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Knock-out Experiment

In a knockout experiment, an organism is engineered to lack the expression and activity of one or more genes. This is done through genetic manipulation, using snipping enzymes, crossover activity, or binding to either eliminate the specific gene sequence or make it unusable. Once the extracellular DNA is changed, it is reintroduced into embryonic stem cells, where the engineered copy is encouraged to replace the organism's own gene. The infected stem cells are injected into blastocysts which are implanted in surrogate mothers.

Knockout experiments are often performed in order to determine the functional role of a specific gene in the organism by studying the defects caused by the resulting mutation. Knockout experiments are especially useful for understanding the genes that code for the protein parts essential for the functioning of molecular machines.

The opposite experiment to a knockout experiment is the Gain of Function experiment, in which the targeted gene is enhanced either by the addition of more copies of that gene on the DNA or through methods to enhance the frequency of its transcription. With knockout experiments combined with Gain of Function experiments, a fuller range of gene function can be assessed.

Web Resources On Knock-out Experiment

Genetic Engineering Information

Book Resources On Knock-out Experiment

Cell and Molecular Biology : Concepts and Experiments by Gerald Karp
DNA Technology, Second Edition : The Awesome Skill by I. Edward Alcamo

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