SELECTIVE PRODUCTION OF TRANSGENIC MICE USING GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN AS A MARKER

The low efficiency of transgenic animal production by microinjection h as been a serious problem especially for the production of transgenic livestock. We developed a method to selectively produce transgenic mic e using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker. Using this method , we obtained eight fetuses and four live-born mice derived from 55 GF P-positive blastocysts. PCR analysis showed II out of 12 mice (fetuses and newborn mice) were transgenic. Southern blot analysis showed that 8 out of 12 were transgenic. GFP expression was also observed in bovi ne blastocysts, suggesting that this method should contribute to the e fficient production of transgenic livestock.