Gene knockouts that affect female fertility: novel targets for contraception.

The knockout gene technology is an excellent tool to investigate gene function. In 2005, we reviewed 83 gene knockouts that were reported to affect female fertility. This article is an update of the previous review published in early 2005. It describes genes discovered (2004-2010) since the last review that affect female fertility. Using the database search in the Pubmed and Google Scholar search engines, 67 new genes were discovered using knockout technology that have been reported to affect female fertility. These genes were grouped into three main categories based upon the aspect of female reproductive biology that is affected by their knockout. Some of these genes may provide novel targets for developing better methods for contraception and specific diagnosis and treatment of female infertility.