Question

How is ‘Rosie’ considered different from a normal cow? Explain.

Answer 1

Hint: Genetic engineering has opened up vast new possibilities for gene modification in other organisms. These organisms are being used to obtain different gene products.

Complete answer:
The first genetically modified cow or transgenic cow was Rosie. Unlike other cows that produced only normal milk, Rosie was able to produce milk enriched in the human protein. The milk was rich in human alpha-lactalbumin which was a more suitable product for human baby consumption than normal milk.

Additional Information:
- Recombinant DNA technology has helped in the introduction of foreign genetic material in the genomes of other organisms, which has resulted in the formation of transgenic animals.
Several advantages are provided by transgenic animals such as:
- They are used as bioreactors for obtaining biological products, and for studies of different human diseases.
- Vaccine safety: Vaccines, after they are made, are tested on transgenic mice before they go for human trials. How these mice react to the vaccine provides a preliminary idea of how the human body will react to it.
- Chemical Safety: Similar to vaccine testing, animals are genetically modified to react to toxins or chemicals like humans as closely as possible.
- Extensive use of transgenic animals occurs for studying the regulation of genes and how these genes affect normal body functions. For example the study of IGFs or insulin-like growth factors.

Note: Rosie was the first transgenic cow, but the first transgenic animal was a mouse. Almost 95% of all transgenic animals are mice. They are mainly developed for the purpose of studying human physiology and development.