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Mouse Biology Program is in the process of an across the board rate review, affecting MBP, MMRRC at UC Davis, MMPC at UC Davis, GMRC, and MBSR. Our rates will be updated as early as October 1, 2023. Orders submitted prior to that date will not be affected, however fees quoted but no order request submitted will be subject to the new rates. Our per diem rates for all MBP housed and managed colonies will be billed the new rates starting October 23^rd. We will release a copy of the new rates as soon as they are approved. 

We are actively monitoring the situation with COVID-19. In accordance with state, local, and university guidelines, the MMRRC at UC Davis and the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program are currently in Phase 3 of recovery. We have been given campus authorization to resume services, including beginning new projects, though with continued staffing restrictions, thus limiting our scheduling capacity; we will work closely with institutions and couriers, as there are still flight concerns, to ensure the safety and health of personnel, live animals, and research materials. We appreciate your understanding of delays experienced during this time.

Customer service will continue to primarily operate remotely. If you need to contact us, we are available via email (mmrrc@ucdavis.edu) or we can schedule a Zoom teleconference (we have limited access to our office phones).

We are actively monitoring the situation with COVID-19. In accordance with state, local, and university guidelines, the MMRRC at UC Davis and the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program continue to operate with limited on-site staff; we are currently in Phase 2 of recovery. Customer service will continue to operate remotely, and will work closely with customers to ensure the safety and health of personnel, live animals, and research materials. We have been given campus authorization to resume some services, specifically those scheduled prior to the shutdown that were halted. We have also been given campus authorization to resume some shipping and receiving for projects that were in process prior to the shelter in place; we will work closely with institutions and couriers, as there are still flight concerns, to ensure the safety and health of personnel and live animals. We are not yet processing new orders or projects, with the exception of approved UCD research projects, but can prepare necessary documentation in anticipation of Phase 3. We appreciate your understanding of delays experienced during this time.

If you need to contact us, we are available via email (mmrrc@ucdavis.edu) or we can schedule a Zoom teleconference (we do not have access to our office phones).

The MMRRC is pleased to welcome its newest collection of cell lines to the repository. The UC Davis/NIH NeuroMab Facility has deposited 473 Hybridoma Cell Lines into the MMRRC at UC Davis.

Hybridoma cell lines are immortal monoclonal antibody producing cells that can be grown in tissue culture at any scale to produce monoclonal antibodies. Each of the 473 cell lines in the MMRRC produced monoclonal antibodies validated for the specificity and efficacy in brain research applications at UC Davis/NIH NeuroMab Facility.

This new collection will empower researchers with the ability to produce large quantities of specific and highly validated monoclonal antibodies at low cost. One of the other benefits of having this collection in the MMRRC is that scientists also have access to knockout mouse lines for genes that encode protein targets of the NeuroMAb monoclonal antibodies. Accessibility of these cell lines will allow investigators to explore the dynamic organization of specific cell antibodies critical to understanding and improving health and disease.

Check out the new collection here.

The MMRRC at UC Davis is now maintaining two exciting new lines with broad applicability and interest to scientists working in many different areas. These mouse lines are called “Mouse for Actively Recording Cells 1” or MARC1.  Donated by Dr. George M. Church, Ph.D., and Dr. Reza Kalhor, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School, they are used for barcoding and lineage tracing applications in the mouse (PMID:30093604). Although these lines do not express any disease-related phenotypes, when a MARC1 mouse is crossed to mice expressing cas9 (universally or in a lineage-specific manner), combinatorial and cumulative barcoding starts in the progeny during their development, leading to developmentally barcoded animals that can be used for a multitude of applications, including lineage tracing.

The UC Davis MMRRC currently has two MARC1 lines available:

• STOCK MARC1-PB7/Mmucd, RRID: MMRRC_065424-UCD, was founded by a chimeric male mouse that carried 60 homing guide RNA (hgRNA) loci scattered throughout its genome in a heterozygous state. The founder (#7) was crossed to wild-type C57BL/6J and CD1 mice initially, and the donor then used random intra-strain mating for approximately 10 generations.  The genetic background of this line is deemed STOCK due to contributions from more than two inbred lines, and is a mixed background of C57BL/6J, 129S4, and CD1.
• STOCK MARC1-PB3/Mmucd, RRID: MMRRC_065812-UCD, was founded by chimera #3 that carried 50 heterozygote germline-transmissible integrations of hgRNAs, including one on chromosome X. The selected founder was crossed with CD1 females to create the F1 generation. The donor used random intra-strain mating for approximately 12 generations prior to depositing to the MMRRC. The genetic background of this line is deemed STOCK due to contributions from more than two inbred lines and is a mixed background of CD1, C57BL/6J, and 129S4.

The MARC1 live mouse colonies are now available for distribution as live mice. You can find the lines that are available by either clicking on the links above, to go directly to the strain detail page, or by visiting www.mmrrc.org, and searching the catalog for MARC1.  All orders must be placed online through the national MMRRC website.

Questions on these or other MMRRC mouse models? Please contact service@mmrrc.org, and the customer service team will be happy to assist.

Dr. Cynthia Renee Shirley, of Montgomery, Texas, was born on September 3, 1965 in Houston, Texas, and left her earthly home for her heavenly one, on July 25, 2019.

Cindy received her undergraduate degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M University in College Station, class of 1987, and her Doctorate in Reproductive Biology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science.  Dr. Shirley worked with the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the University of California Davis in 2005-2006, helping improve the repository archiving techniques and record keeping systems.

Cindy was a true patriot, dedicating her time to Veteran’s organizations, including her beloved Blue Ghost Beauties, a women’s auxiliary branch of the Blue Ghost Air Cavalry, the unit to which her husband belonged during the Vietnam War. She loved America fiercely, and never missed an opportunity to discuss politics, world events, or to cast votes in elections. As a woman of faith, Cindy believed in the power of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness, and knew him to be her savior. She was exceedingly loyal in prayer and presence to those she held dear. Throughout her life, Cindy enjoyed the study of science, scuba diving, hiking, traveling, the serenity of a beautiful beach, and most recently, the comfort she found in the predictable happy endings of the movies she watched on her favorite tv station, the Hallmark Channel. Her most fulfilling hobby was found in animal advocacy, as she began fostering dogs through Operation Pets Alive, a Montgomery County based group whose purpose is to find forever homes for stray or unwanted dogs and cats. Her involvement in the animal foster program brought her great joy, and her heart for these animals was evident to all who knew her.

Cynthia Renee Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Reba Christian, of Houston Texas. She is survived by her one true love, Dwane “DD” Shirley, and one brother, Peter “Tony” Christian. She has two sons, Robert Shirley and his wife Sandra, and John Shirley and his wife Kendra, four grandchildren, Michael Shirley, Rowan Shirley, Brandon Shirley, and his wife Jessikah, and Connor Palomo, three great grandchildren, Triton Shirley, Aria Shirley and Savanna Shirley. Cindy is survived by numerous friends and loved ones, including her Godparents Clifton and Deanna Wedgman, and her beloved Goddaughter, Andie Nicole Terry. A Celebration of Cindy’s Life will occur on Saturday, August 3, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, located at 2655 FM-1488 – Conroe, Texas, at 2pm with the Celebration of Life message at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, Cynthia’s family requests donations be made in her name to Operation Pets Alive. (www.operationpetsalive.org) http://www.kleinfh.com/m/?p=memorial&id=2174925

The IMPC Strategy Report for 2021-2030 entitled “The Function of Human Genetic Variation” has been released.

The MMRRC at UC Davis will be implementing some fee changes to our ES Cell lines and associated services.  We will be performing genetic quality control on all cell lines prior to order fulfillment, thus incorporating that cost to the clone fees. The new pricing will be posted and take effect on February 11, 2019, coinciding with the import of the KOMP ES Cell lines to the MMRRC for distribution. We will honor previously quoted rates for current projects with ongoing services, including new projects quoted and initiated prior to February 11, 2019. Projects initiated after February 11, or any newly requested add-on services to existing projects, will be quoted and billed the new approved rate(s).

For more information about the MMRRC at UCD’s rates please email mmrrc@ucdavis.edu.

Are you looking for a FLP deleter lines that is on a C57BL/6N background?  Look no further, the NIH supported Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Centers (MMRRC) distributes such a line, which is currently available as LIVE MICE:

036512-UCD C57BL/6N-Tg(CAG-Flpo)1Afst/Mmucd – This model, originally donated by Konstantinos Anastassiadis and Technische Universitaet Dresden, has the optimized FLP recombinase which utilizes CAG promoter to drive the FLPo activity. This strain was created using JM8.F6 ES cells, mice were mated to albino C57BL/6J, and then subsequently backcrossed back onto C57BL/6NTac by the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program and donated to the MMRRC.

Other Cre and FLP lines can also be found at the MMRRC, check them out at www.mmrrc.org, you can search by promoter, recombinase, or MGI number.  

Questions on these or other MMRRC mouse models? Please contact service@mmrrc.org, and the customer service team will be happy to assist.

The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC), the official National Institute of Health (NIH) repository of mouse models, is pleased to announce the availability of genetically-altered mice and embryonic stem (ES) cells made as part of the NIH Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP) and previously maintained in the KOMP Repository. The KOMP Repository collection will provide investigators with the convenience of a one-stop portal to one of the largest inventories of mutant mouse strains and ES cell lines available to the biomedical research community.

These newly acquired mouse and ES cell lines have been deposited into the MMRRC at UC Davis. The MMRRC at UC Davis is the largest of four regional archive and distribution centers in the NIH consortium. The MMRRC functions as a single repository resource and is comprised of an Informatics, Coordination and Service Center (ICSC) and three additional regional distribution facilities which include: The Jackson Laboratory, University of Missouri, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The newly available KOMP Repository mice (4,175 unique lines) & ES cell lines (14,013 unique mutant lines and 7 parental lines) can be accessed by visiting the MMRRC website (www.mmrrc.org) and typing in “KOMP Repository” in the search function, or by using the advanced search function and indicating “Major Collection = KOMP”, and then searching by gene of interest, which will allow filtering for ES cells or mice.

The MMRRC was created in 1999, and is supported through the NIH, Office of Infrastructure and Research Programs (ORIP), as the nation’s premier mouse archive and distribution repository. Since that time, the MMRRC has earned an international reputation for the management, cryopreservation, and distribution of scientifically valuable, genetically engineered mouse strains and mouse ES cells. In partnership with researchers around the globe, the MMRRC continues to expand its holdings of mouse models. Today, with more than 59,000 available models, the MMRRC serves as a valuable resource to drive research discoveries for human disease.