Scientific work at the IMP and IMBA depends to a high degree on the use of model organisms. IMP and IMBA acknowledge and accept responsibility for the care and use of those animals according to the highest ethical standards. The institute ensures that all employees dealing with the animals understand their individual and collective responsibilities for compliance with Austrian laboratory animal law as well as all relevant regulations and rules concerning laboratory animal husbandries. In accordance with this institutional policy the animal house group - trained and highly qualified animal attendants - provides husbandry of animals and services for the various research groups.

Husbandry

The largest area of the animal house is the mouse section, which comprises breeding colonies, stock and experimental animals including many transgenic and knock-out mouse lines. To provide a constant supply of mice for the various projects, commonly used standard strains are routinely bred in-house.

Animal House Services

Veterinary services, such as monitoring of the facility’s health-status (sentinel-program etc.), experimental procedures in animals such as collection of blood, implantation of tumor cells and administration of substances. All procedures are performed to a high standard under appropriate anaesthetic regimes and in conjunction with the necessary project licenses. Animal procurement, such as ordering of mice from external breeding companies, organizing and handling of incoming and outgoing mouse-shipments per year.
Administration of regulatory af fairs in accordance with the Austrian laboratory animal law, which includes record-keeping and updating of laboratory animal statistics, specific documentation of laboratory animal experiments.

Contact: The Mouse Service Department was set up at the beginning of 1998 to cope with the increasing demand for mouse studies and generation of transgenics. The Mouse Service Department services are shared by the IMP and IMBA.

The main duties of this service unit are the injection of ES cells into blastocysts (also tetraploid and 8-cell) and of DNA into the pronucleus of fertilized mouse eggs. This service also provides for the transfer of "clean" embryos into our Animal House, the freezing of embryos for the preservation of specified mouse strains and the teaching of basic embryological techniques to the IMP and IMBA staff.
Many different ES cell clones and DNA/BAC constructs are being injected per year. The activities of this department are overseen by an Animal User Committee, which meets bimonthly to set priorities and to coordinate the duties. At present, it is chaired by Meinrad Busslinger.