Strategies for Maintaining Mouse Mutations

Rules for naming a new mutation are provided. The majority of new mutations are recessive and thus easily maintained in a mouse strain. Considerations on the choice of genetic background are given, depending on how the mutant was produced and how you intend to analyze it. General information on maintaining a mutant colony to perpetuate the mutation and to efficiently produce homozygous mutant mice for analysis is provided. Also discussed are special breeding techniques to delete a selection cassette in vivo, if you produced the mutation in embryonic stem (ES) cells, and to maintain a mutant with a balancer chromosome. In the event of either male or female infertility in the heterozygotes, assisted reproductive techniques may be necessary.