A rapid and useful method for gender identification of grey red-backed voles / 中国比较医学杂志

Objective Grey red-backed voles (Myodes rufocanus) are agile, fierce and hard to catch, thus, it is difficult to judge their gender by external appearance, especially for the juvenile voles. Therefore, it may cause difficulties to their allocation and later breeding in laboratories. The aim of this paper is to establish a rapid, simple and accurate method for gender identification of grey red-backed voles. Methods Fresh hair follicles were taken from 6 adult male voles, 3 adult females and 14 4-week-old juvenile voles, 5 male and 5 female 9-week-old Wistar rats, and 5 male and 3 female 6-week-old BALB/c mice. The genomic DNA was extracted using Chelex-100 resin and the zinc-finger Y/X gene (ZFY/ZFX) and the gene of sex-determining region of the Y (SRY) chromosome were amplified by PCR, and a double PCR amplification method was established. Results The ZFY/ZFX gene and SRY gene were simultaneously amplified from the male voles, while only the ZFY/ZFX gene was amplified from the females. The gender of all 23 voles, 10 Wistar rats and 8 BALB/c mice were correctly identified with this method, and the PCR results were consistent with the phenotypic and autopsy results. Conclusions Using fresh hair follicles as experimental materials for gender identification of grey redbacked voles can alleviate shock and damage to the animals. The established double PCR amplification method is accurate, simple, rapid, and deserves to be used for gender identification of grey red-backed voles.

A standardized breeding study of gray red-backed voles(Myodes rufocanus)in the laboratory / 中国实验动物学报

Objective To establish a breeding method ofMyodes rufocanus in the laboratory,collect their growth and reproduction data,and provide a basis for carrying out the experimental animalization.Methods Wild Myodes rufocanus caught in the Moranbong woodland were brought back to the laboratory.They were bred artificially in a large hard wall rodent negative pressure isolator.Their growth and reproduction data were recorded for evaluating the results of breeding.Results The Myodes rufocanus were successfully bred in the laboratory.The pregnancy rate was 54.55%.The average pregnancy length was 20.4 days(8 to 22 days).During one breeding period,they gave birth 2.9 times on average.The maximum number of births was 7 times,far more than the number tested under field conditions.The average litter size was 4.3±1.22.The highest litter number of a single nest was 8.The weaning rate of pups was 94.8%.The growth and development of pups were good.Conclusions The breeding method for Myodes rufocanus is established.The growth and reproduction data are tested too.The results of our study laid a foundation for the experimental animalization of Myodes rufocanus.

Polymorphism research on SLA class II genes in Canadian SPF Yorkshire and Landrace pigs / 中国实验动物学报

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the polymorphism of SLA class II genes in Canadian SPF Yorkshire and Landrace pigs.Methods Blood samples were obtained from 15 SPF Yorkshire and 22 Landrace pigs for isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells respectively, and the DQB1, DRB1 and DQA genes were amplified by PCR after reverse transcription.SLA class II genes were obtained by analyzing the direct and cloning result.The polymorphism of alleles was analyzed using the DNAsp 5.0 software.Results A total of 25 alleles were identified at three genes, including eight DQB1, ten DRB1 and seven DQA, and three alleles were submitted the complete sequences for the first time.The official allele names were assigned as SLA-DQB1*0212 (KU754590), SLA-DQB1*0203 (KU754591) and DRB1*06:07(KU754601) by the SLA Nomenclature Committee.Three novel DQA alleles were discovered.Five of the 15 amino acids, one of the 16 amino acids and 11 of the 19 amino acids, which bind processing antigens, showed well conserved among the alleles of DQB1, DRB1 and DQA genes in the SPF Yorkshire and Landrace pigs, respectively.Neighbor-joining tree showed that the three genes were divided into two clusters, respectively.There was a close relationship between SPF Yorkshire and Landrace pigs and foreign Yucatan miniature pigs, and it showed no obvious genetic distance with other pigs.Conclusions A total of 25 SLA class II alleles have been identified successfully in this study, and there are more abundant polymorphism for them.There is a widely distribution for SLA class II alleles identified in this study in other pig breeds.It is critical for the eventual future use of SPF Yorkshire and Landrace pigs as classical laboratory animal models.