Talk:Gene knockout

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[edit] Proposed Merge Between 'Gene knockout' and 'Knockout mice'

I conisider that knockout mice are an application of the concept of a gene knockout and should be included as a section in the Gene knockout article rather than stand as an article in their own right. --Username132 (talk) 11:34, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

• I disagree, the mouse is specific and a widely used technilogy. While this article is about the technology the mouse article offers the possibility of providing information of mouse modles for disease.--Peta 00:05, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Both versions work, but to mee it seems logical letting the mice have their own article. // habj 15:02, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

• Oppose The mice is a product of the technology, and not part of the gene knockout technology itself. What is needed on this article is merge the section on knocking out technique to the gene knockout article and expand with details of the mice. XIZIX 10:49, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Someone's Unlabelled Text

I stand corrected.

I mixed two concepts, only to be corrected immediately by my girlfriend whom I asked to check it.

Part of this text may be reused elsewhere later.

Often knockout genes are produced as follows:

• First random mutations are introduced in the DNA sequence of the species under investigation, by chemical or other means.
• Offspring from the treated individuals are scanned for a non characteristic trait that is of interest to the investigator. This is typically a lengthy process since only one or a few individuals in a population of many thousands will by chance have the required anomaly.
• Thus selected individuals are used to breed a population in which the trait is omnipresent. This may take several generations of selective breeding. Therefore fast growing plants or animals are often preferred, when the process under investigation is not specific for a certain species. Fruit flies are a typical example, since a new generation can be bred in a matter of weeks.
• The new slightly changed individual can now be further examined to find all causal relations that are related to the introduced anomaly. The investigation may reveal:
  • Causes that led to the first observed anomaly.
    A researcher may start to select e.g. fruit flies with an abnormal wing structure and trace this morphological defect back to the proteins that are missing, overproduced or produced at the wrong moment, then back again to the position in the DNA where the mutation occurred thus discovering (part of) the function of the gene that resides at that location.
  • Effects that follow from the observed anomaly.
    A researcher may start to select mutated individuals that miss a certain known protein in order to find any morphological, behaviouristic or other anomalies, which may then be (partially) explained form the protein deficiency. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Erik Zachte (talk • contribs)

[edit] What is to stop people

Once genetic engineering becomes well developped, what is to stop people from doing planned extinctions on each other by inserting recessive knockout genes just like it is advocated for malaria carrying mosquitoes? --Sillybilly 08:26, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

On each other? Lack of technical expertise for one... Gene knockout isn't something you can do to your friends; it's applied when creating new individuals from the embryo stage. --Seans Potato Business 21:49, 1 January 2008 (UTC)