Hemizygous transgenic Tg(Neurog3-cre/Esr1*)1Dam/J mice (also known as Ngn3/CreERTM) were developed in the laboratory of Dr. Douglas A. Melton at Harvard University. The mice contain a fusion protein of Cre recombinase and mutant mouse estrogen receptor ligand binding domain, under the control of the mouse neurogenin3 (Neurog3) promoter. The fusion protein only enters nuclear compartment upon tamoxifen exposure. When crossed with a strain harboring loxP sites flanked gene of interest, the offspring can be used to generate tamoxifen-inducible knockout mutant in Neurog3 expression cells such as pancreatic islet cells and undifferentiated spermatogonia. The hemizygous mice of this strain are viable, fertile, normal in size and do not display any gross abnormalities.

The mouse strain can be used for gene function study in pancreatic development and for lineage mapping of Neurog3 expressing cells.

The detailed description of the mouse strain can be found here.

The mouse strain is available for licensing from Harvard University and will be provided by The Jackson Laboratory.