Jackson launches "do-it-yourself" sperm cryopreservation kit

Date: January 9, 2009

Bar Harbor, Maine -- Critical technology for preserving and recovering mouse strains took a giant leap forward this week -- out of the laboratory and into the hands of researchers -- as The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) introduced the first "do-it-yourself" kit to freeze and conserve mouse sperm.

Containing all the materials and instructions necessary for the preservation of three, six or nine strains of mice, the new JAX Sperm Cryopreservation Kit translates cutting-edge technology into an easy-to-use product, while providing the assurance that comes from robust quality control, testing, and long-term storage at The Jackson Laboratory.

For the first time, researchers can cost-effectively cryopreserve novel mouse strains in their own laboratories without worrying about shipping live mice or whether or not cryopreservation was successful, and without the cost and infrastructure necessary for long-term storage. The Kit includes both quality control testing to assess fertilization capacity and three years of storage in liquid nitrogen (In three separate tanks, in two locations) at JAX as part of the purchase price. The Kit is designed for strains that can be recovered on the following inbred and genetic backgrounds: C57BL6/J, DBA/2J, C3H/HeJ, FVB/NJ, B6129SF1/J.

For researchers, the use of the Kit offers many benefits. One of the testers of the Kit, William Shawlot, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine, commented, "The JAX sperm cryopreservation kit provides a quick and effective way to freeze sperm from transgenic mouse lines. As part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium TIGM is using the JAX protocol to preserve C57BL/6 knockout mouse lines that we have generated from our ES cell gene trap library."

A leader in the development of cryopreservation as a colony management tool for more than 30 years, and having cryopreserved over 7,500 unique strains of mice, Jackson's commitment to this research and to the preservation and recovery of important mouse strains does not stop with the Kit. Besides services offered at their facility, Jackson offers a traveling "Freeze Team" of reproductive specialists that can cryopreserve mouse strains on-site. Currently, the Kit is only available in the U.S. and Canada, although international distribution is planned.

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine with a facility in Sacramento, California. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the biomedical community. The Laboratory is the worldÕs source for more than 4,000 strains of genetically definted mice, and is home to the mouse genome database as well as being an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education.

# # #

Related press release: Jackson scientists announce mouse sperm cryopreservation breakthrough (July 30, 2008)

Related article in the Bangor Daily News: Jackson Lab offers "do-it-yourself" mouse-DNA storage kit (February 17, 2009)

Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058

For information on automatic email delivery of news releases (journalists only), please send an email request for details to news@jax.org. Please address other inquiries to pubinfo@jax.org.

Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6058 (journalists only)
Main Jackson Laboratory phone: 207-288-6000
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org