AGS is active the functional genomics sector and aims to provide transgenic services and developing resources that will significantly enhance functional analysis of genes in mouse model systems.  Transgenic animal models are currently the most valuable tool for research, providing excellent results  in the drug testing and drug discovery processes.  Thanks to its exclusive access to pClasper in transgenics, AGS has the ability to construct, manipulate and insert large DNA constructs  to  create transgenic animal models  for complex disease pathologies.  AGS satisfies customer requirements in a unique manner, accentuating the companys mission  to become the unquestionable leader in the supply of transgenic animal models  to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research institutions.

AGS technology is based on the pClasper shuttle vector.  pClasper combines the capacity of yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) for replicating large pieces of DNA and the stable propagation and robust handling characteristics of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) with the exploitation of yeast natural characteristics for recombination.  pClasper vectors containing large DNA inserts are more stable than YACs and can be propagated in bacteria like BACs.  Transgene constructs are efficiently assembled and precisely modified in pClasper by targeted recombination in yeast.  The robust handling properties of pClasper coupled with high efficiency yeast recombination accelerates and improves the reliability of gene function analysis.  Transgenic mice produced by conventional manipulation of small DNA constructs via routine sub-cloning procedures (15-20 kb) have proved to be inadequate since they fail to contain all the necessary regulatory elements for achieving proper transgene expression.  Many genes or gene clusters are often tens of kilobases in size with regulatory elements scattered at considerable distances from the coding region.  Furthermore, modifications performed by standard molecular cloning techniques rely heavily on randomly located restriction enzyme sites.  Thus, transgenic mouse models produced through standard molecular cloning techniques do not necessarily provide good compliance with customer specifications.  With pClasper, AGS can precisely modify large genes and gene clusters, as large as 300 kb, by targeted recombinational techniques, thereby overcoming the inadequacies of conventionally prepared transgenic mice.