ENU-based gene-driven mutagenesis in the mouse: a next-generation gene-targeting system

As a new mouse mutant resource, the RIKEN ENU-based gene-driven mutagenesis system in the mouse has been available to the research community since 2002. By using random base-substitution mutagenesis with ENU, a new reverse genetics infrastructure has been developed as a next-generation gene-targeting system. The construction of a large-scale mutant mouse library and high-throughput mutation discovery systems were the keys making it practically feasible. The RIKEN mutant mouse library consists of ~ 10,000 G1 mice, within which 100-150 mutant strains have been established based on users' requests every year. Use of the system is very simple: users 1) download an application form from our web site and send to us, and 2) design the PCR primers for the target gene. Then, we screen the RIKEN mutant mouse library and report all the detected mutations to the user. From among the allelic series of discovered mutations, users decide which mutant strain(s) to analyze and request the live mutant strain for functional studies of the target gene. Users have been reporting various functional mutations in the RIKEN mutant mouse library: e.g., missense, knockout-type and even functional non-coding mutations. In the near future, next-generation re-sequencing systems should drastically enhance the utility of the ENU-based gene-driven mutagenesis not only for the mouse but also for other species.