Embryo Rederivation

The Transgenic Mouse Core Laboratory provides embryo rederivation as a management tool for disease control/eradication. Mouse embryo rederivation at the zygote stage is the gold standard for eradicating horizontally-transmitted, post-implantation and vertically transmitted pathogens. Only fertilized zona pellucida intact embryos free of adherent material are selected for rederivation. When stringent guidelines are followed, the elimination of mouse pathogens is almost always successfully achieved.

The fee for Embryo Rederivation Services is $3700.

Procedure: Donor females will be given two injections of exogenous gonadotropins 47 hours apart to induce follicular development and to control the expected time of ovulation. Donor mice will be mated immediately after the second hormone injection. Oviducts will be harvested from donor females the following morning after mating to collect pre-implantation stage embryos for rederivation. Collected embryos are then put through 10 successive washes in sterile medium with antibiotics. Selected embryos free of adherent material are then implanted into 0.5 day pseudopregnant recipients.

Criteria for Embryo Rederivation

A minimum of 6 males must be provided at 2-6 months of age.

If wild type females are not sufficient for breeding with mutant males, a minimum of 6-18 mutant females must be provided at 3-4 weeks of age. (The number of females required will depend on the fecundity of the strain which should be determined after the first set of matings.)

Recent health report

Males should be housed individually for one week prior to rederivation.

Scheduling Requirements

Services cannot be scheduled until all project criteria are met and the Embryo Rederivation Request Form is approved.

Services will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and a tentative date for initiation of services will be provided upon the approval of the Embryo Rederivation Request Form.

Links

• Embryo Rederivation Request Form
• All Procedure Request Forms

Animal Care and Use Committee website