Animal biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering
principles to the processing or production of materials by animals or
aquatic species to provide goods and services (NRC 2003). Examples of
animal biotechnology include generation of transgenic animals or
transgenic fish (animals or fish with one or more genes introduced by
human intervention), using gene knockout technology to generate animals
in which a specific gene has been inactivated, production of nearly
identical animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer (also referred to as
clones), or production of infertile aquatic species.
| Since
the early 1980s, methods have been developed and refined to
generate transgenic animals or transgenic aquatic species. For example,
transgenic livestock and transgenic aquatic species have been generated
with increased growth rates, enhanced lean muscle mass, enhanced
resistance to disease or improved use of dietary phosphorous to lessen
the environmental impacts of animal manure. Transgenic poultry, swine,
goats, and cattle also have been produced that generate large
quantities of human proteins in eggs, milk, blood, or urine, with the
goal of using these products as human pharmaceuticals.Examples
of human pharmaceutical proteins include enzymes, clotting
factors, albumin, and antibodies. |
|
The major factor limiting widespread
use of transgenic animals in agricultural production systems is the
relatively inefficient rate (success rate less than 10 percent) of
production of transgenic animals.
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