Production of transgenic mice carrying green fluorescence protein gene by a lentiviral vector-mediated approach

A pseudo-lentivirus, which carries green fluorescence protein (GFP) expressing cassette, was injected into the perivitelline space of murine fertilized oocytes before transplanting into the oviducts of the foster mothers. The GFP transgenic pups were then obtained. By PCR amplification, fluorescent microscopy and flow assisted cytometry sorting analysis, we found that the integration rate of the transgene was estimated at above 40%. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that the copy number of the integrated GFP cassette was around 40. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that the integration pattern was random but inheritable. The transgenic mice with multi-integration sites and various expression levels possessed a great value in practice as well as research. The approach reported herein provides an efficient way to generate and screen the transgenic mouse strains.