Janet F. Baer

Reproduction of the owl monkey (Aotus spp.) in captivity

Abstract: The reproduction performance of captive owl monkeys, a breed used extensively in biomedical research, was observed at the Battelle Primate Facility (BPF). The colony grew through captive breeding, imports from the Peruvian Primatological Project, and others to a peak size of 730. It included seven karyotypes of Aotus sp. Results showed that owl monkeys can breed successfully in a laboratory in numbers sufficient to sustain modest research programs. Reproductive success increases when pairs are compatible, of the same karyotype, and stabilized; however, mated pairs of different karyotype are also productive. Under conditions of controlled lighting and heating, owl monkeys at BPF showed no birth peak nor birth season.

A Modified Technique for Partial Pneumonectomy in the Mouse

ABSTRACT Background: Partial pneumonectomy (PNX) in mice results in compensatory growth in the remaining lung and is a useful model for lung repair. However, common pitfalls to the technique present a challenge for researchers. A complete description of murine PNX is thus provided, with a modification that, in our hands, enhanced animal survival. Materials and Methods: 10 ± 2 weeks old mice were anesthetized using 5% inhalational isoflurane via tracheotomy. Mechanical ventilation was provided using a Harvard Model 687 ventilator. In a procedure optimized to be performed in ≤20 min, left lateral thoracotomy was used to access to the left lung, which was grasped with a blunt forceps just distal to the hilum and clipped using a single 5-mm neuro clip. The left lung was resected, leaving a small rim of lung tissue immediately adjacent to the clip. The thoracotomy was closed, and while anesthesia was titrated, sterile saline was injected subcutaneously to replace insensible fluid losses. Upon return of spontaneous breaths, the trachea was decannulated, and the tracheotomy was closed. Results: Even when performed by a single operator, this modified technique produced a survival rate of >85% during the procedure and >90% up to seven days postoperatively in wild-type C57BL/6J mice. Conclusions: Minimizing the time required to perform left lobe pneumonectomy is critical for animal survival. Using a 5-mm neuro clip, rather than silk suture, to isolate the lobe streamlines the procedure, helps reduce cardiac arrythmia, and results in significantly increased rates of intraoperative and immediate postoperative survival.

Japanese Quail as a Laboratory Animal Model

Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) are used as a laboratory animal model for multiple areas of scientific inquiry including, but not limited to, developmental biology, endocrinology, aging, immunology, behavior studies, and a variety of human genetic disorders. The quail embryo is an amniote with early developmental patterns remarkably similar to those of humans; as such they present significant experimental advantages for the study of amniotes, e.g., rapid reproductive maturation, modest size of breeding adults, ease of breeding in laboratory animal facilities, resilience to research manipulations, availability of transgenic lines, a fully sequenced genome, and tools for molecular manipulations.