We know that in the preliminary stages of establishing a new experimental rodent colony, researchers are often faced with challenges surrounding animal facility requirements, study population needs, and the desire to backup the colony in the event of a disaster. At Charles River, we recognize the demands these requirements can place on your research and offer a comprehensive colony startup program to help you overcome your obstacles and allow you to begin your research sooner.
Our comprehensive colony startup program is designed to deliver approximately 50 heterozygous breeders to you, complete with comprehensive health reports confirming that the animals are of VAF/EliteTM health status. In addition, 100 embryos and the sperm from two males are frozen and stored in our long-term liquid nitrogen storage facilities, providing a safe colony backup in the event something were to happen to your breeding colony. Further, a full, microsatellite-based genetic screen is performed on your colony to confirm the background of your animals, providing valuable information to help characterize your model.
Through this process, your animals are rederived, cryopreserved and a large breeding population is returned to you in approximately 15 weeks, all from just two gene carrier males. This eliminates the time and headaches surrounding quarantining and importing animals into your facility, expanding a small population and worries about having a safe and effective backup to your breeding colony.
For more information or to receive customized pricing for this service, please contact us at gems@crl.com.