Production of All-dystrophic Litters of Mice by Artificial Insemination.

Abstract

In mice having muscular dystrophy (geotype dydy), males are unable to breed and females may have 1, or at most 2, litters by normal males early in their reproductive life. Three all-dystrophic litters of mice were produced by artificial insemination of juvenile or young dystrophic males, following induced ovulation in the female. Fertility and litter size of inbred and hybrid dystrophic mice were compared to inbred and hybrid normal mice. Hybrid dystrophic mice were far superior to inbred dystrophic mice and provided a practical means to obtain all-dystrophic litters. The insemination procedure makes it possible to obtain known dystrophic tissue at prenatal and early postnatal stages for histological and biochemical analyses.