| URL: | http://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr |
| Full name: | The National Bio Resource Project for the Rat |
| Description: | The National BioResource Project - Rat in Japan (NBRP-Rat) is now operating in its 15th year and contributes as the world’s largest rat repository to various fields of biomedical research. Collection of rat strains and genetic sub strains, phenotypic and genotypic characterization, cryopreservation of embryos/sperm, supply of the collected rat strains and a publicly accessible database of all assembled data are the major goals of this project. Once achieved, this unique database including the unique rat strains will become a powerful tool for biomedical research. A catalogue of comparable, standardized and well characterized rat strains will lead to new and more precise research topics as well as it will facilitate biomedical sciences, drug discovery and advanced chemical research not only in Japan but worldwide. |
| Year founded: | 2005 |
| Last update: | 2018 |
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| Accessibility: |
Accessible
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| Country/Region: | Japan |
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| University/Institution: | Kyoto University |
| Address: | Institute of Laboratory Animals, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshidakonoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. |
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| Country/Region: | Japan |
| Contact name (PI/Team): | Tadao Serikawa |
| Contact email (PI/Helpdesk): | serikawa@anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp |
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Rat Phenome Project: the untapped potential of existing rat strains. [PMID: 15591307]
The National Bio Resource Project for the Rat in Japan collects, preserves, and distributes rat strains. More than 250 inbred strains have been deposited thus far into the National Bio Resource Project for the Rat and are maintained as specific pathogen-free rats or cryopreserved embryos. We are now comprehensively characterizing deposited strains as part of the Rat Phenome Project to reevaluate their value as models of human diseases. Phenotypic data are being collected for 7 categories and 109 parameters: functional observational battery (neurobehavior), behavior studies, blood pressure, biochemical blood tests, hematology, urology, and anatomy. Furthermore, genotypes are being determined for 370 simple sequence-length polymorphism markers distributed through the whole rat genome. Here, we report these large-scale, high-throughput screening data that have already been collected for 54 rat strains. This comprehensive, original phenotypic data can be systematically viewed by "strain ranking" for each parameter. This allows investigators to explore the relationship between several rat strains, to identify new rat models, and to select the most suitable strains for specific experiments. The discovery of several potential models for human diseases, such as hypertension, hypotension, renal diseases, hyperlipemia, hematological disorders, and neurological disorders, illustrates the potential of many existing rat strains. All deposited strains and obtained data are freely available for any interested researcher worldwide at http://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr. |