동물실험에서의 Genetic Background의 중요성

Importance of Genetic Background in Animal Experiment

Among mammals, the mouse is one of the most commonly used experimental animals in the fields of genetic analyses, developmental studies, behavioral studies and toxicology studies etc. Mice are popular to biologist for several advantages they have. First, they belong to one of the smallest mammals, adult weights of which are as light as in the range of 25-40 g and are relatively docile, making their manipulation and handling easy. Second, they have a short lifespan, meaning that they could be chosen as a good tool in mammalian genetics. Third, females drop prolifically with an average of 5-10 pups per litter and enter a new postpartum estrus immediately. Finally, One of the unique advantages to work with mice, rather than other experimental organisms, is the availability of standard strains such as C57BL/6, BALB/c, and many others. With the use of the same standard inbred stram, it is possible to eliminate genetic variability as a complicating factor in comparing results obtained from expenments performed in Japan, Canada, Germany, or any other country in the world.