Drd3^tm1Dac

A neomycin selection cassette and sequence encoding 30 non-endogenous residues was inserted into exon 2. RT-PCR analysis on RNA derived from brain of homozygous mice demonstrated the absence of normal transcript. Mutant transcript was detected in both heterozygous and homozygous mutant mice. Binding assays on brain sections derived from homozygous mice confirmed that no functional protein was expressed. Notably, heterozygotes displayed a nearly complete loss of D3-specific binding, to a greater extent than expected for a mutation affecting expression of one allele of the Drd3 gene, raising the possibility that this mutation acts in a dominant-negative fashion. (J:32128)