Table 4.1 Reproductive characteristics of some important inbred strains
Strain   Productive
matings		   Weeks at
first mating		   Litter size   Number
of litters		   Relative
fecundity		   Response to
superovulation
129/SvJa  75%  7.9  5.9  4.1  18.1  High 
A/J  65%  7.6  6.3  2.9  11.9  Low
AKR/J  84%  6.6  6.1  2.2  11.3  -
BALB/cJ  47%  8.0  5.2  3.8    9.3  Low
C3H/HeJ  86%  6.7  5.7  2.9  14.2  Low 
C3H/HeOuJ  99%  5.9  6.4  3.7  23.4  -
C56BL/6J  84%  6.8  7.0  4.0  23.5  High 
C57 BL/10SnJ  67%  7.7  6.3  2.8  11.8  -
CBA/CaJ  96%  6.4  6.9  2.7  17.9  High 
DBA/2J  75%  7.4  5.4  3.9  15.8  Low
FVB/N  >90%  -  9.5  4.8  41.0  Moderate  
SJL/J  72%  7.4  6.0  3.1  13.4  High
Matings are considered "productive" if any offspring at all are born. "Weeks at first mating" refers to the age at which the first "productive" mating occurred; it is estimated by subtracting 3 weeks from the age of the parents at the first birth. "Relative fecundity" is obtained as the following product: (productive mating frequency) X (litter size) X (number of litters); the value obtained is a measure of the overall fecundity of the strain. The "response to superovulation" is based on information extracted from Manipulating the Mouse Embryo: A Laboratory Manual (Hogan et al., 1994); the significance of this parameter is discussed in Section 6.2. Data for all strains other than FVB/N are extracted from the Handbook of Genetically Standardized JAX Mice (Green and Witham, 1991). Data for the FVB/N strain are extracted from a publication by Taketo and colleagues (1991).

aPlease see Revised nomenclature for strain 129 mice at MGI.