Optimal N-Ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) doses for inbred mouse strains

ENU is a powerful germline mutagen in the mouse, providing the opportunity to analyze the functions of large numbers of genes in the mammalian genome, In many mutagenesis experiments, it would be beneficial to exploit the adv antages of inbred mouse strains. To perform an effective ENU mutagenesis sc reen using inbred mice, a dosage regimen is required to determine the optim al dose of ENU for that inbred strain, a time-consuming preliminary process . We have carried out dosage regimens for mutagenizing doses of ENU in ten inbred strains of mouse: 129X1/SvJ, 129S6/ SvEv, A/J, BALB/cJ, BTBR/N, C3He /J, C3HeB/FeJ, C57BL/6J, C57BR/cdJ, and CBA/CaJ, and determined an optimal dose for each strain, defined by length of sterile period and number of mal es to survive treatment, Three strains: A/J, BALB/cJ and C57BL/6J, are able to tolerate high doses, up to 300 mg/kg body weight, and are highly recomm ended for mutagenesis studies. genesis 26:230-233, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Lis s, Inc.