Generation of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mice

Transgenic mice are among the most helpful tools to study the role of genes in physiological conditions. In this protocol, we describe the generation of bacterial artificial chromosome (BACs) constructs, which are used to express a gene of interest under a particular promoter. BACs as driver of transgenes have the advantage that a characterization of transcriptional control elements is unnecessary and the construct's size usually reduces position effects from random integration. In the following, we firstly explain in detail the amplification of the BAC, the generation of the targeting construct as well as the recombination by ET-cloning, and the analysis of the recombined clones by Southern blot analysis. Finally, we also describe the preparation of the BACs for oocyte injection. In total, the construction of such BAC transgenes needs around 6-8 weeks.