The Jackson Laboratory Repository

JAX® NOTES Issue 505, Spring 2007

The development of technology capable of manipulating and analyzing the genomes of model organisms, especially that of the laboratory mouse, has dramatically changed the landscape of biomedical research. One of the outcomes of this genetic revolution has been an immense increase in the production of genetically-engineered or specialty mice. The scientific community's need to be informed about and have access to these new mouse models has necessitated the development of publicly accessible bioinformatics databases, innovative mouse husbandry and colony management strategies, and efficient distribution systems. As the world's leader in the genetics, husbandry, production, and distribution of specialty mouse strains for over 75 years, we have played a major role in developing these resources. Our effort in this regard is best embodied in our Repository, the collective term for our vast inventory of specialty mouse strains. Our Repository has pioneered innovative techniques for managing these strains, cryopreserving and recovering their germplasm, publishing their characteristics, and facilitating their availability to research scientists. It has a long history of continued funding from institutions that help it acquire, develop, and characterize mouse models for specific diseases. This article describes the Repository's dynamic and evolving role in ensuring that scientists have the best access possible to mice used in biomedical research.

The Repository's Mission

The mission of the Repository is two-fold: First, as mentioned above, it identifies, imports, and distributes a wide variety of specialty mouse strains, including spontaneous and targeted mutants, transgenics, congenics, consomics, recombinant inbreds, recombinant congenics, and chromosome aberration strains. Simply put, the objective is to put these strains in the hands of the scientists who need them. Once in their hands, they are used in a myriad of research areas, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, epilepsy, infectious diseases, spinal muscular atrophy, Down syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and Alzheimer's. Recently, to reduce some of the international barriers that hinder researchers from accessing some important mouse models, the Repository has negotiated distribution agreements with European Mouse Model Association (EMMA) nodes in Germany, France, and the UK, and with the Riken BioResource Center in Japan. The second part of the Repository's mission is to collect, summarize, and publish the information available for these strains in the JAX® Mice Database and Web site, thereby helping researchers select and use the most suitable models for their research.

History and Current Scope

Before the technology for genetically engineering mice was available, spontaneous mutants, many originating from JAX® Production colonies, were the models of choice for researching human disease. As the number of these mutants increased and their research value became more widely recognized, we established the grant-funded Mutant Mouse Resource (MMR) to isolate, characterize, and distribute them. Similarly, the grant-funded Special Mouse Strains Resource (SMSR) was established when the value of recombinant inbred strains as gene-mapping tools was recognized. In 1992, to archive, characterize, and distribute targeted mutation and transgenic mouse strains, the Induced Mutant Resource (IMR) was established. In the following years, as the number and variety of specialty mouse models in our holdings increased, we established several other specialized resources, such as the Type 1 Diabetes Resource (T1DR) and the Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models Repository (ADMMR). In 2004, to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of managing these resources, and to facilitate the biomedical research community's access to them, we consolidated them into a single Repository.

The Repository's Colony Management and Distribution System

Of the more than 3,100 JAX® Mice strains held at The Jackson Laboratory, over 2,800, the largest variety of specialty mouse strains available from any single organization in the world, are managed by the Repository. Keeping all these strains as live colonies is not feasible because many are used infrequently for very specific research and are therefore in low demand. The Repository is continually evaluating which strains to keep on the shelf. If demand for a strain falls (usually below 40 mice per year, or for less than 6 investigators), the strain is removed from the shelf and distributed from recovered frozen embryos; if demand for a cryopreserved strain increases, the Repository re-animates it. About 2,000 of the Repository's strains are managed as frozen germplasm. About 850 are maintained live, generally in small colonies. Orders of 10 or less mice from these colonies can be filled quickly. If demand for a strain rises sharply, or if an investigator requests more mice than are available, the Repository can rapidly expand the colony to meet the increased demand. These strains may be thought of as "supplied-to-order:" though not immediately available in large quantities, large quantities can usually be supplied.

The Repository imports over 200 additional strains annually. Our Genetics Resources group carefully considers which of these might be most useful to you and announces them in the JAX® Mice Web site, electronic mailings (such as JAX® Mice News), and in the MGI listserve. You are asked to register interest in these strains and are notified when they become available for distribution. The amount of interest registered is used to size the new colonies. So, if you see a strain you need, let us know.

Cryopreservation: the Repository Keystone

Our scientists continue to advance the technology of cryopreserving germplasm as a method of managing mouse colonies. For example, they recently developed the first reliable, efficient, and cost-effective technique for cryopreserving and recovering mouse sperm. This and similar advances have allowed the Repository to economically manage and distribute thousands of mouse strains and to insure them against catastrophic loss. The Repository manages over 2,500,000 frozen embryos, over 46,500 aliquots of frozen sperm, and over 1,600 vials of frozen ovaries (representing nearly 5,000, 1000, and 90 strains respectively). To our knowledge, this is the largest collection of mammalian germplasm in the world.

The demand for cryopreserved strains from the Repository is increasing. During the past 5 years, the Repository has received over 2,000 requests for more than 740 cryopreserved strains. These requests have come from over 475 institutions in over 35 countries. To accommodate this growing demand, the Repository has increased its capacity, implemented space-saving breeding and housing schemes, updated its data submission and retrieval systems, improved its genotyping and genetic quality monitoring protocols, and substantially increased the efficiency of processing orders for, recovering, and distributing cryopreserved strains.

The Repository makes substantial efforts to educate scientists on how to best handle frozen germplasm and manage mutant mouse strains. For example, though researchers may order frozen embryos from the Repository, most facilities are not equipped to handle frozen embryos. Therefore, the Repository offers an Embryo Handling Workshop and distributes a practice embryo-thawing kit to laboratories receiving embryos for the first time. In the future, more researchers may choose to import strains as frozen embryos: they are easier to import into a barrier facility because they are de facto rederived to a specific pathogen free (SPF) status in the recovery process. The Colony Management Course, offered twice a year at The Jackson Laboratory, is an excellent way for researchers to learn how to manage colonies of genetically-engineered mice.

Submit your Strain to the Repository

The Repository welcomes the opportunity to acquire new strains and help you distribute them. If you have constructed a unique mouse model and published it in a peer-reviewed journal, please consider submitting it to the Repository. If your strain is accepted, the Repository will absorb the cost of importing and cryopreserving it, and you will reap the following benefits:

  • You will fulfill the requirements of the NIH policy on sharing model organisms for biomedical research.
  • You will free up valuable mouse room space and other resources and be able to conduct your research more efficiently.
  • The Repository will rederive, cryopreserve, and archive your strain, ensuring a resource for current and future research.
  • The responsibilities for distributing your strain will be assumed by the Repository's veteran staff of Customer Service, Technical Support, and Genetic Quality Control specialists.
  • A strain record, including comprehensive phenotypic and genetic information, research applications, and relevant
    references, will be published in the JAX® Mice Database.
  • If necessary, the Repository will adapt, develop, or refine a genotyping protocol and post all working protocols in the JAX® Mice Database.
  • Information about your strain will be submitted to the Mouse Genome Informatics Database.
  • You will be entitled to receive up to three pairs, or six mice, of your strain for the cost of shipping for as long as the Repository maintains a live colony.

The number of mice shipped yearly by the Repository has been steadily increasing.

The number of strains accepted by the Repository in 2006 increased dramatically.

Submitting Your Strain

To submit a strain to the Repository or to learn more about strain submission, visit the submittal form.

A Repository Mouse is Not Just Another Mouse

When you obtain a mouse from the Repository, you're not obtaining just another laboratory mouse. You're benefiting from the Jackson Laboratory's world renown mouse husbandry and genetic research infrastructure, which includes top-notch scientific staff, pioneering technology in germplasm cryopreservation and recovery, an unmatched Genetic Quality Control program, a superior Animal Health monitoring system, skilled and dedicated technicians and animal caretakers, outstanding bioinformatics resources, an expert and dedicated Customer Service and Technical Support staff, a state-of-the art distribution system that delivers to nearly all parts of the United States and Canada, widely-used informative databases, and community outreach and professional training and education programs.

Funding the Repository

Approximately 50% of the Repository's funds come from The Jackson Laboratory, including revenues from mouse sales and philanthropic donations; other funds come from various institutions, including the Boomer Esiasson Foundation, the Ellison Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Council of Research Resources, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, the National Down Syndrome Society, the National Eye Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, the Rett Syndrome Foundation, the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation, and the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation.

Find out about New Repository Models

The most recent additions to the Repository are listed as "under development" and are not yet available for distribution. They are listed to make you aware of their impending availability. You can learn about and register interest in these models by consulting the Web site or by subscribing to our twice-monthly electronic newsletter, JAX® Mice News. By registering interest, you will receive advance notice of the availability of (and have the opportunity to become one of the first to order) a new model.