An frt flanked neo cassette with a 5' loxP site was inserted upstream of exon 9 and an additional loxP site was inserted downtream of exon 10. Germ line, flp mediated recombination was used to remove the neo cassette leaving exons 9 and 10 floxed. This allele is hypomorphic as confirmed by phenotypic observations and western blot analysis on E16.5 brain extracts and newborn keratinocytes. (J:140317)