Routine Breeding
We offer routine breeding services aimed at maintaining consistent and reliable growth of mouse colonies while ensuring genetic integrity across generations. Our approach involves detailed pairing strategies to optimize breeding outcomes, aligning with the specific genetic goals of your research. Throughout the process, we implement pregnancy monitoring to track gestation progress, making necessary adjustments to promote successful pregnancies.
Once litters are born, our team follows established weaning protocols to support early development, ensuring that pups are healthy and ready for genotyping. Regular genotyping is conducted to confirm the genetic status of offspring, verifying the presence of targeted alleles and preventing genetic drift over generations.
To maintain a pathogen-free environment, we perform routine health checks on both breeding pairs and offspring, identifying and addressing potential issues early. This proactive approach ensures that colonies remain healthy, genetically accurate, and stable, supporting consistent and reproducible research results.
Back-Crossing by Speed Congenic Breeding
To accelerate the development of congenic strains, we offer speed congenic breeding, a process that uses genetic markers to rapidly backcross mice and achieve a nearly isogenic background. By strategically selecting breeders with the highest percentage of the recipient strain at each generation, this approach significantly shortens the time and number of generations needed to establish congenic lines.
Unlike traditional backcrossing, which can take up to 10 generations and several years to complete, speed congenic breeding typically achieves the desired genetic background in just 5-6 generations, taking around 1.5 years. This method not only reduces the breeding cycles and time required but also helps maintain essential traits that are critical for research objectives.
Our team conducts background strain analysis at each generation using universal genotyping arrays, allowing us to identify and select offspring with the optimal genetic composition. This ensures that your models reach the desired genetic background efficiently, providing reliable and reproducible results for your research studies.
Custom Breeding and Colony Management
The Mouse Biology Program offers dedicated facilities, resources, and a skilled team of colony managers and vivarium staff to support the design and implementation of your research projects. Our experienced staff collaborates with you to develop effective strategies for managing your mouse strains, ensuring efficient and reliable outcomes.
We specialize in comprehensive strain management for complex breeding schemes, including recombinase breeding, which allows for precise modification of existing alleles. This approach supports the creation of double, triple, or even higher-order mutant lines with complex genotypes. Our team carefully plans and executes these breeding strategies to maintain genetic accuracy and consistency, helping you achieve specific research objectives.
Whether you’re modifying a single allele or developing more advanced genetic combinations, we provide customized breeding solutions that align with your scientific goals, backed by a commitment to high-quality animal care and reliable genetic results.
Germline Testing of Chimera
Chimeras are generated by injecting clonal mutant embryonic stem (ES) cells into donor blastocysts, producing offspring with a mix of mutant and wild-type cells. These chimeric mice often exhibit varying degrees of genetic contribution from the injected ES cells. To evaluate chimeric success, we perform a coat color assessment at 10 days of age, using visual cues to estimate the proportion of cells derived from the mutant ES line.
Chimeras with 50% or more mutant-derived coat color are prioritized for breeding, as they have a higher likelihood of passing the targeted genetic modification to their offspring. Breeding typically starts when the chimeras reach 7-9 weeks of age, allowing sufficient time for sexual maturity while maximizing the chances of successful germline transmission of the desired mutation. This process is closely monitored to confirm that the mutant allele has been incorporated into the next generation.
Complex Crosses
Our complex cross services support the creation of advanced genetic models, including double, triple, or higher-order knockouts, knockins, and transgenics. These services are designed to manage the intricate genetic interactions required for developing models with multiple mutations or modifications.
We employ strategic breeding plans to ensure accurate genetic segregation, carefully selecting breeding pairs at each stage to achieve the desired genotype. Throughout the process, our team conducts regular genotypic assessments to verify genetic outcomes, ensuring that the resulting models align precisely with research goals. This approach reduces variability, enhances genetic consistency, and maximizes experimental success.
Ideal for projects that require specific genetic backgrounds or complex gene interactions, our complex cross services provide researchers with reliable and reproducible models for studying multifaceted genetic traits, disease mechanisms, or therapeutic interventions.
Gnotobiotic Services
Our Gnotobiotics facility is equipped with state-of-the-art isolators designed to maintain both germ-free and defined flora mice under highly controlled conditions. These isolators are meticulously sterilized to ensure an aseptic environment, preventing contamination and supporting rigorous studies of microbiome-host interactions.
We offer a range of specialized services, including breeding management to expand and maintain gnotobiotic colonies, microbiological testing to verify sterility, and genotyping to ensure genetic accuracy. Our facility supports the precise modeling of host-microbiota relationships, enabling researchers to study the impact of microbial populations on health, disease, and treatment responses in a controlled setting.
Whether your research requires germ-free models or those colonized with specific microbiota, our gnotobiotics services provide the reliability and expertise needed for accurate, reproducible results.
Germline Testing
Germline testing is a critical step in confirming that desired genetic modifications are successfully transmitted to the next generation. This process ensures that the targeted alleles have been incorporated into the germ cells of the founder mice, making it possible to pass these genetic changes to offspring reliably.
We provide comprehensive testing and analysis to verify germline transmission, employing precise genotyping methods to confirm the presence of the modified alleles in progeny. This detailed analysis helps researchers establish stable, genetically accurate lines, supporting consistent and reproducible research outcomes. By verifying germline transmission, we ensure that your models retain the desired genetic traits across generations, facilitating long-term research projects.
Mouse Housing and Health Status
Our housing facilities uphold the highest health standards to provide a safe and controlled environment for your mouse colonies. Access to these facilities is strictly restricted, minimizing the risk of contamination and maintaining a secure setting for research. We conduct comprehensive pathogen screening regularly, ensuring that all mice remain free from common infections and potential health threats.
Mice are housed in individually ventilated caging systems (IVCs), which offer optimal airflow and biosecurity. These systems help prevent cross-contamination and provide a stable environment for both standard and specialized research needs. Additionally, our team conducts regular health monitoring, tracking the well-being of each colony and swiftly addressing any emerging health concerns.
By maintaining these stringent conditions, we support consistent and reliable research outcomes, whether for routine studies or specialized projects requiring enhanced biosecurity.
