Is the mouse line available as embryos?

We encourage the shipment of embryos (either fresh or frozen) rather than live mice for several reasons.

• The shipment of animals is clearly associated with distress and discomfort and should thus be avoided if possible.
• The receipt of embryos removes the need to house and breed the animals locally for the generation of embryos, saving considerable cage charges.
• The receipt of embryos means that the rederivation experiment can commence immediately, whereas the receipt of live mice invariably involves the breeding of a generation of mice prior to commencement of the rederivation experiment (see below). The saving in time can thus be between 3 and 4 months.

When a mouse line has been sourced from a laboratory in a specific University, we would strongly recommend that the scientist owning the line discuss possibilities for embryo harvest with their local transgenic core or animal facility. Most University's have access to the expertise to generate, harvest and potentially cryopreserve embryos via which can then be shipped at else.