The Rat: A Model Used in Biomedical Research -- Genetic Mapping and Positional Cloning -- Sequencing of the Rat Genome and Databases -- Design of Expression Cassettes for the Generation of Transgenic Animals (Including Insulators) -- Inducible and Conditional Promoter Systems to Generate Transgenic Animals -- Generation of Transgenic Rats by Microinjection of Short DNA Fragments -- Generation of Transgenic Rats Using YAC and BAC DNA Constructs -- The Use of Lentiviral Vectors to Obtain Transgenic Rats -- Generation of Transgenic Rats by Ooplasmic Injection of Sperm Cells Exposed to Exogenous DNA -- Procedures for Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer in the Rat -- ENU Mutagenesis to Generate Genetically Modified Rat Models -- Establishment of Embryonic Stem Cells from Rat Blastocysts -- Derivation, Culture, and In vivo Developmental Capacity of Embryonic Cell Lines from Rat Blastocysts -- Interference RNA for In vivo Knock-Down of Gene Expression or Genome-Wide Screening Using shRNA -- Generation of Gene-Specific Mutated Rats Using Zinc-Finger Nucleases -- Application of Microarray-Based Analysis of Gene Expression in the Field of Toxicogenomics -- Generation of Congenic and Consomic Rat Strains -- Generation of Rat "Supersonic" Congenic/Conplastic Strains Using Superovulation and Embryo Transfer -- Analysis by Quantitative PCR of Zygosity in Genetically Modified Organisms -- A Restriction Enzyme-PCR-Based Technique to Determine Transgene Insertion Sites -- Cryopreservation and Orthotopic Transplantation of Rat Ovaries -- Techniques for In Vitro and In Vivo Fertilization in the Rat -- Rat Strain Repositories -- Neurobehavioral Tests in Rat Models of Degenerative Brain Diseases -- Rat Genomics Applied to Psychiatric Research -- Genomics Studies of Immune-Mediated Diseases Using the BN-LEW Rat Model -- Rat Models of Cardiovascular Diseases -- Use of Rat Genomics for Investigating the Metabolic Syndrome -- Genomic Research in Rat Models of Kidney Disease -- Cancer Research in Rat Models.

Grown exponentially by the genomic revolution, the use of the rat as a model of choice for physiological studies continues in popularity and at a much greater depth of understanding. In Rat Genomics: Methods and Protocols, world-wide experts provide both practical information for researchers involved in genomic research in the rat along with a more contextual discussion about the usefulness of the rat in physiological or translational research in different organs and systems. The volume extensively covers topics including genome sequencing, quantitative trait loci mapping, and the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms as well as the development of transgenic technologies such as nuclear cloning, lentiviral-mediated transgenesis, gene knock-down using RNA interference, gene knock-out by mutagenesis, and zinc finger nucleases plus exciting advances in the obtention of rat embryonic cell lines. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, this work provides the kind of detailed description and implementation advice that is crucial for getting optimal results. Comprehensive and up-to-date, Rat Genomics: Methods and Protocols thoroughly covers the current techniques used in labs around the world and overviews the applications of the data obtained, making it certain to be useful to the scientific community as a key source of references and methods.