Archiving mouse strains by cryopreservation

A great deal of time and energy goes into the creation of each new line of transgenic mice; established lines are expensive and labor-intensive to maintain. Archiving of mice by cryopreservation of germ cells or embryos represents a means to free up facility space, while protecting the line from loss due to environmental disasters, genetic drift, or infectious disease. The author reviews the available cryopreservation techniques and presents considerations for setting up a cryopreservation facility.