Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, 364 Plantation Street, MA 01655, USA.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Feb;22(1):79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2011.11.002. Epub 2011 Nov 24.
The past few decades have seen the field of genetic engineering evolve at a rapid pace, with neuroscientists now equipped with a wide range of tools for the manipulation of an animal's genome in order to study brain function. However, the number of species to which these technologies have been applied, namely the fruit fly, C. elegans, zebrafish and mouse, remains relatively few. This review will discuss the variety of approaches to genetic modification that have been developed in such traditional 'genetic systems', and highlight the progress that has been made to translate these technologies to alternative species such as rats, monkeys and birds, where certain neurobiological questions may be better studied.
过去几十年中，遗传工程领域发展迅速，神经科学家现在拥有多种工具来操纵动物的基因组，以研究大脑功能。然而，这些技术应用的物种相对较少，主要是果蝇、秀丽隐杆线虫、斑马鱼和老鼠。本文将讨论在这些传统的“遗传系统”中开发的各种遗传修饰方法，并强调将这些技术转化到大鼠、猴子和鸟类等其他物种的进展，在这些物种中，某些神经生物学问题可能会得到更好的研究。
