-1 July 2011, Godollo, Hungary
The 4th International Rabbit Biotechnology Meeting will be held in Gödöllö, Hungary, on 30 June-1 July 2011, at the Agricultural Biotechnology Center (ABC). The Organizer of this conference is Prof. Zsuzsanna Bosze, ABC and ISTT Member. The mission of this biannual meeting is to give an overview of the most recent results on the field of rabbit biotechnology, including rabbit genomic, stem cell, models of human diseases and biotechnology methods confronting the different approaches developed independently in different academic and industrial laboratories in the world. The abstracts from selected oral presentations will be published in World Rabbit Science. The International Rabbit Biotechnology first meeting was organized by Jianglin Fan in Tsukuba, Japan (2005), the second was in Jouy-en-Josas, France, organized by Louis-Marie Houdebine (2007) and the 3th in Xi’an, PR China, organized by Li Enqi (2009).
As posted in the 4th International Rabbit Biotechnology Meeting web site, “A specific biotechnology of the rabbit is emerging. The scientific community which uses rabbits as experimental animals or as tool to produce biotech products as well as those involved in breeding are more and more invited to focus their effort on this species. The rabbit is phylogenetically closer to primates than are rodents and is large enough to permit non-lethal monitoring of physiological changes. The rabbit as a model in early development biology is more representative for most mammalian embryos than mouse, that has very specific properties at thoses stages. For example, gastrulation – one of the most important developmental switchpoints for pre- and postnatal development – of the rabbit blastocyst closely resembles that of the human. Novel findings in embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent cell establishment are adapted to rabbit, along with the recent transgenic technologies opening up new horizons for researchers. The complete rabbit genome sequencing is about to be achieved. Classical uses of the rabbit include polyclonal antibody production, biomedical testing and teratogenicity testing of pharmaceutical compounds. Beyond that rabbit is the traditional model for the study of lipoproteins and atherosclerosis. The lipid metabolism of rabbit is similar to that of humans and a number of spontaneous and transgenic rabbit models have been studied. The arising obese rabbit model may become highly relevant for research on human insulin resistance, obesity and lipid metabolism abnormalities. Development of novel pharmacological therapies for cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, cardiac dysfunction and inborn arrhythmias are based on the relevant transgenic rabbit models. Transgenic rabbits have been found to be suitable bioreactors for the production of pharmaceutical proteins filling an important niche between the laboratory mouse and larger farm mammals.”
Tags: animal experimentation, biotechnology, Meeting announcement, rabbits, Transgenesis, transgenic research
Posted in animal biotechnology, animal experimentation, ES cells, general, genes, meetings, transgenic, transgenic research, web site | No Comments »
