New Tools to Generate Transgenic and Knock-out Mouse and Rat Models

The Project Med-Rat is one of the Specific Targeted Projects under the 6th Framework Program of the European Community. The primary objective of Med-Rat is to produce a reliable technological platform for generation of novel targeted genetic animal models (including the first targeted genetic rat models) by 2009, providing an essential and powerful tool for the European functional genomic research of great potential for basic and translational medical research. The establishment of transgenic laboratory animal models will reveal the correlation between the genetic code and the biological functions (functional genomics) and this approach will potentially clarify the genetic base of the most important diseases affecting the European population, including Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer – priority areas of the 6th Framework Program. 5 EU member states: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom cooperate in Med-Rat. The Coordinator of the project is the Department of Animal Biology of the Agricultural Biotechnology Center - Hungary.

VetCore
Zentrum für Biologische Wissenschaften