The ENU mutagenesis project is not part of NBRP-Rat. However, for scientific reasons and the need for genetically modified rat models that resemble allelic variations in humans and in so far resemble human patients, the Kyoto University Rat Mutant Archive (KURMA) was integrated into NBRP rat and provides interesting models for various fields in biomedical research.
An ENU-induced mutant archive for gene targeting in rats.
Mashimo T. et al. Nat Genet. 2008 May;40(5):514-5.
The priciple workflow of the ENU program is shown in the picture below:
ENU is injected intraperitoneally using a split dose of 2 x 40 mg/kg into 9 and 10 weeks old male F344/NSlc rats. These males are mated 10 weeks after the second ENU injection. DNA and sperm of their offspring (G1) are stored at the Kyoto University Rat Mutant Archive (KURMA). The
screening technique MuT-POWER can be applied to the DNA of the archive at any given time in the future and in case of successful mutation detection, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is used to derive viable offspring from the G1 sperms.
Preliminary results suggests that the mutation rate of KURMA is 1 per 3.7 MBp. The current number of G1 animals is 5,000; 10,000 G1 animals will be obtained in the future. An excerpt of some mutant genes with successful screening outcome is listed below.