Transport of mouse lines by shipment of live embryos

Advances in techniques for the genetic manipulation of the laboratory mouse have resulted in a vast array of novel mouse lines for research. One challenge facing researchers is the ability to rapidly share genetically modified mouse lines with collaborators at other institutions. The standard method of shipping live animals has its share of problems, including the acceptability of the mice at the receiving institution based on health status, as well as the length of time that mice are maintained in quarantine at the receiving institution. Transfer of mouse lines between institutions can also be accomplished by shipment of cryopreserved embryos or sperm. This option, however, is limited by the availability of properly trained staff at the shipping institution who can prepare the cryopreserved materials, as well as staff at the receiving institution who can recover live animals from the transferred samples. Overnight shipment of live, preimplantation mouse embryos circumvents many of the issues involved with shipping live animals or cryopreserved samples. The technique described in this chapter for shipping live embryos provides a simple method for transferring mouse lines between institutions.