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New Agreements on Mice
Transnetyx, a genetic diagnostics company,announced that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has commissioned a trial implementation of the Transnetyx rapid-turnaround mouse genotyping service. HHMI is a non-profit medical research organization whose flagship program in biomedical research employs more than 300 of the nation’s leading scientists, a third of whom use transgenic mice in their laboratories. More than 70 of HHMI’s scientists are using the Transnetyx service through this program.
Since the first complete human genome sequence was published in 2001, followed by the mapping of the remarkably similar mouse DNA a year later, the mouse's century-long role in life-science research and development has rapidly expanded.
Genotyping determines which individual mice have certain mutant and wild-type genes. It is a time-consuming and costly activity, which is why HHMI is funding the pilot program with Transnetyx. After estimating its 2002-2004 animal breeding and maintenance costs at $47 million, HHMI's senior scientific administrators began searching for ways to improve the management of its mouse colonies so that resources—time and money—could be freed up for other research activities.
Transnetyx's automated system will provide online reporting of genotyping results to research labs in as little as 24 hours. The HHMI trial program operates on a 72-hour timeline.
In contrast to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, a method of DNA sequencing in which scientists make large quantities of a piece of DNA artificially, Transnetyx's process is far less labor intensive:
- A research technician places an online order and securely enters sample information via TransnetYX.com.
- The technician preps and overnights a mouse-tail sample using a special multi-well plate and a preprinted shipping label supplied by TransnetYX.
- The next morning at the TransnetYX clean room, the proprietary fully automated method for tissue breakdown, DNA isolation, probe hybridization, realtime PCR and results formatting are used for each sample.
- An e-mail alerts the researcher that the printable results are ready on the secure Transnetyx Web site.
For Transnetyx, this pilot program with one of the world's leading biomedical research institutes will serve to introduce the company’s technological model to many laboratories and provides an opportunity for many other medical and pharmaceutical research organizations to learn about this breakthrough service.
The full HHMI Bulletin article on the trial program is available online at http://www.hhmi.org/bulletin/feb2006/chronicle/mice.html or as an Adobe PDF here.
About Transnetyx
Founded in 2000, Memphis-based Transnetyx is a molecular diagnostics company dedicated to serving research and saving time by removing redundant yet necessary tests conducted in genetics. Transnetyx serves biotech and medical researchers working with transgenic, knock-out/knock-in, transgenic with knock-out, or targeted mutagenesis mouse lines. In addition to in-depth sequence identification, the system can also provide positive/negative information on the zygosity of submitted samples. For more information, visit www.transnetyx.com
About HHMI
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which ranks as one of the nation’s largest philanthropies, plays a powerful role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the U.S. The Institute’s 321 investigators work in Hughes laboratories at 66 distinguished U.S. universities, research institutes, medical schools, and affiliated hospitals. They include 10 Nobel Prize Winners and 111 members of the National Academy of Sciences. For more information, visit www.hhmi.org.