Strain information
 NBRP Rat No: 0024  Strain name: ZI/Kyo  Commmon Name: ZI, zitter rat Rat Genome Database
Principal Investigator:  Tadao Serikawa  Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University       Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku    606-8501 Kyoto     JAPAN
Tel: 075-753-4360    Fax: 075-753-4409 Email: serikawa@anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Preservation Status:   Embryo        Sperm       Living Animals ../images/Photos/ZI%20Doc/a%20(Large).jpg ../images/Photos/ZI%20Doc/o%20(Large).jpg
Coat Color  albino (c)
Inbred Generations  F13+42 (March 2012)
Usage Restrictions  
Genetic Status
 Inbred  Segregating  Congenic  Consomic  Recombinant
 Coisogenic  Spont. Mutant  Transgene  Ind. Mutant  Category Other 
Comercial Availability
Research Category
 Diabetes Obesity  Neurobiology  Ophthalmology  Dentistry  Cardio Hypertension
 Cancer  Metabolism  Otorhinology  Immunology  Infectious
 Osteosis  Internal Organ  Dermatology  Reproduction  Development
 Behavior  Hematology  Urology  Pharmacology  Research Area Others 
 Control Strain  Marker Strain
Gene Affected Atrn: attractin
Origin Zitter rat was detected in a Sprague Dawley colony (SD) in Hannover in 1978 by Rehm. 1983 introduced to Kyoto University and established ZI. (Jan 26, 2010)
Strain characteristics ZI strain develops a generalized body tremor at about 15 days of age, and with increasing age a progressive flaccid paresis of the hind limb occurs (Rehm, 1982). The main pathological findings are hypomyelination and vacuolation in the central nervous system (Rehm, 1982, Kondo, 1991). By positional cloning, a marked decrease in Atrn mRNA in the brain of the ZI rat and zi as an 8-bp deletion at a splice donor site of intron 12 of Atrn were found (Kuramoto, 2001). (Jun 19, 2009)
Breeding Conditions Good breeding performance.
Genotyping Genotyping protocol for Atrn
References Kuramoto T, Kitada K, Inui T, Sasaki Y, Ito K, Hase T, Kawagachi S, Ogawa Y, Nakao K, Barsh GS, Nagao M, Ushijima T, Serikawa T.
Attractin/Mahogany/Zitter plays a critical role in myelination of the central nervous system.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 98 (2): 559-564, 2001.

Ueda S, Sakakibara S, Watanabe E, Yoshimoto K, Koibuchi N.
Vulnerability of monoaminergic neurons in the brainstem of the zitter rat in oxidative stress.
Prog Brain Res. 136:293-302, 2002.

Joyce JN, Yoshimoto K, Ueda S.
The zitter mutant rat exhibits loss of D3 receptors with degeneration of the dopamine system.
Neuroreport. 2000 Jul 14;11(10):2173-5.

Ueda S, Aikawa M, Ishizuya-Oka A, Yamaoka S, Koibuchi N, Yoshimoto K.
Age-related dopamine deficiency in the mesostriatal dopamine system of zitter mutant rats: regional fiber vulnerability in the striatum and the olfactory tubercle.
Neuroscience. 2000;95(2):389-98.

Muto Y, Hayashi T, Higashi Y, Endo T, Yamamoto T, Sato K.
Age-related decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene expression in the brain of the zitter rat with genetic spongiform encephalopathy.
Neurosci Lett. 1999 Aug 20;271(2):69-72.

Ueda S, Aikawa M, Ishizuya-Oka A, Koibuchi N, Yamaoka S, Yoshimoto K.
Age-related degeneration of the serotoninergic fibers in the zitter rat brain.
Synapse. 1998 Sep;30(1):62-70.

Rehm S, Mehraein P, Anzil AP, Deerberg F.
A new rat mutant with defective overhairs and spongy degeneration of the central nervous system: clinical and pathologic studies.
Lab Anim Sci. 32(1):70-3, 1982.

Kondo A, Sato Y, Nagara H.
An ultrastructural study of oligodendrocytes in zitter rat: a new animal model for hypomyelination in the CNS.
J Neurocytol. 20(11):929-39, 1991.
Additional strain information ZI