for assistance call: 1-888-673-3444
 
Weather Advisory
 February 16, 2025
Weather impacts shipments, particularly of live animals. Please check with your selected courier to learn how their shipping methods (e.g. air or ground shipment) and temperature restictions may impact your orders. While we recognize that shipping delays are frustrating, when it comes to live animal shipments, the safety and welfare of the animals comes first. 
In Need of a New Rat Model?
 February 16, 2025
Need a new rat model?  The RRRC in conjunction with the MU Animal Modeling Core (AMC) can assist with the generation of transgenic rats, create knock-out and knock-in rats using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and genetically manipulate rat embryonic stem cells to make chimeric animals.  Contact us to discuss your rat model needs and how we can help. 
Laboratory Animal Genetic Reporting (LAG-R) Guidelines Published
 July 07, 2024
The LAG-R framework (Laboratory Animal Genetic Reporting) is a set of guidelines to support more complete documentation of the genetic make-up of animals of all species that are used in research, with the aim of bolstering reproducibility, reliability, and overall scientific rigor. See Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49439-y).
GRCr8: A new rat reference assembly is now available.
 February 05, 2024
GRCr8 (GenBank NCBI # GCA_036323735.1) is the latest version of the rat reference genome assembly. See the Genome Reference Consortium (GRC) blog for more details.
ES Cells
The RRRC is one of the few groups with expertise to isolate and culture rat embryonic stem cells (ESCs).  In addition, we are continually investigating ways to improve rat ESC culture conditions.  We are available for consultation for investigators who want to use rat ESCs in their research and we can isolate new rat ESC lines and/or generate genetically modified rat ESCs for making rat models on a fee-for-service basis.

RRRC Rat embryonic stem cell culture and cryopreservation protocol



Relevant RRRC Publications

Effect of Gsk3 inhibitor CHIR99021 on aneuploidy levels in rat embryonic stem cells. Bock AS, Leigh ND, Bryda EC. (2014). In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim.50:572-579.

Derivation of a Germline Competent Transgenic Fischer 344 Embryonic Stem Cell Line. Men, H and Bryda, EC. (2013) PLoS One 8:e56518.

Germline Transmisson of a Novel Rat Embryonic Stem Cell Line Derived from Transgenic rats. Men H. Bauer BA, Bryda EC. (2012) Stem Cells Dev. 21(14):2606-2612.