Table 7.1.

Summary of the Various Categories of Mouse Types That Are Available for Use in Research

Model	Generation	Uses	Examples
Inbred strains	20 or more consecutive generations of sister × brother or parent × offspring matings	Studies that require genetically identical animals	BALB/c, C3H, C57BL/6, CBA, DBA/2, C57BL/10, AKR, A, 129, SJL
Outbred stocks	Deliberate mating of unrelated animals	Studies that require outbred vigor	Swiss Webster, CD-1, ICR
Spontaneous mutant	Strains that have been bred to conserve phenotypical characteristics that were due to spontaneous genetic mutations	Studies of disease processes associated with the spontaneous mutation	Athymic nude, nonobese diabetic (NOD)
Genetically engineered mice/“Knock-in”/“Knock-out”	Mice where genes have been turned on or off	Studies that are seeking to identify the effects of specific genes
Transgenic	Mice where a gene from an unrelated species has been inserted into the genome	Studies that require a mouse model of human disease and toxicology