Table 1

Comparison of gene knockout strategies in rodents

Criteria
Retroviral
ENU
Retrotransposon

Disrupt genes completely
Yes
No
Yes
Random mutation
No
Yes
Yes
High frequency mutation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Quickly map mutations
Yes
No
Yes
Efficiently create knockout animals
No
Yes
Yes

ENU, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea.

Ostertag et al. Genome Biology 2007 8(Suppl 1):S16   doi:10.1186/gb-2007-8-s1-s16