Speed congenic development service
Congenic strain development in half the time
The Jackson Laboratory's new Speed Congenic Development Service can significantly reduce the amount of time to create a congenic mouse strain.
This service can be used by investigators to transfer genetic mutations or knockouts from one genetic background (i.e., donor strain) to another genetic background (i.e., host strain).
Some of the reasons to make such a transfer are:
- To place a mutation on an inbred background to reduce background effects
- To enhance the phenotype of a mouse disease model
- To improve the vigor (e.g., survival, breeding performance, general health, etc.) of a mouse disease model
Congenic strain development requires a series of backcrosses between the donor strain carrying the mutation (often on a mixed genetic background) and a host strain with a defined genetic background (i.e., an inbred strain). With each successive backcross, the percentage of host genome increases logarithmically.
Using traditional methods, after ten generations of backcrossing (N10), a congenic strain is statistically (99.9%) identical to the host inbred strain at all loci except those linked to the transferred gene of interest. Using the traditional process can take between 2.5 and 3 years.
Genome scanning and speed congenic development
Speed Congenic strains are created using our Genome Scanning Service. This involves using a panel of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to distinguish between donor and host strains. The mice carrying the gene of interest and the highest percentage of host DNA markers are selected for the next backcross mating. By utilizing marker-assisted selection of mice for breeding, we are able to reduce the number of backcross generations necessary from N10 to N5 (5 generations of backcrossing).
In addition to shortening the time required, the total number of mice needed in the development process is also reduced.
Based on strain and customer specifications, Speed Congenic projects may be initiated at either our Bar Harbor, Maine, or West Sacramento, California, facility. For either location, Genome Scanning will be performed through the JAX Genome Services group in Bar Harbor.
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Put our speed congenic services to work for you
If you are interested in creating a congenic mouse strain, please contact jaxservices@jax.org.
Still have questions?
- Ask JAX® Services a question by sending an email to jaxservices@jax.org.
- Call JAX® Services at 1-800-422-6423 or 1-207-288-5845.
- Get started using our JAX® Services Request Form
