Transgenic and knockout mice have played a very important role in biomedical research for the developmentof animal models for human diseases and for addressing many different biological questions. The transgenicmouse core facility of the NYU School of Medicine combines the services and resources of the SkirballInstitute and the Cancer Institute. The TgESCF currently provides four basic services: production oftransgenic mice by zygote injection, production of ES cell chimeras by blastocyst injection or morulaaggregation, rederivation of mouse strains, and sperm cryopreservation. Over the next 5 years, thetransgenic facility will continue to provide these services, but will also provide new services such as thegeneration and genotyping of knockout ES cell lines, embryo cyropreservation, the purification of DMAconstructs, and assisted reproduction techniques. In the past year, transgenic mice have been producedusing inbred FVB/N and C57BL/6 mice, and ES cell chimeras have been produced by injection of ES cellsinto C57BL/6 blastocysts. To enable investigators to house pathogen-free animals in the Skirball animalfacility, rederivation of mouse strains has continued to be important, especially as new staff are recruitedwho work with mice. Over the past 10 years the .transgenic facility has generated -3,600 transgenic foundersfrom ~670 DMA constructs (including BAC-based constructs), generated ES cell chimeras from -370 ES cellknockout lines and rederived -460 mutant lines. During the period of the current Cancer Center SupportGrant (2002-2006), 251 DNA constructs were injected and 877 founders were obtained, chimeras weremade from 143 targeted ES cell clones, and 261 mouse strains were rederived. We also froze sperm from17 mutant mouse strains. In addition to these services, the core director and coordinator providedresearchers with support related to work with transgenic and knockout mice, such as training in mousehusbandry and consultation in transgenic and ES cell approaches.
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