ABSTRACT

Animal biotechnology is the use of science and engineering to modify living organisms. Its aim is to enhance products by improving farm and domestic animals. Examples of animal biotechnology include creating transgenic animals (animals with one or more genes introduced by human intervention), using gene knockout technology to produce animals with a speci c inactivated and/ or overproducing gene for human consumption. Animal biotechnology can also be used to produce nearly identical animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) (or cloning) for superior characteristics and also as living factories. Table 14.1 illustrates key events in the advances in animal biotechnology.