B6.129(Cg)-Mfn2^tm3Dcc/J

Stock number: 026525
Research areas: Cell Biology Research, Neurobiology Research, Research Tools

Description

Mfn2^loxP floxed mice may be useful for generating conditional mutations in applications related to the study of mitochondrial fusion and morphology.

Detailed description

Mfn2^loxP floxed mice possess loxP sites flanking exon 6 of the mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) gene. Mitofusin 2 encodes a transmembrane GTPase which mediates mitochondrial fusion. Mice that are homozygous for this allele are viable and fertile. When bred to mice that express tissue-specific Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exon 6 deleted in the cre-expressing tissues.

Development

A targeting vector was designed to insert a loxP site upstream of exon 6 of the mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) gene. A second loxP site followed by a frt-flanked neomycin resistance (neo) cassette was inserted downstream of exon 6 . The construct was electroporated into 129 embryonic stem (ES) cells. Correctly targeted ES cells were injected into C57BL/6 blastocysts and resulting chimeric mice were bred to Black Swiss mice. Offspring were bred with Gt(ROSA)26Sor^tm1(FLP1)Dym transgenic mice on a 129 background to delete the neo cassette, and progeny were crossed to remove the Flp-expressing transgene. The donating investigator reported that Mfn2^loxP mice were further backcrossed to C57BL/6J mice (Stock No. 000664) for at least 10 generations (see SNP note below). Upon arrival, mice were bred to C57BL/6J inbred mice for at least one generation to establish the colony.

A 32 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) panel analysis, with 27 markers covering all 19 chromosomes and the X chromosome, as well as 5 markers that distinguish between the C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N substrains, was performed on the rederived living colony at The Jackson Laboratory Repository. While the 27 markers throughout the genome suggested a C57BL/6 genetic background, 4 of 5 markers that determine C57BL/6J from C57BL/6N were found to be segregating. These data suggest the mice sent to The Jackson Laboratory Repository were on a mixed C57BL/6J ; C57BL/6N genetic background.

Allele

Symbol: Mfn2^tm3Dcc
Name: targeted mutation 3, David C Chan
MGI accession ID: MGI:3779081
Generation method: Targeted
Attributes: Conditional ready (e.g. floxed); No functional change
Marker symbol: Mfn2
Marker name: mitofusin 2
Chromosome: 4
Strain of origin: 129
Molecular note: FRT-flanked neo cassette followed by two loxP sites flanking the exon 6 encoding the canonical G-1 GTPase motif replaced the endogenous locus. The neo cassette was removed by crossing with FLP recombinase expressing mice.