Nct1/Nct2^tm1Nbh

A loxP-flanked neomycin selection cassette replaced the entire coding sequence of the two gene loci. PicoRNAs (piRNA) from the gene loci were not detectable by real-time PCR on RNA from the testes of homozygous mice. Also, piRNAs up to 7 kb upstream (piR-135965) and 8 kb downstream of the deleted region (piR-111581) were markedly decreased in the testes of male homozygotes. Expression of the L1 retrotransposon, a target of some of these piRNAs, was increased in the testes of these mice. (J:139921)