A Global Partnership of Mouse Genetics, Genomics, and Functional Assessment Centres
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. As of June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported infections in over 13 million people worldwide causing over 500,000 deaths. Developing and deploying preventative vaccines, reduced opportunistic infection strategies, and clinical therapeutics is benefiting from worldwide cooperation of the biomedical research and translational communities in both academia and industry.
Mouse genetics, genomics, and functional assessment centres and repositories around the world have come together to form a consortium to underpin global research into SARS-CoV-2 by the efficient delivery of relevant mouse strains, mouse genetics expertise, and robust outcome and therapeutic effect and safety testing platforms.
These are the Global Mouse Models for COVID-19 Consortium aims to:
1
Provide up-to-date information and details of the availability and accessibility of mutant mouse strains relevant to SARS-CoV2
2
Provide information on current projects that are designing and generating new mutant mouse strains for infection, colonization, and disease-relevant host genes
3
Provide information on facilities and expertise that are available to support and enhance COVID-19 research and validated SARS-CoV2 infectious challenge model systems and testing platforms
Here is a list of resources from our member organisations and consortia who have dedicated pages to help researchers when using mice for COVID-19 research. These resources include mouse strains, publications and gene knockout data.
International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium
INFRAFRONTIER Research Infrastructure, Europe
Mouse Genome Informatics, USA
Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers, USA
The GMMCC is comprised of 22 institutes and centres that represent a formidable collection of resources and expertise in mouse genetics, genomics, and response to pathogen research that are able to serve worldwide research into SARS-CoV2.
The GMMCC includes a number of well-established public mouse genetics consortia that provide design, production, and functional analysis of genetic mutation (IMPC, INFRAFRONTIER) and archiving and distribution of mutant mouse strains and resources of mouse for biomedical research (AMMRA based in Asia, INFRAFRONTIER-EMMA based in Europe, the MMRRC in the US, and the CMMR in Canada)
The mouse is a valuable tool as an experimental model organism to improve our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection, colonization, pathogenesis, and host response mechanisms. The mouse can also be used to assess potential preventative, disease modifying, and therapeutic approaches.
During the SARS outbreak in 2003 caused by the SARS-CoV-1 virus, the development of a strain of mice carrying a human ACE2 gene (the receptor for Coronavirus) which was susceptible to SARS-CoV-1 proved valuable in the study of SARS. This strain will also be vital for studies of SARS-CoV-2.
Name | Country | Links | |
---|---|---|---|
Name: Baylor College of Medicine | Country: USA | Visit Website | |
Name: CAM-SU Genomic Resource Center, Soochow University | Country: China | Visit Website | |
Name: Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences-ILAS, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences | Country: China | Visit Website | |
Name: Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, IMG | Country: Czech Republic | Visit Website | |
Name: CNR Monterotondo | Country: Italy | Visit Website | |
Name: European Bioinformatics Institute | Country: United Kingdom | Visit Website | |
Name: Helmholtz-Zentrum Muenchen | Country: Germany | Visit Website | |
Name: PHENOMIN, Strasbourg | Country: France | Visit Website | |
Name: Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, Pune | Country: India | Visit Website | |
Name: The Jackson Laboratory | Country: USA | Visit Website | |
Name: Korea Mouse Phenotyping Center | Country: South Korea | Visit Website | |
Name: MRC Harwell | Country: United Kingdom | Visit Website | |
Name: National Laboratory Animal Center, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) | Country: Taiwan | Visit Website | |
Name: MARC Nanjing University | Country: China | Visit Website | |
Name: PCDDP North-West University | Country: South Africa | Visit Website | |
Name: Phenomics Australia | Country: Australia | Visit Website | |
Name: QMUL- Queen Mary University London | Country: United Kingdom | Visit Website | |
Name: RIKEN BioResource Research Center | Country: Japan | Visit Website | |
Name: The Centre for Phenogenomics (TCP) | Country: Canada | Visit Website | |
Name: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Country: Spain | Visit Website | |
Name: UC Davis | Country: USA | Visit Website | |
Name: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute | Country: United Kingdom | Visit Website |