Conditional gene knockout

Conditional gene knockout is a technique used to eliminate a specific gene in a certain tissue, such as the liver. This technique is useful to study the role of individual genes in living organisms. It differs from traditional gene knockout because it targets specific genes at specific times rather than being deleted from beginning of life. Using the conditional gene knockout technique eliminates many of the side effects from traditional gene knockout. In traditional gene knockout embryonic death from a gene mutation can occur and this prevents scientists from studying the gene in adults. Some tissues cannot be studied properly in isolation so the gene must be inactive in a certain tissue while remaining active in others. With this technology scientists are able to knockout genes at a specific stage in development and study how the knockout of a gene in one tissue affects the same gene in other tissues.