Non-Invasive Genotyping

Traditional genotyping requires the use of DNA isolated from harvesting fresh tissue samples from laboratory animals-a procedure known to cause pain and stress to the animal.   For most research institutions, it is an ethical and legal obligation to reduce or eliminate pain and distress in research animals.  First published in 1959, Russel and Burch’s The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique describes the 3Rs of a new applied science with the intent to improve the treatment of laboratory animals.  These terms: replacement, reduction and refinement are the key tenets to guide minimizing animal pain and distress in biomedical research.

Refinement, as defined in the Principles is concerned not only with minimizing distress during experiments, but with maximizing comfort and wellbeing of the animals in husbandry. Eliminating the need for painful tissue excision for the purposes of genotyping is one way to meet this ethical obligation when working with research animals.  To this end, we have expanded our genotyping platform to include the ability to screen DNAs isolated from client submitted buccal swabs, a non-invasive procedure that can allow for re-sampling of mice in the absence of painful tissue excision.