Main Area of Focus
A Blueprint-Funded resource, the design, creation, and characterization of Cre-recombinase-expressing ("Cre-Driver") mouse lines on the C57B1/6 background, which can be used to drive expression of reporter genes and conditional-ready alleles in the mouse nervous system. More than 100 novel Cre Driver lines are available along with a recombinase-expression profile for each line.
Background
The goal of the Cre Driver Network is to provide the neuroscience community with mouse strains that are suitable for tissue- and time-specific perturbation of gene function in the nervous system.
Using a knockout mutation to eliminate a gene’s function is a useful way to study the gene’s role in development, but it can lead to lethal or otherwise harmful effects that preclude studying the gene’s role in later stages of the mouse lifespan.
This project supports the generation of mice in which the expression of Cre recombinase, a DNA exchange enzyme, can be controlled temporally and spatially. These Cre “driver” lines can be used to generate conditional mutations that are activated in distinct cell types, tissues or time points, or inducible mutations that are activated through administration of a drug.
More than 100 Cre driver lines have now been created and characterized, targeting selected neuronal populations in the brain. Data and images detailing the Cre recombinase expression profile for each line are available. The Mice are available through the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC) at the University of Missouri or through The Jackson Laboratory’s Cre Repository for a nominal fee.
The principal investigators for the Cre Driver Network are Dr. Ronald Davis at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Josh Huang at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Dr. Ulrich Mueller at Scripps Research Institute.
Contacts
Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D.
NIMH
301-443-5288
Related Resources
Cre driver mice: A versatile resource for studying brain circuit development