Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) characterisation of mouse inbred strains bred at MRC-National Institute for Medical Research.

Inbred mouse strains have long proved useful as tools for biomedical research. They remove the effects of genetic background as an experimental variable. Within all mouse colonies, genetic drift is a recognised phenomenon and monitoring and documenting changes is important for experimental design and consistency. This communication documents the initial characterisation through SNP analysis of the inbred mouse strains bred and used at the time at the Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research (MRC-NIMR), Mill Hill, now The Crick Institute. These inbred strains were part of the foundation colonies for the many genetically modified mouse strains made at Mill Hill. We found small genetic changes in four of the nine inbred strains. Although phenotypic differences have not yet been found between the NIMR and the correspondent parental strains, I cannot discard that these may arise or have already arisen. This work has also authenticated the 129/SvJEvNimr- strain that was widely used at MRC-NIMR for gene targeting. All these inbred strains have been renamed according to The International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice.