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The Knockout Mouse Project
Knockout Mouse Project OverviewThe Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP) is a trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative that aims to generate a comprehensive and public resource comprised of mice containing a null mutation in every gene in the mouse genome. (See: The NIH Knockout Mouse Project Web Site [nih.gov]) By capitalizing on efficiencies of scale and a centralized production effort, the project intends to make this catalog of mutants available in mouse strain C57BL/6 for two reasons: it is the most widely used strain, and it is the strain for which complete genome sequence has been made available. This concept for the KOMP was developed at an international workshop held at the Banbury Center in the autumn of 2003 (and published in Nature Genetics, September 2004 (Austin, et al). The meeting attendees agreed that such a comprehensive resource of null mutants would greatly benefit the biomedical research community and enhance our understanding of human disease. Acting on the outcome of this meeting, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) organized a working group of NIH Institute and Center representatives to plan the role that NIH should play in implementing this goal. In developing the NIH KOMP plan, this working group considered the current state of the field and recommendations from members of mouse research community made during a second workshop in March 2005. (See NIH Planning Meeting for a Knockout Mouse Project) In brief, the NIH KOMP initiative aims to:
Knockout Mouse Project RepositoryThe University of California, Davis (UC Davis) and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in Oakland, Calif., will collaborate to preserve, protect and make available knockout mice and related products available to the research community. Specifically, the repository will archive, maintain and distribute up to 8,500 strains of embryonic stem cell clones, live mouse lines, frozen embryos and sperm and vectors - while assuring product quality and availability for all materials. More information about the KOMP resources is available at www.komp.org. To request information or products, researchers can call 1-888-KOMP-MICE or e-mail service@komp.org.
Knockout Mouse Project Data Coordination CenterThe KOMP Data Coordination Center (DCC) Web site can be found at www.knockoutmouse.org. The KOMP Data Coordination Center is being established in close collaboration with all members of the KOMP Research Network. The KOMP DCC is centered at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine and is led by Dr. Martin Ringwald along with Drs. Jim Kadin, Janan Eppig and Carol Bult. The primary goals of the DCC are as follows:
Other Knockout Mouse Resources Currently AvailableNIH has contracts with Deltagen, Inc. and Lexicon Genetics, Inc. to provide access to 256 lines of knockout mice that have been extensively characterized. For each mouse line, the contractors have provided not only the mouse line itself, but also detailed, objective data on the impact of the specific gene deletion on the mouse's phenotype. This resource gives researchers unprecedented access to two private collections of knockout mice, providing valuable models for the study of human disease and laying the groundwork for the KOMP.
NIH is now pleased to announce that Lexicon will make over 2500 knockout mouse strains available (and the list will be updated on a regular basis as new knockouts strains are added) for purchase by NIH funded investigators under the same terms as the contract NIH used to acquire knockout mice by using NIH grant money. Under these terms, an NIH investigator acquiring a Lexicon knockout mouse using his or her grant funds is expected to place the mouse lines in a NIH-supported mouse repository. Universities, medical schools and research laboratories will have access to mice and germplasm all over the world. Lexicon will send heterozygous mice and materials to the investigator. The investigator and institution will be responsible for coordinating with a NIH supported repository to ensure that banks of cryopreserved embryos, sperm and embryonic stem cells are archived using state-of-the-art procedures. Mice and cryopreserved germplasm will be available from the central repository for a nominal fee to cover the costs of quality control, archiving, shipping and restocking the archive. Investigators acquiring mice are also responsible for ensuring that phenotypic data received from Lexicon is deposited in the Mouse Genome Informatics database or another publicly accessible database. All information provided by Lexicon for each mutant mouse will be made available to researchers worldwide without restriction.
Knockout Mouse Project Meetings, Papers and News
Related Resources
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Knockout Mouse Project Funding Opportunities
Knockout Mouse Project NHGRI StaffProgram Directors Colin Fletcher, Ph.D. Jane Peterson, Ph.D. Mark Moore, Ph.D. (Contractor) Vivian Bonazzi, Ph.D. Senior Scientific Analyst Anna Rossoshek, M.S., M.B.A. Program Analyst Christine Cutillo Address National Human Genome Research InstituteNational Institutes of Health 5635 Fishers Lane Suite 4076, MSC 9305 Bethesda, MD 20892-9305 Phone: (301) 496-7531
Last Updated: January 30, 2009 |
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