Question

2.) Please describe why do we need to use conditional alleles for some genes to create knock-ins mice.

Answer 1

Ans . Conditional alleles in genetically modified mice allow for the deletion of a gene of interest in a target tissue when combined with a tissue-specific Cre recombinase. A Conditional allele is achieved by introducing LoxP sites around a critical exon, a gene , or a cluster of genes.

Conditional alleles are designed to enable control over exactly when and where different alleles will be expressed.

The conditional gene knockout method is often used to model human diseases in other mammals. It has increased scientist's ability to study diseases such as cancer, that develop in specific cell types or developmental stages.