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Long et al. examined the gut microbiome of C57BL/6 mice from two production sites of three different vendors upon receipt, and as the mice adapted to the new vivarium at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Bacterial proportional abundance varied among mice from each vendor, and mice from all vendors exhibited changes in microbial profiles over time. These findings support the need to consider the microbiome as a potential source of variation in mouse studies.
In this article, the authors evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of their micropipette-guided drug administration method as an alternative and non-invasive administration strategy for clozapine-N-oxide in chemogenetic studies using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs.
Preece, Alghadban et al. explore the use of naturally sterile hybrids as an alternative to vasectomized males for the production of pseudopregnant female mice for embryo transfer. Sterile hybrids can contribute to the refinement of the procedure by avoiding a surgical intervention associated with pain and discomfort.
Goblet cell–associated antigen passages can deliver luminal substances to antigen-presenting cells to induce antigen-specific T cell responses. This protocol describes how to identify and quantify intestinal epithelial cells that have the capacity to take up luminal substances, by intraluminal injection of fluorescent dextran, tissue sectioning for slide preparation and imaging with fluorescence microscopy.
In this study, Åhlgren and Voikar demonstrate that C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice from different vendors show substantial behavioral differences, although they are derived from the same strain. These results suggest that different mouse strains and substrains should be included in experiments to address the lack of reproducibility.
In this review, the authors describe how the use of touchscreen-equipped apparatus in behavioral sciences can facilitate the implementation of the 3Rs principles in this discipline and offer a new platform to monitor laboratory animal welfare.
In this Perspective, the authors highlight the importance of understanding the background genetics of the zebrafish, Danio rerio, and suggest ways that the field might better report genetic information and maintain breeding colonies to improve the transparency and reproducibility of zebrafish research.
Authors present the Alliance of Genome Resources Database as an integration of data from six different model species. Current implementation of the database and future challenges are discussed.
A recent article by El-Brolosy and colleagues introduced an unexpected twist for our understanding of knock-out mutations by revealing compensatory mechanisms that recruit the expression of other genes to mitigate the consequences of the mutation. We discuss the main findings of the paper and their impact for our interpretations of the effects of mutations in laboratory animals and humans.
Alzheimer’s disease remains untreatable, despite decades of preclinical research to understand it better and find therapeutic targets. New ways of thinking about a variety animal models are rising to the challenge.
Researchers can’t sit their laboratory mice or fruit flies down and ask them how they’re feeling or why they’re behaving in a particular way. Instead, humans are left to observe and interpret the various clues their animals provide. Can machines help?
