Derivation of germ-free mice via INFRAFRONTIER

INFRAFRONTIER is the European Research Infrastructure for phenotyping, archiving and distribution of model mammalian genomes. A service to derive germ-free (axenic) mice is now provided.

The core services of INFRAFRONTIER comprise the systemic phenotyping of mouse mutants in the participating mouse clinics, and the archiving and distribution of mouse mutant lines by the European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA) (www.infrafrontier.eu).

One of the INFRAFRONTIER2020 project aims is to develop pilot platforms and services supporting microbiome research. A service to derive germ-free (axenic) mice is now provided by three infrastructures with a long standing expertise and track record in the derivation of axenic and gnotobiotic mice, namely the Gnoto / Axenic Facility of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, the Karolinska Institutet Core Facility for Germ-free Research, and the CNRS Service Isotechnie of the PHENOMIN-TAAM infrastructure.

The Karolinska Institutet has maintained a unique platform for the handling and derivation of gnotobiotic models kept under germ-free (GF) conditions since the 1960s. The Karolinska Institutet Core Facility for Germ-free Research (CFGR) is a core faciliy hosted by Comparative Medicine at KI.

The participating INFRAFRONTIER infrastructures are among very few dedicated facilities in Europe who have the required equipment and expertise to generate germ-free and gnotobiotic mice. All infrastructures routinely offer their services to external users.

Access to the axenic service will be granted on the basis of scientific excellence and supports pilot projects for the derivation of-germ-free mice. Further breeding and characterisation of axenic mice or the development of gnotobiotic models can be offered on a fee-for-service or on a collaborative basis.

More information and call application form: https://www.infrafrontier.eu/resources-and-services/axenic-service/infrafrontier-axenic-germ-free-service.