CCMB produces first Gene Knockout Mouse in India:Director

Hyderabad, May 9 (UNI) The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here has produced the first 'Gene Knockout Mouse' in the country, Centre Director Lalji Singh said today.

Talking to Mediapersons here, he said a team of researchers led by Dr Satish Kumar of the CCMB, created a ''Knockout Mouse Strain'' for the first time in India.

He said during the last decade and half researchers have perfected a technology called 'Gene Knockout Technology' that allows them to precisely remove a given gene in a mouse. ''This week the Indian biologists joined the select club of scientists from a few advanced nations by successfully establishing and using Gene Knockout Technology in the country,'' he added.

Dr Singh said Gene Knockout Technology has tremendous applications not only in the field of basic biology but also for creation of human disease models and in the drug discovery process.

He said recognizing the tremendous potential of the technology, CCMB has created a National facility for Transgenic and Gene Knockout Mice with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, and the Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR).

''CCMB scientists were training researchers from other academic institutions and the pharmaceutical industries in the country in the these technologies,'' he added.

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