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Fundación Ramón Areces
Madrid
4-5 Mayo 2000
INTRODUCTION
The last two decades have witnessed a spectacular advance in the ability
to introduce genetic modifications in mammals. The development of
recombinant DNA techniques, which allow the modification of genetic material
at will, and parallel advances in the culture, manipulation and transfer
of the early mammalian embryo, led in the early 80's to the first genetic
modification experiment in mice through the addition of exogenous DNA.
Nearly a decade later, thanks to the convergence of the two distinct fields
of homologous recombination and embryonic stem cell technology, the first
mouse was generated possessing a directed modification of a endogenous
gene.
It is now spectacular to contemplate the extraordinary development
experienced in this field since these pioneering experiments shocked the
scientific community. Technical improvements immediately extended
the spectrum of accessible genetic modifications and allowed their rapid
propagation to laboratories worldwide, which today benefit from the extraordinary
power of these techniques in approaching very diverse biological problems.
Modifications inconceivable just a few years ago, such as chromosome engineering,
conditional and point mutations, or mammalian cloning, are now available
to basic and clinical researchers. It is now impossible to identify
a single biological or medical area that remained unaffected by transgenesis.
Although basic research is the most influenced area to date, the inevitable
impact of these techniques in applied areas will predictably originate
a similar revolution. It is sufficient to point out that disciplines
such as gene therapy, organ and tissue regeneration, as well as the biotechnology
of clinical and consumer products are developing on the grounds of the
same technical advances that allowed the transgenic revolution of the two
last decades. Transgenesis will be also crucial for the interpretation
of the large volume of information derived from genome sequencing of human
and other organisms, so-called functional genomics. New genes will
be studied and their function established during development and throughout
the organism’s lifespan.
Looking back, it is surprising to realize that the fundamental advances
that allowed these developments were achieved by a few pioneering laboratories.
May this symposium serve to review the current state of the field, to analyze
its predictable future developments and, at the same time, to recognize
the immense contribution of those who, with their fundamental achievements,
allowed the expansion of a field that today influences both the scientific
world and our daily life in a decisive way.
Lluís Montoliu
Miguel Torres
(co-ordinators)