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(113) REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF BIO CARDIOMYOPATHIC AND CONTROL HAMSTERS. VanDongen, Case1, Terpstra, Anton2, Bhagavan, Hemmi1, 1 Bio Breeders Inc., Watertown, MA2 Utrecht University, TD Utrecht, Netherlands ABSTRACT- While the BIO cardiomyopathic hamsters and their corresponding controls are being used extensively in biomedical research, there is very little information on their reproductive performance. In this report, we present quantitative baseline data on two widely used myopathic strains of hamsters, namely the BIO 14.6 and BIO TO-2, as compared with that from a non-myopathic strain, the BIO F1B. Standard breeding conditions involved the use of experienced males and breeder females, virgins to fourth parity, in climate-controlled animal rooms with 12 hr light-dark cycle. Reproductive performance was determined by the following criteria: percent mated, percent fertile, litter size at birth, litter size at weaning, sex ratio at birth, and percent pup mortality from birth to weaning. The myopathic hamsters displayed significantly lower reproductive performance based on most of the above parameters as compared with the control hamsters. Among the other factors affecting performance is parity that can influence litter size at birth and also at weaning in both strains of hamsters. Additional work is needed to explore the basic mechanisms underlying the differences in reproductive performance in the two BIO hamster strains. KEY WORDS: mutant, reproductive performance, hamster, myopathy |
