This is a time-sensitive request directed to investigators who are interested in using knockout mice and have research interests that fall into the research areas supported by the Institutes listed below. Responses are needed by or before February 17, 2006.

Notice Number: NOT-DA-06-008

Key Dates
Release Date: January 31, 2006

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.nci.nih.gov)
National Eye Institute (NEI), (http://www.nei.nih.gov)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/)
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), (http://www.genome.gov)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov)
National Institute on Aging (NIA), (http://www.nia.nih.gov)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), (http://www.niams.nih.gov)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), (http://www.nichd.nih.gov)
National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov)
National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) (http://www.niddk.nih.gov)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), (http://www.nida.nih.gov)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), (http://www.niehs.nih.gov)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), (http://www.nimh.nih.gov)
National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke (NINDS), (http://www.ninds.nih.gov)
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov)
National Institute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov)

More than 3000 of the 4000 published knockout mouse strains are not in public repositories making access difficult and creating the risk of possible loss of lines due to natural disasters and disease. The NIH Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP) working group is initiating a program to deposit as many existing knockout mice as possible in public repositories; this process is referred to as repatriation . The number that can be repatriated will be limited by the availability of funds for this purpose.

The NIH Institutes supporting the Knockout Mouse Project request your assistance in nominating mouse lines that are most valuable to your research interests. Because of the limitation in funds it is important that those mice deemed to be of highest priority to the research community are repatriated first. Prioritization of mice for repatatriation will be done on an ongoing basis as the program develops over the next few years. This is the first call for nominations and is being implemented on a tight timeline to allow utilization of existing capacity for this purpose.

Information Requested

Your first step is to request a file that lists published knockout mice that are NOT currently in a public repository. To receive an email containing this file being distributed by the institutes, please email [email protected] with the heading Requesting List in the subject line. Those who request the list will receive an email with an attached spreadsheet containing all published mouse lines that are NOT in repositories. (If you want to see which published lines are in repositories go to International Mouse Strain Resource (http://www.informatics.jax.org/imsr/index.jsp). You will also receive further instructions on how to nominate strains of interest. Responses/rankings need to be returned as soon as possible, but no later than February 17, 2006 . Nominations submitted after that date will be considered in a later round of repatriation.

The NIH appreciates your feedback; however, since only a subset of strains can be repatriated, please note that not all nominations will be successful.

Inquiries