Visualise a Knockout

Gene knockout (KO) is a research technique whereby a gene in an organism is turned off or 'knocked out'. Scientists compare 'knockout' with normal individuals to learn about what that gene does. This video is from the Deciphering the Mechanisms of Developmental Disorders (DMDD) programme, and was made using a relatively new technique, called high-resolution episcopic microscopy, which can take high resolution images of a KO mouse embryo. Each image shows details of the tissue structures within an embryo at cross-sections about the width of a human hair. About one-third of all KOs in mice lead to stillbirths, and the goal of DMDD is to create a database of the genetic regulation of embryo development. Over 95 per cent of the mouse genome is similar to our own, so DMDD could be useful for clinicians to diagnose human birth defects and develop new therapies.

Written by Kevin Pollock

Kevin Pollock

Writer

Kevin was an immunologist at the Mayo Clinic before completing the science journalism programme at City University. He is now working behind the scenes on the BPoD project, and also as a freelance science journalist.

• Video by the Deciphering the Mechanisms of Developmental Disorders programme
• Wellcome Trust with support from the Francis Crick Institute
• Originally published under a Creative Commons licence BY-NC-SA 3.0
• Research published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, October 2014