Abstract
BACKGROUND: With the aim of establishing the most comprehensive database of laboratory animal strains, the "laboratory animal strain resources database" (LasDB) was constructed as a searchable online database of all laboratory animal strains, stocks and mutant embryonic stem-cell lines available worldwide, including inbred, outbred, mutant and genetically engineered strains. METHODS: MySQL database software was used to construct the LasDB, offering an easy-to-use interface. RESULTS: To date, LasDB has a collection covering data for 21 596 mouse strains, 2062 rat strains, 13 monkey strains, 2 hamster strains, 5 dog strains, 5 rabbit strains and more than 50 other laboratory animal strains. LasDB will be continually improved with regular updates of new laboratory animal strains from all over the world. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first database that attempts to systematically integrate all available laboratory animal strain data with the aim of supporting open usage and full resource sharing.