Genetically modified mouse A genetically modified mouse is a
mouse that has had its genome altered through the use of genetic
engineering techniques. Genetically modified mice are commonly
used for research or as animal models of human diseases. In 1974
Rudolf Jaenisch created the first genetically modified animal by
inserting a DNA virus into an early-stage mouse embryo and
showing that the inserted genes were present in every cell.
However the mice did not pass the transgene to their offspring.
In 1981 the laboratories of Frank Ruddle from Yale, Frank
Constantini and Elizabeth Lacy from Oxford, and Ralph Brinster
and Richard Palmiter in collaboration from the University of
Pennsylvania and the University of Washington injected purified
DNA into a single-cell mouse embryo and showed transmission of
the genetic material to subsequent generations. During the early
eighties, Palmiter and Brinster continued to lead the field, and
the technology used to generate genetically modified mice was
improved into a tract