The Transgenesis core facility is managed by Dr Younes Achouri.
Logistic support to research
Provide transgene technology tools to research teams of UCLouvain to promote scientific excellence in biomedical research.
Provide access to transgene technology at cost price.
Open the access of the platform to research teams of other universities of the French-speaking community of Belgium, and collaborators of UCLouvain teams.
Share expertise
Share expertise in designing and creating transgenic mouse lines.
Attractiveness and Training
Reinforce the attractiveness of UCLouvain for young scientists willing to develop new research activities.
Offer training opportunities to PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.
The platform comprises laboratory space, logistic space and housing in ventilated cages.
The equipment consists of:
A room dedicated to cell cultures is made available in the de Duve Institute, in the laboratory of F. Lemaigre and P. Jacquemin.
This room is equipped with microscopes, laminar flow hood and incubator.
CRISPR-Cas9 mouse model generation services
The Platform provides support for the design and generation of mouse models such as conditional knockout mice and targeted mutations, insertion of knock-in cassettes, using targeting vectors or single-stranded DNA donors. Projects and design are discussed with platform users. Our service includes:
Generation of transgenic mice by injection of DNA construct in fertilized oocytes
The platform also provides help in the design of the DNA constructs and shares available plasmids.
Homologous recombination
Platform users take charge of generating DNA constructs. Culture, electroporation and selection of ES cells is performed by platform users under supervision of Dr Y. Achouri. The platform takes charge of injecting the recombined ES cells in blastocysts and reimplanting the injected blastocysts into oviduct of pseudo-pregnant female mice.
Odelin G, Faucherre A, Marchese D, Pinard A, Jaouadi H, Le Scouarnec S; FranceGenRef Consortium; Chiarelli R, Achouri Y, Faure E, Herbane M, Théron A, Avierinos JF, Jopling C, Collod-Béroud G, Rezsohazy R, Zaffran S.
Nat Commun (2023) 14(1):1543.
Lin X, Swedlund B, Ton MN, Ghazanfar S, Guibentif C, Paulissen C, Baudelet E, Plaindoux E, Achouri Y, Calonne E, Dubois C, Mansfield W, Zaffran S, Marioni JC, Fuks F, Göttgens B, Lescroart F, Blanpain C.
Nat Cell Biol (2022) 24(7):1114-1128
Assi M, Achouri Y, Loriot A, Dauguet N, Dahou H, Baldan J, Libert M, Fain JS, Guerra C, Bouwens L, Barbacid M, Lemaigre FP, Jacquemin P.
Cancer Res (2021) 81(10):2679-2689.
Istaces N, Splittgerber M, Lima Silva V, Nguyen M, Thomas S, Le A, Achouri Y, Calonne E, Defrance M, Fuks F, Goriely S, Azouz A.
Nat Commun (2019) 10(1):3306