B6.FVB-Tg(Pomc-cre)1Lowl/J

Tg(Pomc-cre)1Lowl

transgene insertion 1

Recombinase-expressing

Tg(Pomc-cre)1Lowl

transgene insertion 1

UN

Cre, Cre recombinase, bacteriophage P1

4362028

Cre is expressed in the central nervous system, primarily the hippocampus. It is strongest and most restricted to the granule cells of the dentate gyrus subregion, but weaker, scattered expression can also be detected in other regions including the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and the habenular nucleus.

FVB

A Pomc (pro-opiomelanocortin-alpha) (bacterial artificial chromosome; RPCI22-372J15) was used to generate mice expressing Cre under the control of the Pomc promoter. The Cre recombinase cDNA was inserted via homologous recombination into the first ATG transcription start site, ablating the first 30bp of the POMC coding sequence. This transgenic vector was introduced to FVB-derived embryos.

C57BL/6J C57BL/6NJ

Although homozygotes are viable and fertile, when maintaining a live colony it is recommended that hemizygotes be bred to C57BL/6 (wildtype) or non-carrier animals. In POMC-cre and loxP-flanked (floxed) strain intercrosses, using male cre animals is recommended. According to the donating investigator, passing the cre through the female germline can result in a high percentage of offspring that carry the recombined allele in all of their tissues. Such "leaky" Cre expression is reported in male POMC-cre mice also, but at a lower frequency (< 5%). The frequency of "leaky" expression in male POMC-cre mice, however, increases with the animal's age.

Noncarrier x Hemizygote