Insertion of the bacterial gpt gene into the germ line of mice by retroviral infection.

Mouse substrains genetically transmitting the exogenous Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) at a single locus have been derived previously by infection of preimplantation embryos. Here we explore the potential of retroviral vectors for transferring nonviral genes into the germ line of mice. Preimplantation mouse embryos were cocultivated with a cell line that produces a recombinant retrovirus whose genome carries the Escherichia coli gene gpt. We show that the vector sequence was inserted into the genome of the embryo and into the germ line at a frequency similar to that for the Mo-MuLV-helper sequence. A new mouse strain, Mgpt-1, was developed that is homozygous for a single MSVgpt proviral genome. The proviral sequences were highly methylated and not expressed in tissues of Mgpt-1 mice. When cells derived from transgeneic animals were treated with 5-azacytidine, the proviral sequences were not methylated and were transcriptionally activated. These results indicate that nonviral genes that are under the control of the viral long terminal repeat are inactivated when transferred into the germ line of animals.