EMMA partner
CNRS - Centre de Distribution, de Typage et d'Archivage animal, Orleans, France
Institut Transgenose
3B rue de la Ferollerie
45071 ORLEANS Cedex 2
France
The 'Institut de Transgenose' is a national core facility participating actively in the French Inter-Organisation network and operated by
the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research). Its mission is to provide shared support and facilities for animal research to the
scientific community. Two units of the CNRS are associated, the Centre for Archiving, Distribution and Transgenesis of Animal Models
and the Laboratory for Molecular Embryology and Immunology. During the last 10 years, the interests of the institute have evolved to
provide help to all the laboratories producing, using and analysing mutant mouse models. As a member of EMMA, the main activities
of the institute are to cryopreserve and to distribute stock of the most popular strains.
To fully play its part in the EMMA project, Y. Herault the scientific coordinator of the resource centre is helped by S. Paturance, the responsible person in charge of the breeding facilities, V. Larrigaldie for the cryopreservation and distribution of EMMA mouse lines, and G. Soulat for development of the interface of the EMMA database. The infrastructure consists of several devoted mouse facilities:
- A 100-m2 quarantine area, which is completely separated from the main breeding facility. All animals obtained from outside can be settled and bred, if necessary, in this quarantine area before cleansing and/or cryopreservation. For immunodeficient mice, specific housing is provided in IVC racks or isolators.
- 5 independent SPF facilities, including 300-m2 of A2 level for gene therapy and infectious disease research, which currently support the housing of 13000 cages and the breeding of 450 mutant lines per year.
- 48 isolator units of 48 cages each are now devoted to the breeding of mouse lines under the highest health conditions and/or to implement gnotobiotic projects.
Each year the Institute rederives more than 120 mouse strains and cryopreserves about 150 lines. What is more, the facility provides health monitoring, genetic monitoring and breeding services to more than 400 internal and external users. So far in 2005/2006, 1400 strains have been archived and more than 17000 mice were distributed to laboratories in France and and other laboratories around the world. All procedures are implemented under high quality standards matching the ISO9000 version 2001 quality insurance.
The Institute also provides transgenic mouse services (overexpression and ES cell derived) and is involved in a French initiative for chemical mutagenesis both in vivo (Phenotypic approach) and in vitro (Genotypic approach in ES cells) under the scientific supervision of Y. Herault. The aims of these approaches are to develop comparative genomics for new vertebrate models, infectogenomics to understand the host immune response towards infections (Malaria, Listeria, Tuberculosis,..) and to study gene dosage effects in human trisomy 21 using the mouse as a model. Several specialized services for functional analysis have been implemented to characterize mutant mice including histology, functional imaging (X-rays, microPET,…), respiratory function assay, skeletomuscular function, haematology, immunology and morphology. The centre is also involved in several training courses for cryopreservation, animal facility management and the ethics, the care and use of animals in research.