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Know Your Model: How essential is that essential gene?

Lab Animal volume 49, pages 9–10 (2020)Cite this article

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Many studies have reported on the identification of ‘essential genes’ in mice, but the context of the experimental model, including genetic background and specific molecular details of the allele, may impact the influence of alleles on viability.

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Fig. 1: The influence of genetic background can be observed at embryonic day 14.5 in the phenotypes of heterozygous Tcof1 mice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mouse Genome Informatics, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA

    Susan M. Bello & Cynthia L. Smith

  2. Genetic Resource Science, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA

    Melissa L. Berry

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  1. Susan M. Bello
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  2. Melissa L. Berry
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  3. Cynthia L. Smith
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Correspondence to Susan M. Bello.

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Acknowledgements

MGD is supported by program project grant HG000330 from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Bello, S.M., Berry, M.L. & Smith, C.L. Know Your Model: How essential is that essential gene?. Lab Anim 49, 9–10 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-019-0444-1

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