Embryo/Sperm/Cell line Storage Service eForm [Download PDF]
Embryo Cryopreservation Service eForm [Download PDF]
Sperm Cryopreservation Service eForm [Download PDF]
Rederivation Service eForm [Download PDF]
Mouse strain is cryopreserved either by freezing embryos or sperm in high security sterile straws and stored in IMV Cryo-Bio storage system under liquid nitrogen.
Please note cryopreservation service is only available to mouse colonies housed at ARCH facilities.
Embryo cryopreservation: Investigators provide 6-10 fertility tested heterozygous or homozygous males that are used for mating with wild type egg donor females to harvest embryos. If egg donor females from same strain to be used for mating then investigator is responsible to provide egg donor females at 3-4 weeks of age. After desired number of embryos are harvested and frozen – to ascertain recovery is evaluated by thawing embryos and re-implantation into foster mother, pregnancy is allowed to term and is confirmed by live birth.
There are three options offered for embryo cryo-preservation at 8-cell stage in high security sterile straws. Each straw contain 20-30 embryos and stored in IMV Cryo-Bio System Goblets.
1) 100-150 embryos – quick and economic option to archive a strain (Cryo-1)
2) 150-300 embryos – long term storage of a strain with occasional recovery (Cryo-2)
3) 300-450 embryos – large pool of embryos of a strain for storage and if periodic recovery or future distribution is expected (Cryo-3).
Sperm cryopreservation: is also offered to archive mouse strains. However, due to high variability of frozen/thawed sperm among males, recovery is not guaranteed. We require three fertility tested males that are used to harvest sperm and stored in high security sterile straws as described. Typically 5-8 straws/male is frozen. Recovery is tested by IVF using wild type egg donor females and by transferring fertilized embryos into foster mothers followed by live birth.
ES cell derivation: We offer ES cell line derivation from transgenic, gene targeted or any other mouse models. PI provide males and females to harvest blastocysts and establish ES cell lines. Total number of cell lines is dependent on quality and quantity of blastocysts harvested from a particular strain.
Service facts
- Embryos at 8-cell stage frozen and stored under liquid nitrogen
- Sperm cryo-preservation performed by harvesting sperm using 2-3 fertility tested males and cryopreserved sperm stored under liquid nitrogen
- Live pups recovered by in vitro fertilization using frozen-thawed sperm
- IVF using fresh sperm for age/sex/genotype matched cohorts
- Re-derivation of imported mouse strains by embryo transfer or IVF