SHR.BN-congenic strains for genetic analysis of multifactorially determined traits

The laboratory rat is an important laboratory animal with multiple well-def ined inbred strains, including some of the most widely used animal models o f human diseases. Recent advances in the development of rat genetic resourc es will enable the exploitation of the full potential of rat models of huma n diseases and, in addition, the rat can provide useful information for com parative genomics of humans and mice. In the current review, we describe th e development of congenics strains by introgression of differential chromos ome segments from the Brown Norway (BN) rat to the genetic background of th e spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). These SHR,BN-congenic strains and r ecombinant sublines derived from them were developed as a model system for genetic analysis of multifactorially determined pathophysiological and morp hological conditions.