ORNL's 3,500 strains of mice made at ORNL can be shared for studies among the seven partners in the Tennessee Mouse Genome Consortium because researchers were able to develop a way to transfer mouse stocks via embryo. Researchers could not simply send existing mice at ORNL to the other institutions because the mice carry a number of germs and parasites common to wild rodents. Over the next five years, the mouse embryos will be surgically implanted into germ-free mothers at the pathogen-free satellite facility at the University of Tennessee, a member of the consortium. The development of the procedure is significant because of its large scale and because it allowed the consortium to qualify for $12.7 million from the National Institutes of Health. The strategies and procedure developed by the ORNL team also will ensure the efficient transfer of mouse stocks into the new pathogen-free mouse facility being built at ORNL. The current Mouse House is home to some 60,000 pedigreed mice.
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