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Mutant Mouse Resource & Research Center at UC Davis

Grant Number: U42OD012210

Research Emphasis/Objectives

Established in 1997, the Mutant Mouse Resource & Research Center (MMRRC) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is one of the founding institutions of the MMRRC national consortium. 

With a growing archive of more than 51,000 mutant alleles, the MMRRC at UC Davis imports, archives, maintains, and distributes live mice, frozen germplasm, embryonic stem (ES) cells, molecular vectors, hybridomas, tissues, and genomic DNA for biomedical research. The MMRRC accepts transgenic, knockout, genome-edited (CRISPR), spontaneous, and other types of mutant mouse lines at no cost to submitting investigators. After genetic confirmation, health checks, rederivation, and cryopreservation, the MMRRC distributes pathogen-free breeding stock and related cryopreserved materials to requesting investigators for a fee. The MMRRC operates within the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program (MBP), a center of scientific excellence in mouse biology, genetic manipulation, and comprehensive phenotyping of mouse models of human disease.

Current Research

The MMRRC at UC Davis is engaged in a variety of research projects to augment operations and services of the MMRRC, including the following:

  • Antibiotic Reproducibility: Documenting effects on the gut microbiome of antibiotic cocktails administered in the drinking water.
  • Multi-omics Analysis: Expanding molecular characterization of mutant mouse lines using transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses.
  • Genetic Humanization: Production, validation, and characterization of mouse lines expressing human genomic sequences (e.g., variants, coding sequences) inserted into the corresponding orthologous mouse locus. Recent studies have developed mouse models expressing human ACE2, TMPRSS2, and FURIN genes for COVID-19 research. 
  • Germplasm Cryopreservation: Development of new and refinement of extant protocols to improve the cryopreservation and recovery of sperm and oocytes from mutant mouse models. A recent study is focused on developing more reliable vitrification methods for preserving mouse oocytes.

Services Provided

The MMRRC at UC Davis provides a wide array of specialized services on a recharge basis. These services include custom model generation (e.g., homologous recombination in ES cells, Cre/LoxP, CRISPR/Cas9); assistive reproductive technologies (in vitro fertilization [IVF], intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI]); genotyping and genetic analysis; behavioral testing; gamete and embryo cryopreservation; construct design; gnotobiotics; phenotyping and analytics; imaging; advanced surgical models; and vivarium and colony management.

The MMRRC at UC Davis is committed to upholding the highest standards of experimental design and quality control that optimize reproducibility and rigor through the distribution of well-characterized inbred, hybrid, and mutant mice. This commitment involves the rederivation of mice from well-annotated and documented backgrounds to a pathogen-free status, allowing investigators to generate robust and reliable results.

  • Bioinformatics Services: Data collection and hosting, visualization and analysis tools, dynamic web presentations, and publication quality reports.
  • Biological Materials: Frozen mouse embryos and sperm, wild-type and gene-targeted ES cells, genomic DNA, tissues and tissue blocks, and hybridoma cell lines.
  • Colony Management and Breeding Services: Speed Cohort Delivery for rapidly generating and expanding mutant cohorts, transferring genetic mutations onto different genetic backgrounds, and managing breeding colonies of mice.
  • Cryopreservation and Cryostorage: Creation and maintenance of cryopreserved embryos, sperm, and/or ES cells for mutant mouse strains. These services ensure protection against loss of valuable research models due to disease breakouts, genetic drift, natural or manmade disasters, or breeding interruptions. 
  • Cryo-resuscitation and Rederivation: Cryorecovery services to re-establish live mouse colonies from archived germplasm, including the use of IVF or ICSI and embryo transfer and cesarean section. Investigators receive recovered litters with confirmed genetics, pathogen-free health status, and microbiome analysis.
  • Genetic Testing: Available for mice, germplasm, tissues, and ES cells, including endpoint generic and gene-specific genotyping, genetic fingerprinting and single nucleotide polymorphism (or SNP) analysis, genomic integration analysis by target locus amplification, whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing, and more.
  • Genetic Engineering
    • ES Cell and Microinjection Services: Genome editing (CRISPR/Cas9), transgenic insertion, and homologous recombination in ES cells to generate constitutive, conditional, and inducible knockouts and knockins. 
    • Fast-Trak Genome Editing: On-demand de novo generation of specific alleles (e.g., indels to targeted insertions, patient variants) in mice using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. When requesting this service, researchers will be given prioritized attention at subsidized cost if they commit to depositing their newly generated mice into the MMRRC.
  • Imaging Services: Noninvasive in vivo imaging and image analysis, including optical projection tomography, computerized tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and positron emission tomography/MRI, which allows longitudinal in vivo imaging.
  • Gnotobiotic Research Services: Exploration of the pathobiological integration of the microbiome in health and disease in a germ-free environment. Services conducted in the Gnotobiotic Mouse Resource Center include targeted microbiome characterization and analysis, consultation on the impact of differing microbiota on biology and disease in mice, studies assessing microbiome on model phenotypes, and the manipulation of microbiomes through rederivation and fecal transplants.
  • Phenotyping and Analytics: A full suite of observational and procedural testing platforms, including morphology, ataxia, gait, behavior, cardiology, brain response, body composition, exercise, and after-life services that encompass necropsy, gross anatomic pathology, tissue collection and processing, histopathology, and special staining.
  • Teaching Resources and Training: Mouse handling, colony management, mouse model production, and in vivo functional phenotyping opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, veterinary and medical students, and post-D.V.M. trainees.

Contact Information

Mutant Mouse Resource & Research Center
c/o Mouse Biology Program
University of California, Davis
2795 Second Street, Suite 400
Davis, CA 95618
Email: mmrrc.ucdavis.edu

Principal Investigator

K. C. Kent Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D
Phone: 530-754-MMRRC (6677)
Fax: 530-757-3277
Email: [email protected]

Center Director

K. C. Kent Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Phone: 530-754-MMRRC (6677)
Fax: 530-757-3277
Email: mmrrc.ucdavis.edu

Additional Contact(s)

Renee Araiza
MMRRC Repository Manager
Phone: 530-757-3273
Fax: 530-757-3284
Email: [email protected]