Transgenic Core Facility

Embryo Cryopreservation

The Transgenic Core Facility now offers embryo freezing and thawing services!

 A substantial amount of time and money are invested in making a transgenic mouse line, and upon project completion, the need for large numbers of animals drops. However, maintaining an animal line requires housing two generations of animals to ensure viability of the line. While the labor involved in breeding and genotyping lines is minimal ($400 per line per year) housing costs are modest (~$1,700 per year), and maintaining multiple lines can be quite expensive. Destroying animal lines precludes use of animals by other scientific investigators. An alternative is to freeze down embryos.

Why should you freeze down embryos?

1. Cost. Over a five-year period, the cost of freezing and storing embryos is 7-fold less than the cost of maintaining a small breeding population of mice ($1.5K vs. $10.5K). This cost is amplified with multiple transgenic animal lines. Cost of re-making a transgenic mouse line ($1.5K) is the same as freezing embryos, but an investigator may take up to 9 months re-characterizing mouse lines to re-verify phenotypes. Outsourcing embryo freezing is 1.5 to 5 times more expensive.
2. Frozen embryos can be thawed years later should investigators need a specific mouse line. While investigators often re-verify relevant characteristics of a line, detailed re-characterization is not necessary.

Costs are determined on an individual basis.  Contact the Administrator for more information.

Click here to download an application.

Note: The following group is eligible for a cost subsidy:

MCRI Investigators