MAX-BAXSM (Marker-Assisted Accelerated Backcrossing) is a speed congenic breeding program that facilitates the rapid production of congenic strains of knockout or transgenic animals through the use of microsatellite analysis. This pioneering process selects individuals with preferred genetic backgrounds and greatly reduces the number of generations needed to produce a congenic research model. Backcrossing guided by our microsatellite analysis data achieves 99.9% congenicity in approximately five generations, potentially saving you up to 1.5 years of breeding time (five generations) over conventional backcrossing. We offer about two dozen panels for a variety of the most popular inbred strain comparisons and develop new panels on demand at no charge.
The MAX-BAXSM program is available to you either as a stand-alone service or in conjunction with our in-house breeding services. When performed as a stand-alone service, you can submit a small tissue sample (typically ear or tail) or purified DNA to our facility, after which we will perform the microsatellite analysis and return the data to you with recommendations on which animals to breed in the next generation.