C57BL/6-Camk2a^tm1Vyb/J

Stock number: 006575
Product name: CA3 α-CaMKII KO
Research areas: Cell Biology Research, Neurobiology Research, Research Tools

Description

These floxed mutant mice possess loxP sites flanking exon 2 of the Camk2a gene. This strain may be useful for generating conditional mutations in applications related to neurological studies.

Detailed description

Mice homozygous for this "falpha-CaMKII" allele are viable and fertile with no reported neurological abnormalities. These mutant mice have loxP sites flanking exon 2 of the endogenous gene. When bred to Cre-recombinase expressing mice, exon 2 is deleted in the resulting offspring dependent on the tissue specificity of the promoter of the cre transgene.

For example, when crossed with transgenic mice expressing Cre-recombinase in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells (see Stock No. 006474), the resulting offspring show altered neurotransmitter release. These "floxed" mice may be useful for neurological studies such as calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activity.

Development

A targeting vector was designed to insert a loxP site into intron 1 and the loxP- and FRT-flanked LFNT (pgk-neo and hsv-tk) cassette into intron 2 of the endogenous gene. The construct was electroporated into C57BL/6-derived embryonic stem (ES) cells, which were transiently transfected to remove the LFNT selection cassette. Correctly targeted ES cells (with loxP sites flanking exon 2 and a single remaining FRT site) were injected into BALB/c blastocysts. The resulting chimeric mice were bred to C57BL/6 to establish the colony and maintained by breeding homozygous mice together for many generations prior to arrival at The Jackson Laboratory.

Allele

Symbol: Camk2a^tm1Vyb
Name: targeted mutation 1, Vadim Y Bolshakov
MGI accession ID: MGI:2655688
Generation method: Targeted
Attributes: Conditional ready (e.g. floxed); No functional change
Marker symbol: Camk2a
Marker name: calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha
Chromosome: 18
Strain of origin: C57BL/6
Molecular note: A loxP site was introduced into intron 1 and an frt/loxP-flanked neo cassette was introduced to intron 2 via homologous recombination. The neo cassette was removed by transient expression of flp recombinase in correctly targeted ES cells. Resulting mutant mice carry a floxed exon 2 allele.