February 5, 2010
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JAX Becomes New Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center

New Role Improves Services to Biomedical Researchers

As of January 1, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) became a Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC), joining the three other MMRRCs – University of California, Davis, the University of Missouri, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill – in a national consortium of regional mutant mouse breeding and distribution facilities.

MMRRC homepage
The Jackson Laboratory is now an MMRRC member.
The purpose of the MMRRCs is to preserve and provide valuable mouse strains, ES cell lines, and mouse-related services, such as cryopreservation, cryorecovery, and microinjection, to the global biomedical research community. Additionally, MMRRCs develop and improve techniques for assisted reproductive biology, cryobiology, genetic analysis, phenotyping, diagnosing infectious disease, and handling mutant mice. They also enable investigators funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fulfill their obligation to share resources.

The MMRRC consortium was established in 1999 by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the NIH. It launched its public website and began accepting strains in May, 2001, and distributed the first strains in October, 2002. It is managed by a Coordinating Committee representing the four consortium members and an NCRR program officer. Collectively, the MMRRCs import, rederive, and cryopreserve approximately 100 strains per year. They currently hold 2,120 strains and more than 27,000 ES cells. Although all strains are cryopreserved, those in high demand (currently 60 strains) are also maintained live. Most models and ES cell lines are distributed worldwide following a simple letter of agreement.

JAX was selected to be an MMRRC because of its long history of providing mice and related resources and of developing new technologies (e.g., for embryo and gamete cryopreservation) for the biomedical research community. Although JAX is only now starting to distribute mice through the consortium, it has always served as the Informatics, Coordination, and Service Center (ICSC) to orchestrate the separate MMRRCs to function as a single resource. In that continuing role, JAX coordinates strain review, assigns strains to MMRRCs, provides strain search functionality and detailed strain and ordering information on the MMRRC web interface, processes orders, and provides customer service. Grants to the individual MMRRCs pay for archiving accepted strains. Individual MMRRCs can also accept strains on a fee-for-service basis. (Note: MMRRC mice, whether provided by JAX or other MMRRCs, are not JAX® Mice and are not listed in the JAX® Mice Database.)

For more details about the MMRRC consortium and its offerings, please visit the MMRRC home page. Specific information about MMRRC at JAX is available as well.