Aneuploidy in the Transgenic Rabbit

Parkányi, Vladimír; Chrenek, P.; Rafay, J.; Süvegová, K.; Jurčík, R.; Makarevich, A. V.; Pivko, J.; Hetényi, L.; Paleyanda, R. K.

doi:10.14712/fb2004050060194

Fol. Biol. 2004, 50, 194-199

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2004050060194

Aneuploidy in the Transgenic Rabbit

Vladimír Parkányi¹, P. Chrenek¹, J. Rafay¹, K. Süvegová¹, R. Jurčík¹, A. V. Makarevich¹, J. Pivko¹, L. Hetényi¹, R. K. Paleyanda²

¹Research Institute of Animal Production (RIAP), Nitra, Slovak Republic
²American Integrated Biologics, Inc., E. Woodstock, USA

Received November 2004
Accepted November 2004

The aim of this study was to determine whether there are differences in the karyotypes between transgenic and non-transgenic or control rabbits. New Zealand White transgenic rabbits (F1 generation) were obtained after breeding of transgenic founder rabbits that were derived from single ñ SM ñ or double microinjection DM with a WAP-hFVIII transgene. C-metaphase plates were obtained from short-time culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes synchronized by the addition of colcemide. A significantly higher rate of aneuploidy was observed in c-metaphase spreads of transgenic (56-66%) rabbits, as compared to non-transgenic ones (28-38%) (P < 0.05; P < 0.01). The patterns of chromosome banding were identical in both groups of rabbits. No structural aberrations were revealed in either group. These findings demonstrate that transgenic rabbits have a higher frequency of numerical chromosomal aberrations in their peripheral blood lymphocytes than normal rabbits, but without apparent deleterious effects on health or reproduction.