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Review

Nature Reviews Genetics 4, 195–205 (1 March 2003) | doi:10.1038/nrg1019

Mice, microbes and models of infection

Jan Buer & Rudi Balling

We urgently need animal models to study infectious disease. Mice are susceptible to a similar range of microbial infections as humans. Marked differences between inbred strains of mice in their response to pathogen infection can be exploited to analyse the genetic basis of infections. In addition, the genetic tools that are available in the laboratory mouse, and new techniques to monitor the expression of bacterial genes in vivo, make it the principal experimental animal model for studying mechanisms of infection and immunity.