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The mouse lemur platform offers the following services and equipments :

Services

  • Breeding and maintenance of mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) under controlled captive conditions.
  • Production of animals of high genetic diversity, of defined age and gender. Continuous follow up of the animals from birth to death and integration of the biological measures in an ACCESS data base.
  • Characterisation of biological rhythms (locomotor activity, body temperature, sleep-wake cycle) by wireless continuous recording.
  • Metabolic exploration by indirect calorimetry, glycemia and cetonemia measures, oral glucose tolerance test, insulin sensitivity. Measurements of blood and urine metabolites (ELISA kits): cholesterol, triglycerides, testosterone, melatonin, cortisol, etc
  • Set up for neuro-functional exploration (EEG methodology).
  • Expertise in nutritional challenge protocols (calorie restriction, micronutriment supplementation such as polyphenols, omega-3).
  • Behavioural phenotyping by infra-red camera recording and motor and behavioural tests for assessment of anxiety, mnesic performances (spatial, working and associative memories), motor coordination, physical strength, moving speed, jump and endurance).
  • Set-up for chemical and gaz anesthesia for surgery with continuous cardiac and respiratory monitoring (telemetric device implantation, biopsies).
  • Expertise in protocols of pharmacological substances, of nutritional challenges and behaviour.
  • Realisation of experimental protocols in controlled conditions of ambient temperature and photoperiodic cycles in ventilated climatic chambers.

Equipments

  • Set-up for telemetry recording of locomotor activity and body temperature;
  • Set-up for telemetry recording of cerebral electric activity and sleep/wake cycle by electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG);
  • Set-up for indirect calorimetry for real time continuous recording of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production in metabolic cages;
  • Set-up for enzymoimmunologic assays (ELISA);
  • Set-up for immunohistochemistry (fluorescent optic microscopy).
  • Set-up for behavioural and motor performance assessment using videotracking.
  • Set-up for gas anaesthesia.
  • Set-up for night behavioural recording (infra-red cameras).
  • Set-up for molecular biology (DNA/RNA extraction, PCR).