Proper micro-environment alleviates mortality in laboratory mouse breeding induced by litter overlap and older dams

Autor: Gabriela M. Morello, Sara Capas-Peneda, Sophie Brajon, Sofia Lamas, Igor M. Lopes, Colin Gilbert, I. Anna S. Olsson
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Communications Biology, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2399-3642
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06654-z
Popis: Abstract The ongoing worldwide effort to reduce animal numbers in research often omits the issue of pre-weaning mortality in mouse breeding. A conservative estimate of 20% mortality would mean approximately 1.1 M mice die annually in the EU before scientific use. We hypothesize that pre-weaning mortality in laboratory mouse breeding is associated with cage social and macro/micro-environment conditions. Here we count pups from 509 C57BL/6J litters daily for accurate detection of mortality, and monitor cage micro-environment for 172 C57BL/6J litters. Probability of pups to die increases with the increase in dam age, number and age of older pups in the cage (of overlapped/cohabitating litters), and in small (11 pups) focal litters. Higher temperatures (>23.6 °C) and nest scores (>3.75) compensate for some of the socially-associated risks for pup death. These findings can be implemented in strategies for reducing pre-weaning mouse mortality, a more welfare-friendly and sustainable approach for science.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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