Regular Transgenic Rats

Transgenic rats have foreign DNA incorporated into the rat genome and are used to study a wide range of gene functions and human diseases. We offer one-stop solutions to all your transgenic rat model needs. You can contract us to perform your entire transgenic project from initial strategy design and DNA vector construction to transgenic animal delivery, or you can outsource specific phases of the project to us. Our turnaround time is the shortest in the industry, our prices are unbeatable, and in case of guaranteed services, we guarantee the generation of animals or your money back.

Workflow of Transgenic Rat Services

Each full transgenic project is split into the following stages:

1. Transgenic strategy design

• Design a transgenic strategy that meets your research needs.
• A PCR genotyping strategy will also be designed for founder screening.

2. Transgenic vector construction

• Construct plasmid-based transgenic vector (visit our BAC Recombineering Services page for details).
• Confirm plasmid vector by restriction digest and sequencing as needed.

3. Pronuclear injection

• Inject transgenic vector into the pronucleus of fertilized eggs.
• Implant injected eggs into surrogate mothers to obtain offspring. 

4. Transgenic rat screening

• Genotype pups by PCR to identify those carrying the transgene.

Types of Transgenic Rat Services

Prepare DNA for injection and develop genotyping strategy

The success of transgenic production depends critically on the quality of DNA used in pronuclear injection. Accordingly, we employ a special protocol to prepare top-quality DNA for our injections. Plasmid DNA is typically linearized for injection. BAC DNA is typically injected in unlinearized form as this has been shown to produce similar biological outcome as linearized BAC. PCR-based genotyping strategy will be developed and tested. If you provide your own transgenic vector rather than having us construct it, you can send us either E. coli or unlinearized DNA solution (≥50 µg total), and we will perform the necessary preparation to purify/linearize the DNA. We strongly discourage customers from sending us linearized, injection-ready DNA, because the quality of such DNA is often insufficient for pronuclear injection. If you provide your own vector without sequence information, you will also need to provide a PCR-based genotyping strategy along with your vector.

Generation of transgenic founder rats

- Plasmid injection to obtain founders, basic service: A minimum of 200 eggs will be injected to produce live animals. This will result in an average of 2-3 transgenic founders, but the actual numbers could fluctuate significantly and it is possible that no founders are obtained. If you wish to ensure the generation of founders, we strongly recommend that you use guaranteed service (see below).

- Plasmid injection to obtain founders, guaranteed service: We guarantee a minimum of 3 transgenic founders (the actual number of founders obtained is typically higher).

- BAC injection to obtain founders, basic service: A minimum of 200 eggs will be injected to produce live animals. This will result in an average of 2 transgenic founders, but the actual numbers could fluctuate significantly and it is possible that no founders are obtained. If you wish to ensure the generation of founders, we strongly recommend that you use guaranteed service (see below).

- BAC injection to obtain founders, guaranteed service: We guarantee a minimum of 2 transgenic founders (the actual number of founders obtained is typically higher).

- Genotyping pups to identify founders: Pups will be genotyped by PCR to identify founder rats.

Breeding transgenic line to F1

For most projects, the generation of founder transgenic rats is the end point. However, you may choose to have us breed the founders further to obtain F1 rats. We will breed up to 3 founders to wildtype rats of matching strain background and genotype their offspring to obtain F1 rats bearing the transgene. 

Pricing and Turnaround Time

All transgenic rat generations consist of the following production stages. You can contract Cyagen for full service or may also outsource your project to us at any stage.

 * If you need your BAC modified, click here to find out about BAC modification services.

Note: For transgenic rat services not listed above, please inquire about availability and pricing. The turnaround time above does not include the time for obtaining host institution’s approval for rat importation and transit time during shipping.

Donor Strain Information

Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long Evans strains are available for transgenic rat production. Please inquire availability of other strains. 

>> Mouse models are also available. Learn more about Regular Transgenic Mouse Services.

Guarantee

Cyagen offers the best guarantee in the industry – we will fully refund the client’s service fee if animals with the specified genotype are not generated (except for genetic modifications severely affecting viability, morbidity, or fertility). Given the complexity of biological systems, a particular genetic modification may not result in the desired phenotype. As such, Cyagen's guarantee covers the creation of animals with the specified genotype, not a particular phenotypic outcome in terms of transcription, protein/RNA function, or organismal biology.

Order Supporting Information 

Please see below for supporting information related to Cyagen animal orders.

（https://www.cyagen.com/us/en/support/order-information.html）

Inquiries and Quote Requests

Request a quote now. Alternatively, you can always email animal-service@cyagen.com or call 800-921-8930 to inquire about our services or obtain a quote for your project.