NEWS

The Jackson Laboratory announces workshops for summer 2005

May 2005

Below are some of the Summer Workshops 2005 to be held at The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine. For additional information, please visit the JAX web site.

Short Course on Genome Sequence Analysis

June 15 - 22, 2005
Presents state-of-the-art computational and comparative approaches to genome sequence analysis.

46th Annual Short Course on Medical And Experimental Mammalian Genetics

July 17 - 29, 2005
Focus on: (1) up-to-date presentation of genetics in experimental animals and humans, (2) the relationship of heredity to disease in experimental animals and humans, and (3) the importance of molecular genetics in the diagnosis and treatment of inherited disorders.

Workshop on Current Protocols in Stem Cell Biology

August 7 - 12, 2005
Provides hands-on training in culturing, manipulating, and differentiating human ES cells.

Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposium

August 12 - 14, 2005
A joint symposium of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and The Jackson Laboratory.

4th Annual Workshop On The Pathology Of Mouse Models For Human Disease

August 7 - 14, 2005
at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
A week of intensive training sessions in pathology and histopathology.

NOW AVAILABLE: Live Fragile X model mouse

April 2005

Please contact Jeana Yates to order. Online ordering coming soon.

What is Fragile X?

Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited mental impairment, responsible for 40% of all mental retardation in humans. Fragile X syndrome occurs in one in 4,000 boys and one in 8,000 girls. Characteristics of fragile X syndrome include physical changes such as large ears, elongated facial features, and increased testicular volume. There are also cognitive and behavioral impairments, such as reduced IQ (mild to profound mental retardation), autistic-like features, seizure disorders, hyperactivity, hypersensory sensitivity, and heightened anxiety.

What causes Fragile X Syndrome?

The Fragile X mental retardation-1 (Fmr1) gene, located at Xq27.3, normally produces Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Fragile X is associated with a polymorphic CGG (cytosine-guanine-guanine) repeat upstream from the coding region. An expansion of over 200 repeats leads to methylation of the promoter region. This methylation turns off the Fmr1 gene and the FMRP protein is not generated. This lack of FMRP protein triggers Fragile X syndrome.

What is a Fragile X mouse?

The Fragile X mouse was donated by Dr. Ben Oostra. To create these mice, a targeting vector containing a portion (exons 4-9) of the mouse Fmr1 gene with a neo expression cassette inserted into exon 5 was transfected into ES cells. A positive clone was then injected into C57Bl/6J blastocysts, which were transferred to pseudopregnant females and mutant mice were selected and verified. Similar to the cognitive, behavioral and physical impairments found in humans, this mouse model has been shown to have learning deficits (in the hidden-and-visible-platform water maze, the mice exhibit deficits in spatial learning and motor performance.), to be hyperactive, to have enlarged testes, as well as neuroanatomical features consistent with the human condition.

How is the Fragile X mouse helping to further research?

The Fragile X mouse is being used to elucidate the physiological role of FMRP in macroorchidism, abnormal behavior, and mental retardation (Bakker, C.E., et al). It is also being used in gene therapy studies. This mouse model may play a critical role in gene repair and psychopharmacological research. The Fragile X mouse is a valuable tool for research in developmental biology, neurobiology, genetics, diagnostics, and therapeutics.

Informational Links

TMGC announces 2nd annual Experimental Neurogenetics of the Mouse workshop

The Tennessee Mouse Genome Consortium (TMGC) announces the 2nd annual Experimental Neurogenetics of the Mouse workshop, an NIMH-supported, hands-on course. This will be an intensive 8-day lecture and practical course to introduce all aspects of the genetics and neurobiology of the mouse with a focus on phenotypic analyses in the behavioral, anatomical, and physiological realms. The course will run from the 15th to the 24th of May 2005, in Memphis, Tennessee. Guest lecturers will join faculty from the TMGC to teach this course in modern facilities at the University of Memphis and University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. We encourage applications from women and minorities interested in using the mouse as an experimental model in neuroscience research.

For more information and registration, visit the website or e-mail Pat Goss.

Neuromice.org presents informational booth at the 34th Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting

Neuromice.org displayed an informational booth in the not-for-profit aisle of the vendor exhibits at the 34th Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting. The meeting was held October 23- 27, 2004 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Over eight hundred eighty visitors stopped by the informational booth to learn about our website, phenotypic testing capabilities, and mice available for distribution. Neuromice.org hosted an ancillary event, Tuesday, October 26 from 7- 9 p.m. at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, to further discussions among scientists about topics relating to neuromice.org, neuroscience, and the conference. Catered appetizers, a main course, dessert and non-alcoholic drinks were provided.

Our theme for the conference this year was Focus on Neuromice.org. Our posters:

• Focus on… Fulfilling your Needs (2.20MB PDF)
• Focus on… Functional Genomics (3.68MB PDF)
• Focus on… Phenotypes (2.59MB PDF)
• Focus on… the Future (2.83MB PDF)
• NIH Neurogenomics Project at Northwestern University poster (1.23MB PDF)
• Molecular Cloning and Initial Phenotypic Characterization of Noerg-1 Mutation in Mouse (7.26MB PDF)

ENHANCED FEATURES

Neuromice.org continually strives to improve its website to best serve your needs. Starting from April 15, 2004, we are pleased to offer enhancements to the features below.

Extensive Phenotype and Genotype Database

• 98 mouse lines currently available

  65 mouse lines have been mapped to a chromosome and 22 mouse lines have the gene identified and linked to Gene Map

• Disease Models

  Search database by disease of interest such as Dystonia, Insomnia, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Deafness, Microphthalmia, Usher syndrome, Schizophrenia, Epilepsy

Enriched Search/Browse Feature

• New Advanced Searching Capabilities

  Build complex searches using Boolean logic (AND / OR / NOT) and perform category searches in Phenotypic Domain, Availability Status, Chromosome, Gene/Locus, Mutant Line Name or All Fields

• Keyword search is expanded to all relevant data fields.

Customized Autosearch after Login

• Create, Run, Save, Delete, and Edit your own autosearch parameters
• Select the frequency for email notification of your autosearch result
• Choose to receive new information, new and updated information, or all information matching autosearch criteria

Improved Status Reporting

A warning and cyropreservation date will be posted before an Available Live animal becomes Available Frozen.

Neuromice.org presents informational booth at the 33rd Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting

Neuromice.org displayed an informational booth in the not-for-profit aisle of the vendor exhibits at the 33rd Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting. The meeting was held at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans,Louisiana. Over four hundred visitors stopped by to meet and talk with Neuromice.org Scientists, to learn about our program, and to learn about newest mutant mouse lines available for distribution. If you did not get a chance to stop by our booth, please click the links below to see the posters that were displayed. Neuromice.org will be hosting an informational booth at the 34th Annual Society for Neuroscience, in San Diego, CA, October 23-27, 2004 in San Diego.

Click here to see the posters displayed:

Neuromice.org poster

Neuromice.org brochure

Jackson Laboratory

Northwestern University Neurogenomics Project

Tennessee Mouse Genome Consortium

Neuromice Director, Joseph S. Takahashi, Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Dr. Joseph S. Takahashi, Director of Neuromice.org and the NIH Neurogenomics project at Northwestern University, was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in April 2003. Election to membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. Members are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

The academy is dedicated to the furtherance of sciences and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, which calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government in any matter of science or technology.

Dr. Takahashi's research interests include molecular neurobiology and genetics of circadian clocks, mouse and human genetics and genomics, and genetic approaches to learning and memory in mice. Dr. Takahashi has pioneered the use of forward genetics and positional cloning in the mouse as a tool for discovery of genes underlying neurobiology and behavior. In 1997 his laboratory cloned the first mammalian circadian gene known as Clock.

Under Dr. Takahashi's leadership, a virtual storefront known as Neuromice.org was recently launched. This website represents a consortium of three large-scale mouse mutagenesis centers dedicated to maintaining, characterizing, and distributing mutant mice as models for neuroscience research. "We are pleased to offer this unique tool for the neuroscience and genetics communities," states Dr. Takahashi.

Dr. Takahashi is a Walter and Mary Elizabeth Glass Professor in Life Sciences in the department of neurobiology and physiology and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. A leading researcher on mouse and human circadian clock genes, he was awarded Columbia University's W. Alden Spencer Award bestowed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he received a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Mental Health for the period 1987 to 1997.

Dr. Takahashi joined the Northwestern University faculty in 1983 and is the director of the Center for Functional Genomics as well as the assistant director for the Center for Circadian Biology and Medicine. He is a member of the Institute for Neuroscience, the Center for Reproductive Science and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.