Rats and mice are very important mammals in various fields of medical and biological research.Together with lower organisms, both rats and mice are playing a key role in hereditary research to unravel the secrets of genes. Even though both species appear very similar, the rat is predestinated for many kinds of research due to it's bigger size and different neurological characteristics.

The Completion of the genomic sequence of the rat was one big step and the prerequisite in understanding the function of genes and it's dysfunction for several diseases. The second step was several gene-targetting technologies recently reported in rats, including gene-driven ENU mutagenesis, rat ES/iPS cells, and genome editing technology. Among these technologies, the CRISPR/Cas9 technologiy has rapidly been progressed and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) rats that can accept human cells have been developed. Many mutant rats including KO rats will be newly developed using these technologies in the near future.

The National BioResource Project - Rat in Japan (NBRP-Rat) is now operating in its 20th year and contributes as the world’s largest rat repository to various fields of biomedical research. Collection of rat strains and genetic sub strains, phenotypic and genotypic characterization, cryopreservation of embryos/sperm, supply of the collected rat strains and a publicly accessible database of all assembled data are the major goals of this project. Once achieved, this unique database including the unique rat strains will become a powerful tool for biomedical research. A catalogue of comparable, standardized and well characterized rat strains will lead to new and more precise research topics as well as it will facilitate biomedical sciences, drug discovery and advanced chemical research not only in Japan but worldwide.

Core facility: Institute of Laboratory Animals, Graduate School of Medicine
 Kyoto University

Project Manager: Masahide Asano, Ph.D., Professor

This project is one part of the National BioResource Projects (NBRP) in Japan for more than 20 species including animals, plants, microbes, tissues and DNAs. It is founded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monkasho) and started in 2002.

The Institute of Laboratory Animals, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, is the central facility for the species rat. The 5th term of NBRP-Rat has started in 2022, following the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th term (2002-2021).

The major goals of NBRP-Rat are the collection, preservation and supply of rat strains. The repository includes strains from Japan and abroad, spontaneous mutants, congenic and recombinant strains as well as transgenic and mutagenized rats. Deposited rat strains are not only conserved as cryopreserved embryos and sperm. Many reference and frequently used rat strains are also maintained as living animals under SPF conditions. About all strains, quality assurance through microbial and genetic monitoring are conducted.

Furthermore, NBRP-Rat provides a unique database on various rat strain phenotypes accompanied with basic genetic information. This allows scientists the selection of standardized and research specific strains. From the 2nd term of NBRP-Rat, the Rat Resource and Research Meeting was initiated as exchange meeting for information around the rat.

This project promotes further utilization of the rat as a research tool in many fields of science.

NBRP-Rat Steering Committee