Question

What are transgenic animals? Why are these animals being produced?

Answer 1

Hint: The word transgenic is made up of two words, trans meaning misalignment, and genic means genes. The transgenic animals possess genetically administered genes from the other species which are superior to their own genes.

Complete answer:
Transgenic animals are the animals whose DNAs are manipulated. The manipulation of the DNA is done to possess and express an extra foreign gene. The genome of the transgenic animals is changed in such a way that they can carry genes from other species.
Transgenic animals are produced using DNA microinjections, Retrovirus mediated gene transfer, and Embryonic stem cell-mediated gene transfer.
Transgenic animals are produced for two common reasons. These two reasons are –
a. Transgenic animals are produced for specific economic traits like medicine, agriculture, and industry.
b. Transgenic animals are produced as disease models. The animals are genetically manipulated to exhibit the disease symptoms so that their effective cure can be found.
-Transgenic animals are produced for medicines. For example – Cows producing human protein-enriched milk.
-Transgenic animals are also produced for agricultural purposes. For example – Large sheep grow more wool.
-Transgenic animals are produced for Industrial products. For example – Goats can produce spider silk.

Note: The first transgenic mammals were Polly and Molly. They were two ewes. They were cloned from an adult somatic cell. Dolly the sheep was the first animal that was successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell where there was no genetic modification carried out on the adult donor nucleus.
The first transgenic sheep to produce alpha-1-antitrypsin was Tracy. The first monkey that was cloned was ANDi. He possessed a green fluorescent protein that was inserted in his chromosome.