AGUS.

Inbr.F>35.

Colour: Albino.

Genet: a, c, H.

Origin: Germ-free strain developed by Gustafsson from stock (Sprague-Dawley?) by hysterectomy derivation in 1948 at F10. To Laboratory Animals Centre, Carshalton 1968 at F26.

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Characteristics

Susceptible to experimental allergic encephalitis (Hughes and Stedronska 1973). Relatively resistant to infection by Entamoeba histolytica (Neal and Harris 1975). Good breeding performance, although sensitive to environmental influences. About 1-4% tailless young, which are infertile with major skeletal and genital defects (Lovell and Sparrow 1984). Long gestation period (3/8) (Peters 1986). Absence of a microflora in germfree AGUS rats prolongs the cell cycle time and reduces proliferative activity in the colonic crypts (Alam et al 1994).

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Alam M., Midtvedt T., and Uribe A. (1994) Differential cell-kinetics in the ileum and colon of germ-free rats. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 29, 445-451.

Hughes R. A. C. and Stedronska J. (1973) The susceptibility of rat strains to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Immunol. 24, 879-884.

Lovell D. P. and Sparrow S. (1984) Congenital taillessness in AGUS inbred rats. Lab. Anim. 18, 15-19.

Neal R. A. and Harris W. G. (1975) Attempts to infect inbred strains of rats and mice with Entamoeba histolytica. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 69, 429-430.

Peters A. (1986) Length of gestation period in eight inbred strains and three outbred stocks of rats. Animal Technology 37, 109-112.

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INBRED STRAINS OF RATS
Updated 9 Apr. 1998
Michael FW Festing
MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building,
University of Leicester, UK