Genetic quality program

Introduction

The laboratory mouse is becoming an increasingly more important research model of human biology:

  • its genome, along with the rat's and the human's, is sequenced;
  • its genome can be efficiently, quickly, and inexpensively typed with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs);
  • mouse biology databases, like the Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) database, the JAX® Mice Database, the Mouse SNP Database, and the Mouse Phenome Database, are continually being improved;
  • new mouse models (including congenics, consomics, recombinant inbred strains, ENU-generated mutants, targeted mutants, and transgenics) are being produced at an accelerated rate; and
  • the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will soon sequence 15 widely used JAX® Mice strains.

Given its impact on human health, the data produced from mouse-based research must be reliable, reproducible, and viable over time and place - which means it must be conducted with mouse models whose genetic constitutions are as well-defined, stable, and unvarying as possible.

Yet, the genome of inbred mice is subject to genetic contamination and genetic drift.

  • Genetic contamination: occurs quickly, and is mostly due to human errors such as inadvertent outcrossing and strain mislabeling.
  • Genetic drift: occurs slowly, when either undetected spontaneous mutations or residually heterozygous alleles become fixed within a colony.

If not detected, genetic contamination and genetic drift will seriously erode the reliability, reproducibility, and long-term viability of research data. The problem is exacerbated when researchers are unaware of substrain differences, genetic background, and proper mouse nomenclature.

As the repository for thousands of JAX® Mice strains and supplier of mouse models to biomedical researchers worldwide, The Jackson Laboratory is committed to producing the most genetically well-defined inbred mice possible. This section of our web site outlines