Cryopreservation

The Transgenic and Knockout Core offers cryopreservation of mouse sperm, as well as strain recovery from frozen sperm via in vitro fertilization.

Sperm cryopreservation

Investigators should provide two or three male mice that are 3 to 6 months old and have been singly housed away from female mice for at least three days. Ten vials of sperm will be frozen for each strain.

Strain recovery

The recovery procedure takes approximately six weeks. Steps in the process include:

  • Egg donor superovulation
  • In vitro fertilization and embryo culture
  • Transferring two-cell-stage embryos to surrogate mothers
  • Delivering of pups
  • Tagging and tailing of pups 10 days after birth
  • Extracting DNA from the tail
  • Genotyping
  • Transferring of mice to the investigator