Outbred stocks are most often used in research projects requiring vigorous, economically priced animals, but in which considerations of specific genotype are of lesser importance.
A strain is defined as inbred when it has been mated brother x sister for 20 or more consecutive generations (F20). All offspring can be traced back to a single ancestral breeding pair in the 20th or subsequent generation.
Outbred stocks are most often used in research projects requiring vigorous, economically priced animals, but in which considerations of specific genotype are of lesser importance.
A strain is defined as inbred when it has been mated brother x sister for 20 or more consecutive generations (F20). All offspring can be traced back to a single ancestral breeding pair in the 20th or subsequent generation.
A variety of genetic mutations are known that impair immune functions in mice. Some of these mutant strains are widely used in research on cytokines to study a variety of physiologic and disease processes.
F1 hybrids are the first generation of a cross between two inbred strains. They have many of the useful features of inbred strains, but also tend to be more vigorous and less sensitive to adverse environmental conditions.