Transgenic technology as it applies to animal agriculture

A variety of recombinant DNA molecules have been introduced into the germ line of animals.The resulting transgenic animals have a diverse range of phenotypes, some of which were expected and some not anticipated. To date, the majority of transgenic animals are mice. However,recombinant DNA has been introduced into agriculturally important animals such as sheep,rabbits, pigs, chickens, cattle and fish. In this report, we will survey the consequences of transgene expression in agriculturally important mammals in terms of their effects on growth. Also,we will review the data concerning the use of transgenic mammals as “bioreactors” for theproduction of recombinant proteins.