C57BL/6

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C57BL/6, female, 22 weeks old

C57BL/6, often referred to as "C57 black 6", "B6", "C57" or "black 6", is a common inbred strain of laboratory mouse.

It is the most widely used "genetic background" for genetically modified mice for use as models of human disease. They are the most widely used and best-selling mouse strain due to the availability of congenic strains, easy breeding, and robustness.[1]

The median lifespan of C57BL/6 mice is 27–29 months and the maximum lifespan is about 36 months.[2]

Origin

The inbred strain of C57BL mice was created in 1921 by

inbred strains for mammary tumor research in collaboration with Leo Loeb at the time.[3]

Appearance and behavior

C57BL/6 mice have a dark brown, nearly black coat. They are more sensitive to noise and odours and are more likely to bite than the more docile laboratory strains such as BALB/c.[4] They are good breeders.[1]

Group-housed B6 male mice display barbering behavior, in which the dominant mouse in a cage selectively removes hair from its subordinate cage mates. Mice that have been barbered have large bald patches on their bodies, commonly around the head, snout, and shoulders, although barbering may appear anywhere on the body. Both hair and whiskers may be removed.[5]

C57BL/6 has many unusual characteristics that make it useful for some work and inappropriate for others: It is unusually sensitive to pain and to cold, and

morphine addiction, atherosclerosis,[citation needed] and age-related hearing loss.[7]

Genetics

The C57BL/6 mouse was the second-ever mammalian species to have its entire genome published.[1]

The dark coat make the mice strain convenient for creating transgenic mice: it is crossed with a light-furred 129 mouse, and the desirable crosses can be easily identified by their mixed coat colors.[1]

There now exist colonies of mice derived from the original C57BL/6 colony that have been bred in isolation from one another for many hundreds of generations. Owing to

The Jackson Laboratory
) from C57BL/6N, etc. But even within these sublines, the potential for drift exists in colonies maintained by individual laboratories who do not have a systematic practice of reestablishing breeders from a centralized, vetted stock. The mice (as well as NOD and SJL) are known to have IgG2c allele.[8][9]

Popularity

By far the most popular laboratory rodent, the C57BL/6 mouse accounts for 1⁄2 to 5⁄6 of all rodents shipped to research laboratories from American suppliers.[1] Its overwhelming popularity is due largely to inertia: it has been widely used and widely studied, and therefore it is used even more.[1]

In 1993 the first C57BL/6 gene targeted knockout mouse was published by a group at Hoffmann-La Roche in Switzerland. [10]

In 2013 C57BL/6 mice were flown into space aboard Bion-M No.1.[11]

In 2015 C57BL/6NTac females provided by Taconic Biosciences were sent to the International Space Station on SpaceX CRS-6.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Engber, Daniel (17 November 2011). "The Trouble With Black-6: A tiny alcoholic takes over the lab". Slate.com.
  2. Lifespan.io
    . Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. PMID 21061734
    .
  4. ^ Connor, A.B. (2006). "Aurora's Guide to Mouse Colony Management" (PDF). Cell Migration Gateway. CMC Activity Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. S2CID 18334770
    .
  6. S2CID 17604906
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-107-03481-5
    .
  8. PMID 22177661
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-12-409527-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  10. PMID 8398989
    .
  11. ^ Zak, Anatoly. "Bion (12KSM) satellite". RussianSpaceWeb. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  12. ^ "LIFTOFF: FALCON 9 AND DRAGON BEGIN CRS-6 MISSION TO RESUPPLY THE SPACE STATION". Retrieved 14 April 2015.
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