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Dr Kathie Raphael School of Biological Sciences Phone Ph (+61) (2) 9351 3143 |
During a Post-Doctoral year at Columbia University Dr Raphael joined one of the first groups to successfully create transgenic mice. As a result of microinjection of a globin gene construct by Dr Raphael it was established that tissue specific expression of a transgene could be obtained. On returning to Australia she established the microinjection facility at the CSIRO Division of Animal Production, one of the first laboratories in Australia to do so. This facility is used to study tissue and developmental gene expression in transgenic mice. Dr Raphael created transgenic mice expressing a sheep metallothionein/human Factor IX construct specifically in the liver, thus contributing to the production of Factor IX in transgenic animals for therapeutic use. A further significant contribution to the field by Dr Raphael is the strategic discovery of a developmental mutant among her tansgenic mice, which she is now using for the isolation of novel genes which play an important role in early mammalian development.
Subsequent research on transgenic mice included analysis of gene expression (Northern blotting, RT-PCR), using insertional mutation to isolate novel gene sequences (Southern blotting, Inverse PCR, gene cloning, sequencing) following molecular markers in genetic crosses, and gene sequence analysis. Since joining the FFRC in 1997 all the accumulated skills have been directly applicable to molecular genetic work on the Queensland fruit fly. A Small ARC grant (The eye-colour genes of Bactrocera tryoni as markers for genetic transformation) in 1997/98 enabled Dr Raphael to concentrate on this new research direction to isolate the pergene.This is an exciting new field in Australia.
