15/07/2013
In**ed C57 Black Mice: Microphthalmia and Ocular Infections
History
Several strains of in**ed black mice, originally derived by W.L. Russell of The Jackson Laboratory in 1921, were designated as C57 Black (C57BL) after approximately the thirty-second generation of inbreeding. Russell's lines 6 and 10 were further developed by Chase, who found abnormal eyes in both strains 4.3% of the time (Chase, 1941; Chase, 1942). Asymmetric microphthalmia and "anophthalmia" were found in affected mice. Microphthalmia and anophthalmia are 6.2 times as common in females and 5.8 times as common in the right eye. Congenic strains of C57BL/10 mice [B10.A, B10.BR, B10.D2, B10.A(2R), B10.A(5R), B110.A(15R), B10.A(1R), B10.A(18R), and B10.OL] have an incidence of clinical microphthalmia ranging from 0.8 to 9.2% (Pierro and Spiggle, 1967). While the individual strains of C57BL mice are genetically identical within the strain, they all show the same propensity to develop sporadic microphthalmia or anophthalmia. The tendency to manifest these abnormalities does not represent a specific mutation but rather the possibility of developing microphthalmia or anophthalmia, perhaps due to "environmental" influences. This is seen in striking fashion in the response to fetal alcohol exposure
