US rat store now open for scientific shopping

February 19, 2002

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A new kind of rat boutique where

researchers can browse for rare breeds and special genetically

engineered models has opened for scientific shopping, the National

Institutes of Health said on Tuesday.

Rats are the backbone of much scientific research, but only a few

off-the-shelf models are available, the National Center for Research

Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said.

So the Rat Resource and Research Center is being opened at the

University of Missouri in Columbia, the NIH said.

" It is a shop where investigators can come and look for the rat strains

they are interested in. It is where they can go and find the things they

need, " center spokeswoman Joyce Mc said in a telephone interview.

" It is also a place where they can bring models, " she added.

Opened with a $6.7 million grant, the center will offer a variety of

inbred, hybrid and genetically modified rats for use in research.

" Although private companies distribute rats, their activities are

generally limited to the most commonly used strains, " the national

research center said in a statement.

Rats that have been bred or genetically changed to be models of human

disease are widely used. For example, there are rats whose brains have

been chemically damaged to simulate human Parkinson's disease and rats

bred to become obese on normal diets.

Dr. Harding said the center's administrators were now trying to

decide what kinds of rats to stock. He said scientists around the

country would be nominating their favorite rats.

A lab would pay a nominal fee for rats bred at the facility. " There

isn't an idea here to make a profit, " Harding said.

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