Sydney

Developmental biologists in Asia–Pacific countries have come up with an intriguing incentive to boost research in the region — giving away transgenic mice for free.

The service is part of a research network launched in Sydney last week at a meeting of the International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB), which aims to encourage collaboration between labs in the region. To kick things off, the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, Japan, will make transgenic mice to order for scientists in the region, free of charge.

Studies using transgenic mice can reveal the functions of genes, particularly during embryonic development. But the mice are expensive to create, so providing them for free should help researchers in developing countries in the region, says Shinichi Aizawa of the CDB, who heads the service.

“The service will be very useful, especially for those scientists who don't have their own facilities to generate knockout mice,” agrees Kathy Cheah, a developmental biologist at the University of Hong Kong.

But there are strings attached. The CDB will own the mice, and requires co-authorship on the first publication generated from the use of each mouse. Ownership will be retained to ensure that the mice produced are available to all scientists, says Aizawa. He adds that if the mice are to be used commercially, an agreement will need to be negotiated between the various parties involved.

The mice will be the first step in bolstering regional ties, says Masatoshi Takeichi, director of the CDB and newly elected president of the ISDB. “Interactions between countries in the region are very weak, and yet geographically we are so close,” he says.

The research network, called the Asia–Pacific Developmental Biology Network, includes Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, but in the future could extend as far as Iran and Hawaii. It is a grass-roots initiative supported by, but independent of, the ISDB. “The aim is for members to share each other's laboratories with no barriers,” says K. VijayRaghavan, director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India.

Participants will share ideas and information through the Internet, and host institutes will help cover travel and research costs for students and researchers. Members will also take advantage of each other's specialist facilities, including the CDB's transgenic mouse production scheme, India's liver-cell imaging technology and Singapore's zebrafish expertise. “The goal is to create a vibrant intellectual environment in the region,” says VijayRaghavan.

The research network was lauded by delegates in Sydney. “Researchers in Asia have lots of links with labs in the West, but not so many within the region. We hope the network will change that,” says Cheah.

The CDB will start its mouse service this month with collaborators in India. Researchers should receive the mice within a year of sending the DNA constructs or sequence data needed to make the animals.