Transgenic and Genetically Engineered Animal and Cell Culture Models
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 9435
Special Issue Editors
Interests: epigenetic mechanisms of heredity; transgenesis; genetic engineering; synthetic biology; cell biology; developmental biology; stem cells
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, seminal discoveries in the fields of whole-genome sequencing, genetic engineering, and cellular reprogramming accelerated the progress and methodological repertoire of gene transfer into vertebrate (and invertebrate) cells, oocytes, and embryos for the study of developmental, genetic, reproductive, and disease-related biological questions.
Since the “start point” of genetic engineering, the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA in 1975, this research direction has made impressive progress in terms of speed, specificity, and efficiency, and has accumulated a vast amount of biological information and models for analyzing biological phenomena.
In the early years the eukaryotic (and even viral and prokaryotic) genomes were terra incognita, and researchers need laborious methods to identify, subclone, and characterize a particular gene. This changed with the development of whole-genome sequencing methods, accompanied by the identification and development of genetic engineering techniques based on the activity of ectopic enzymes, such as recombinases, transposases, and programmable nucleases. Similarly, endogenous mechanisms such as RNA editing and RNA interference were discovered and employed to address specific questions. Fluorescent proteins, with the prototypic enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), became widespread tools and allowed the live tracking of individual cells. Genetically engineered cell and organoid cultures, but also transgenic and genome-edited organisms, were developed. For the implementation of these techniques in mammalian embryos, the development of sophisticated methods such as blastocyst complementation and somatic-cell nuclear transfer were essential. Further advancements include the single-cell sequencing of DNA, RNA and even single-cell proteomics. A spin out of these advancements is the field of synthetic biology, which aims to construct optimized pathways and even cells from scratch.
In summary, progress in basic research but also a flurry of applications, such as the production of safe recombinant proteins for industrial uses and therapeutic applications, transgenic animals with improved traits or which produce complex proteins, cellular reprogramming, and the first gene therapies for human patients have been realized. The rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines, based either on synthetic messenger RNA or on recombinant vectors, is just one prominent example.
This Special Issue aims to assemble a snapshot of the current state of the art in “gene transfer” in vertebrate cells and animals, but articles and reviews in neighboring fields are also welcome, since this field is dynamically developing and new directions are just emerging.
Prof. Dr. Wilfried A. Kues
Prof. Dr. Goo Jang
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- CRISPR/Cas
- genome editing tools
- recombinase
- transposon
- RNAi
- EGFP
- embryonic stem cells
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- regenerative medicine
- epigenetics
- RNA interference
- RNA editing
- transgenic animals
- genetically engineered animals
- synthetic biology
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