Sprague Dawley Rat

The preferred choice for generating timedpregnant females.

The most widely used outbred rat model for research, the Sprague Dawley is ideal for applications requiring accurate estimation of gestational age.
The excellent reproductive performance of the Sprague Dawley model makes it a preferred choice for generating timed-pregnant females. Taconics proven process for producing this model ensures timed-pregnant rats bearing litters within a 24-hour window of gestational age. Options Available:

This booklet presents abridged descriptions. For additional information on model origins and pricing as well as model datasheets and references, please see the Taconic website at www.taconic.com.
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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

The Sprague Dawley outbred model was developed by R. Dawley, Sprague-Dawley Company, Madison, Wisconsin, in 1925. NIH received stock in 1945 and Taconic later received stock from the NIH Animal Genetic Resource in 1970. Refreshed with NIH Genetic Resource stock in 1998, the rats are maintained by rotational breeding in a closed colony. Nomenclature: NTac:SD

Research Applications
Toxicology, safety & efficacy testing, reproduction and development, behavior, aging, teratology, oncology, nutrition, and pharmacology studies Study of maternal and fetal infection (Riggs) Study of the effects of pre-natal high-salt diet on offspring (Porter) Study of the effects of sex and hormonal status on restraint- stress-induced working memory impairment (Shansky) Study of bone-specific osteocalcin gene in mouse and rat (Rahman) Study of hippocampal excitability during the estrous cycle in rats (Scharfman)

Characteristics
Most widely used outbred rat in biomedical research Excellent reproductive performance, making it an ideal model for generating timed-pregnant females Docile nature Coat Color: Albino Coat color loci: Tyrc

Sprague Dawley One Year Growth

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

6 7

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58

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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

Sprague Dawley Physiological Data
Parameter Units Serum Chemistry AvgD.D. Glucose mg/dL Creatinine mg/dL BUN mg/dL Total Bilirubin mg/dL Total Protein g/dL Blood Counts Erythron x106/L Red Blood Cells Nucleated RBC x106/L Hemoglobin g/dL Hematocrit % MCV fL MCH pG MCHC % Platelets Platelets x103/L Leukogram x103/L White Blood Cells Neutrophil x103/L Bands x103/L Lymphocyte x103/L Monocytes x103/L Urinalysis mg/dL Glucose Blood pH 6.75 0.35 Protein mg/dL Specific Gravity Life Span Food Consumption Water Consumption Additional Data Available at taconic.com/SD SD Males 82.4 11.3 0.3 0.1 9.1 1.4 0.1 0.0 6.4 0.2 SD Females 93.2 10.3 0.3 0.1 13.6 3.0 0.1 0.0 6.7 0.2

Flexible Health Standard Options

Taconic offers the Sprague Dawley model at a variety of health profiles, enabling you to choose a profile that suits the needs of your specific research project and facility. Transportation methods for all models are designed to ensure the integrity and safety of your animals during shipment. Rats bred to the Restricted FloraTM (RF) health standard and Murine Pathogen FreeTM (MPF) health standard are shipped in our unique Taconic Transit CageTM. Taconic is the only commercial supplier of the Sprague Dawley model at the Germfree (GF) health standard, delivered in our Germ-Free Shippers. Regardless of the health standard selected, Taconic Sprague Dawley rats provide 95% or greater accuracy on timedpregnant gestation.

6.9 0.3 0 14.5 0.8 48.3 2.3 69.9 1.7 20.9 1.3 29.9 1.6 1358.0 123.8 9.4 3.2 0.9 0.5 0 8.3 2.9 0.3 0.3 Negative Negative 6.7 0.4 N/A 1.0195 0.0068

7.7 0.3 0 16.1 0.6 51.2 2.6 66.9 0.9 21.0 1.1 31.4 1.9 1262.2 278.4 6.0 1.5 0.4 0.3 0 5.5 1.4 0.1 0.1 Negative Negative N/A 1.0155 0.0079

24 - 36 Months 4-5g/100g Body Weight 8-11ml/100g Body Weight n=10

There are three health standard options available for Sprague Dawley: Murine Pathogen Free Restricted Flora Germfree

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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

The Role of Timed-Pregnant Sprague Dawley Rats in Biomedical Research

The ability to monitor embryonic development and accurately determine gestational age of lab animal embryos is vital in many areas of biomedical research. For this reason, embryos of timed-pregnant SpragueDawley rats are used in the study of embryonic development, teratology and reproductive toxicology, as well as experiments using fetal tissue that requires cell harvesting and culturing at specific embryonic ages. Critical investigations by R.J. Blandau and his colleagues more than 50 years ago established procedures for measuring and timing gestational development in rats with high accuracy. Monitoring gestational development requires a reliable determination of the time of conception. Since no scientific method exists to determine the exact time of conception, indirect indicators are used. Vaginal swabs can confirm male fertility and offer a quantitative indicator of the likelihood of fertilization, making the presence of sperm in the vagina of female rats in estrus a reliable indicator of conception.

Gestational age is measured from the time of conception, which marks the beginning of embryonic Day 1. At 24 hours after conception, as Day 2 begins, the embryo has cleaved or is about to cleave into the two-cell stage. At the beginning of Day 4, the embryo a morula that contains 12 to 16 cells begins to enter the uterus. Implantation usually begins on the evening of Day 5 as the embryo settles into the maternal uterine wall. Implantation occurs when the blastocyst, or germinal vesicle, becomes clasped by the endometrium; the blastocyst orients itself with the inner cell mass facing the underlying maternal tissue. Estrogen and other hormonal conditions in the uterus affect the rate of development at implantation. During Day 6, the blastocyst increases in size and elongates. Implantation sites are visually evident by Day 7. During Days 9 and 10, the beginning of somite formation takes place. Somites segments formed on either side of the embryos neural tube develop into external body forms as they transform into muscle mass connected to a spinal nerve. The number of somites increases at a known progression, which can be used to track development. The organogenesis stage begins at Day 5 and continues

The female rat accepts the male for mating only at the end of the 12-hour preliminary period of proestrus and during the 12 hours of estrus. Ovulation occurs about 10 hours after the onset of estrus. Sperm migrate from the uterus to the oviduct about 15 minutes after copulation; at one hour, sperm are found throughout the oviduct and at three hours, 90% of the ova are fertilized. Based on this data, using proper monitoring and controls, the onset of embryonic development can be estimated with considerable accuracy.

for 8 or 9 days. During this period rudimentary organs, or anlagen, appear. The anlagen undergo cellular growth, with development branching off or differentiating toward unique organs and an adult organ morphology achieved. This is the period of greatest susceptibility to carcinogens or teratogens, which cause fetal tumors, malformations or disruption of the normal development rate.

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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

Following organogenesis, the embryo enters the stage of maturation, the time when organs grow and become functionally complete. By Day 15 the embryos head is growing faster than the rump; the previously pearshaped body evolves into a cylindrical shape; the eyelids are formed and fused. The bones develop joint cavities over several days of maturing development. The joint cavities develop for the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee joints during Day 16, the carpal and tarsal joints on Day 17, and the digital joints of the legs during Day 19 or 20. By Day 22, blood-forming activity in the liver nearly ceases with the end of gestation. Since the gestation period is 21 to 23 days, Day 22 is the average date of birth. Another measure of gestational age is embryo crown-torump-length, for which standard rates of development are well documented. The crown-to-rump measurement is taken from the vertex to the rump, taking care to

avoid caliper pressure that would distort the natural curvature of the embryo. At Day 11, there are 4 to 13 somites and the average crown-to-rump length is 2.00 mm. By Day 16, there are 58 to 65 somites and the crown-to-rump length is about 13.5 mm. At Day 22 the average date of birth the crown-to-rump length ranges from 40.5 to 42.6 mm and the weight of the neonate is 5.9 to 6.4 grams. Many factors influence the rate of embryo development, including the light-dark cycle that affects the onset of ovulation, the initial position of the embryo in the genital tract, the hormonal variables of the mother, litter size, maternal diet and environmental conditions. During the complex processes of development, toxicological and environmental factors also can affect the rate of development. As a result, the actual rate of embryo development can vary from the nominal gestational age.

Fetal Crown-to-Rump Lengths

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Days In Gestation

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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

Production of Timed-Pregnant Sprague Dawley Rats at Taconic

Taconic breeding specialists use proven, highly effective procedures to produce timed-pregnant SpragueDawley rats. While gestational age cannot be determined with total precision, strict adherence to pre-defined mating procedures and close monitoring of female rats after they are co-housed with males can define with accuracy the 24-hour period during which mating and presumably conception occurs. At Taconic, the day of sperm cell detection in females is called the sperm-positive date and is considered Day 1 of gestation. After setup the prior day, animal care technicians take vaginal swabs of females cohoused with males between 7 and 10 a.m. daily. This procedure assumes that timed-pregnant females have mated and conception has occurred from 0 to 24 hours before the designated sperm-positive date. Presumably, the majority mate around the midpoint of the previous days dark cycle, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. When investigators order timed-pregnant rats at a specified developmental age for delivery on a specific date, Taconic technicians select rats based on the sperm-positive date. For instance, for an order for rats bearing embryos at Day 15 of gestational age for delivery on January 15, Taconic would select timed-pregnant females with a sperm-positive date of January 1. To avoid confusion over conflicting conventions for defining gestational age, Taconic advises investigators to specify the sperm-positive date when ordering timedpregnant Sprague Dawley rats.

Since Taconics method for selecting timed-pregnant females results in full-term pregnancies approximately 95% of the time, we do not supply extra rats with each order. However, spontaneous abortions and small litters of fewer than four pups do occur on occasion. When expending considerable time and resources to prepare for a study using timed-pregnant rats on a specific day and especially when using a small number of dams or fetuses we advise you to order extra timedpregnant rats.

Reproduction Parameters of Sprague Dawley Rats

Male Rats Age at pairing (mating): 8-10 weeks Weight at pairing: 250-300 grams Period of Economic Reproductive Ability: 6-9 months Female Rats Age at pairing (mating): 8-10 weeks Weight at pairing: 180-225 grams Period of Economic Reproductive Ability: 6-9 months Length of estrous cycle: 4-5 days Duration of estrous: 10-20 hours Time of ovulation: 8-11 hours after onset of estrous Gestation Time of copulation: Near midpoint of previou dark cycle Time sperm is detected in vagina: Day 1 Time of implantation: Late Day 5 Length of gestation: 21-23 days

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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

Contact Us

Consult with our specialists to discuss your Sprague Dawley needs: Taconic (US): 1-888-822-6642 or custserv@taconic.com Taconic (Europe): +45 70 23 04 05 or taconiceurope@taconic.com

References
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Sprague Dawley Rat Model

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