Core facilities

CFCM

team-item

Facility manager

Lorenza Ronfani

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Transgenic and knock-out mice are widely used because of their high impact on the understanding of protein function, and as models for human diseases. The generation of a transgenic mouse necessitates the use of expensive and high−tech instrumentation and requires a high level of scientific knowhow, using state of the art resources and equipment. So, Core Facility for Conditional Mutagenesis (CFCM) was born in 1999 with the aim to help researchers to plan experiments, manipulate and genotype mice.

Mission

CFCM was born with the scope to support research using mouse models. The presence of a specialized center allows:

  • optimizing costs;
  • increasing the success rate;
  • reducing the number of mice used.

Services

This facility offers a centralized service to efficiently produce genetically modified mice for intra and external researchers, performs embryo rederivations, sperm and embryo cryopreservations and isolation of embryonic stem cells from murine lines.

The Animal House laboratory contains 2 rooms. The first room contains 2 working microinjection workstations and the second room functions as the colony room for transgenic mice, where we perform maintenance and breeding. The mice produced at CFCM are Specific Pathogen Free or Specific and Opportunistic Pathogen Free, thereby they can enter any animal house.

CFCM Staff routinely perform gene-targeting projects, create transgenic models and rederive mice. Animal Houses receive mice compatible with their sanitary standards. Furthermore, the facility performs cryopreservations and isolates embryonic stem cells from murine lines.

CFCM uses the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate KO and Kin mice

  • The CRISPR/Cas9 system works with high efficiency.
  • You can simultaneously knockout multiple targets.
  • You can obtain your gene targeted mouse in three/four months.
  • The CRISPR/Cas9 system is cheap and allows you to save a third of the cost generally spent using the conventional gene-targeting technique.

NOTE: all prices are on demand.