What is gene trapping?
Gene trapping is a high-throughput approach used to introduce genome-wide insertional mutations. Gene trap experiments in embryonic stem (ES) cells produce mutant cell lines in which integration into a putative gene is selected by expression of a selection gene in ES cells. The trapped gene is usually (though not necessarily) mutated by the integration, altering either the gene expression or the protein product produced. The site of integration can be characterized by cloning, extension of cDNA products, or direct sequencing of the insertion site. See also: • Gene trapping in Wikipedia. • Tutorials at the International Gene Trap Consortium (IGTC) site. Top How are gene trap alleles named? Once a gene trap cell line is isolated and the insertion site identified, a gene trap mutant cell line designation is used to create an allele symbol. • If the trapped gene is known, the allele designation has the following format: GenesymbolGt(mutant cell line name or vector name or vector content)La
