animal research project printable

Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research Project

This free animal research project will provide you with a writing unit of study that will help you build excitement about writing informational text in your classroom.

You can download this free animal research project to help your writers develop their research and writing skills.

This project will be a great fit for your first, second or third grade writing workshop.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Why should I introduce my students to research through animal study?

Animal research can be a great topic for writing informational text because students tend to be curious about animals.

Nothing seems to spark interest in most kids like learning about animals in our world. Turn their enthusiasm into an engaging animal research writing project.

They can take the time to learn about different habitats and diets.

You can also encourage students to expand their vocabulary by having them create a glossary to accompany their writing.

About this animal research project

Within this post you will find over 30 pages of anchor charts, mini-lesson ideas, writing planners and graphic organizers.

The unit will help guide your students through the complete process. In the end, you will be helping to teach your students how to write their own pieces of informational text.

The intended end product for students is an animal booklet that they can staple together to share with others.

Students who are ready for more advanced work, can create a larger project with less direction.

A description of the mini-lessons

Lesson 1: introduction.

• Begin the unit by having the students brainstorm a list of animals that they might see everyday.
• Then, have them brainstorm a list of animals they see when they visit the zoo or walk in the forest. You can do this on the blank anchor chart provided or on cart paper.
• Another option is to place students in groups. They could work to create a list together.  
• You might assign each group a continent and have them find animals that live there.
• Pull the class together and have each group share what animals they found that live on their continent.

Lesson 2: Noticings

• Next you might want to get your students familiar with common characteristics about informational texts that teach about animals.
• Have them work in pairs or small groups to go through some books and record their “noticings” about the writing.
• Then come together in a community circle to discuss those noticings and create a class anchor chart.

Lesson 3: Opinion vs. Facts

• Before getting truly into this unit, you might need to conduct a lesson on opinions vs. facts.
• After a brief discussion you can use the giraffe paragraph provided in our resources to give your students some practice differentiating between the two. This paragraph contains both opinions and facts.
• With your class read through the paragraph and record facts and opinions on the T-chart.
• Discuss both sides and how they are different from each other.
• A black & white copy of this giraffe paragraph has also been provided.  You can have them work in pairs or groups to distinguish between the facts and opinions.
• If you need more resources for your students surrounding fact & opinion check out our   Fact & Opinion Sort .

Lesson 4: Choosing a Topic for the Animal Research Project

• We want to help students to narrow their topic choices by giving them some guidance.
• Gather students and begin a discussion about choosing an animal research topic.
• For this lesson we have provided two pages where students can individually brainstorm the animals they are interested in.
• You might have students work in groups or independently to make their choice. Conference with students as needed to help.
• Don’t shy away from letting more than one student research about the same animal.  This can be a great way to promote group work. It might also help out with some of your literacy center choices throughout this unit.

Lesson 5: Good Places to Find Information about an Animal

• At this age we want students to begin to understand that all they read online about animals isn’t always true. Sometimes writing might sound true without being filled with facts.
• Show students two possible places to find information online about their animal. One should be a trusted site with reliable and accurate information. Another should be a site that perhaps a child has created.  (There are many that you can find if you search.)
• Pose these questions: Is everything on the internet true? Why?  How can you tell? Why is it important for your research writing to contain accurate information?

Lesson 6: Taking Notes

• Sometimes giving students resources and a blank sheet of notebook paper can be too overwhelming for them. Some students will copy word for word. Others might feel overwhelmed.  We need to guide them to read and pull out facts & relevant information to use later in their writing.
• For this lesson we have provided four templates for note-taking that you might choose to use for your students.
• You might need to provide different organizers to students depending on their needs.
• You will want to model the organizers your students are use. Show them how to take notes as they read.
• After initial teaching, you may find that you need to pull small groups for extra practice. Others might benefit from a conference as you take a look at the notes they are taking.

Lesson 7: Word Choice in Research Writing

• To help students think about making their writing more interesting, have them brainstorm words about their animal.
• Together brainstorm words that would be appropriate for animals. They might add words about what they look like, their movement, their habitats, their life cycles, their diets, etc. You can create a class anchor chart on the page provided.  You might even think about using the real life picture of the wolf in the download. This can get the students to begin thinking of more interesting words for animals (fierce, mighty, strong, etc).
• Then, pass out the individual brainstorm pages. Students can use the anchor chart as a guide to begin their own word choice pages about their animal. This might be a good partner activity as well.

Lesson 8: Writing Sketch for the Animal Research Project

• Next, you can model the writing sketch planner for your class.
• One idea to help your students narrow down all of the information they have learned about their animals is to give them a specific number of animals facts that they can focus on.
• Each of these facts can serve as the actual text that they will put on each page of their animal research book. Or the facts could serve as a focus for each paragraph in their writing.
• You might find that this would be a good mini-lesson to do with smaller groups of children.

Lesson 9: Creating a Table of Contents

• Another idea that can be a writing planner AND a page in their animal research book is the table of contents. Pull out one of the Table of Contents pages from the resources provided and model how to fill in the blanks on each page.
• This page will then serve as their Table of Contents (with a focus discussion on what that is and the purpose it serves) and also their writing planner so they know what they will put in the pages of their booklet.

Lesson 10: Creating a Glossary

• There are two pages provided in the resources that might help your students to learn to pull out topic specific words to put into a glossary for the end of their animal research book.
• Be sure to model how you would like for your students to use these organizers (keeping in mind that you may need to copy more than one page if there are more words than the page provides for).
• If your students need a refresher on ABC order check out these links for some added practice/review: ABC Order Task Cards & Fry Word ABC Order Task Cards

Lesson 11: Writing Your Animal Research

• You will decide on the best method for your students to showcase their published animal research.
• You may want your students to use their own creativity in the texts that they write and share. If you’d like a first experience to provide a bit more guidance, we have provided two different sets of pages for booklets.
• One is more guided and the other has less structure and smaller lines for more writing.  15 pages are provided so that you or students can pick what fits their needs.
• This “lesson” may actually become a series of lessons if you choose to model how each page can be used.  (We have also included a page with simple writing lines in case students need less guidance than the booklet pages provided.)

Lesson 12: Labeling Pictures

• One final lesson idea that pairs well with writing informational text is to teach your students how to label pictures.
• Since most nonfiction writing has real photographs, students can find some pictures online to print out and label for their booklet.  Hand-drawn pictures are also great if you would rather encourage some or all of your students in that direction.
• Whatever you choose, show your class how to effectively label a picture so that it teaches the reader more.  You can use the picture of the polar bear provided to model how to add words or even short facts as labels.  (For example if the simple label “fur” wouldn’t add additional information to the book, you might teach them to label it with a short fact such as “dense fur protects the animal’s skin from the weather”.
• To make this idea more user friendly, you might want them to use the page of blank white boxes provided to write their labels for their pictures.  Then all they need to do is cut them out and glue them to a printed picture.

Lesson 13: Writing Celebration

As always, find a way to celebrate your students’ writing.  

Invite guests (younger students or special adults) to read the books with your young authors. You might simply want to pair or group them, or some students might choose to present their book to everyone.  

Provide some light snacks if possible to give it a party atmosphere and pass out the author certificates to each child for his/her hard work.

You can download this free writing unit of study here:

Writing Download

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine E.

Saturday 8th of May 2021

Thank you so much for this resource and the many pages that I can use in my homeschooling. It is exactly what I've been looking for to help me get my kids to write about our animal units! You are doing a great job, keep up the amazing work you do. I appreciate the hard work you put into putting these together.

Planning a Dynamic Writing Workshop - The Curriculum Corner 123

Saturday 14th of July 2018

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Friday 3rd of March 2017

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• ELEMENTARY TEACHING , INTEGRATED CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

Animal Research Project for Kids at the Elementary Level in 2024

Whether you are doing a simple animal study or a fully integrated science, reading, and writing unit, this animal research project for kids includes everything you need. From the graphic organizer worksheets and guided note templates to the writing stationary, printable activities, projects, and rubrics.

Thousands of teachers have used this 5-star resource to have students complete self-guided animal research projects to learn about any animal they choose. The best part is, the resource can be used over and over again all year long by just picking a new animal! Learn all about this animal research project for kids at the elementary level below!

What is the Animal Research Project?

The animal research project is a resource that is packed with printable and digital activities and projects to choose from. It is perfect for elementary teachers doing a simple animal study or a month-long, fully integrated unit. It’s open-ended nature allows it to be used over and over again throughout the school year. In addition, it includes tons of differentiated materials so you can continue to use it even if you change grade levels. Learn about what’s included in it below!

What is Included in the Animal Research Project

The following resources are included in the animal research project :

Teacher’s Guide

The teacher’s guide includes tips and instructions to support you with your lesson planning and delivery.

Parent Letter

The parent communication letter promotes family involvement.

Graphic Organizers

There are graphic organizers for brainstorming a topic, activating schema, taking notes, and drafting writing.

Research Report

There are research report publishing printables including a cover, writing templates, and resource pages.

There is a grading rubric so expectations are clear for students and grading is quick and easy for you.

Research Activities

The research activities include a KWL chart, can have are chart, compare and contrast venn diagram, habitat map, vocabulary pages, illustration page, and life cycle charts.

Animal Flip Book Project

There are animal flip book project printables to give an additional choice of how students can demonstrate their understanding.

Animal Flap Book Project

There is an animal flap book project printables that offers students yet another way to demonstrate their learning.

Animal Research Poster

The animal research poster serves as an additional way to demonstrate student understanding.

Poetry Activities

The resource includes poetry activities to offer students an alternative way to demonstrate their learning.

Digital Versions

There is a digital version of the resource so your students can access this resource in school or at home.

Why Teachers love the Animal Research Project

Teachers love this animal research project because of the following reasons:

• This resource guides students through the research and writing process, so they can confidently work their way through this project.
• It is a great value because it can be used over and over again throughout the school year because the pages can be used to learn about any animal.
• It offers several ways students can demonstrate their learning.
• It includes a ton of resources, so you can pick and choose which ones work best for you and your students.
• It is printable and digital so it can be used for in-class and at-home learning.

This animal research packet is great because it can be used over and over again using absolutely any animal at all. The printables in this packet are ideal to use with your entire class in school, as an at-home learning extension project or as a purposeful, open-ended, independent choice for your students who often finish early and need an enrichment activity that is so much more than “busy work.”

The Research Report Process

This animal research project packet was designed in a manner that allows you to use all of the components when studying any animal. Because the printables can be used over and over, I will often work through the entire researching and writing process with the whole class focusing on one animal together, This allows me to model the procedure and provide them with support as they “get their feet wet” as researchers. Afterwards I then have them work through the process with an animal of choice. You may find it helpful to have them select from a specific category (i.e. ocean animals, rainforest animals, etc) as this will help to streamline the resources you’ll need to obtain.

Step 1: Brainstorm a list of animals to research. Select one animal.

During this stage you may want to provide the students with a collection of books and magazines to explore and help them narrow down their choice.

Step 2: Set a purpose and activate schema.

Students share why they selected the animal and tell what they already know about it. Next, they generate a list of things they are wondering about the animal. This will help to guide their research.

Step 3: Send home the family letter.

To save you time, involve families, and communicate what is happening in the classroom, you may want to send home a copy of the family letter. It’s so helpful when they send in additional research materials for the students.

Step 4: Research and take notes.

The two-column notes template is a research-based tool that helps the kids organize their notes. I added bulleted prompts to guide the students in finding specific information within each category. This method has proven to be highly effective with all students, but is especially useful with writers who need extra support.

I have included two versions of the organizers (with and without lines). I print a copy of the organizer for each student. I also copy the lined paper back to back so it is available to students who need more space.

Step 5: Write a draft.

Using the information gathered through the research process, the students next compose drafts. The draft papers were designed to guide the students through their writing by providing prompts in the form of questions. Answering these questions in complete sentences will result in strong paragraphs. It may be helpful to give them only one page at a time instead of a packet as it make the task more manageable.

Step 6: Edit the draft.

Editing can be done in many ways, but it is most effective when a qualified editor sits 1:1 with a student to provides effective feedback to them while editing.

Step 7: Publish.

Print several copies of the publishing pages. I like to have all my students start with the page that has a large space for an illustration, but then let them pick the pages they want to use in the order they prefer after that. I have them complete all the writing first and then add the illustrations.

Finally, have the children design a cover for the report. Add that to the front and add the resources citation page to the back. Use the criteria for success scoring rubric to assign a grade. The rubric was designed using a 20 point total so you can simply multiply their score by 5 to obtain a percentage grade. The end result is a beautiful product that showcases their new learning as well as documents their reading and writing skills.

In closing, we hope you found this animal research project for kids helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

• How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students
• 15 Animals in Winter Picture Books for Elementary Teachers
• How to Teach Informative Writing at the Elementary Level

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Animal Report | Animal Research Project Worksheets Habitats and Adaptations

Subject: Biology

Age range: Age not applicable

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

13 September 2024

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Learn more about zoo animals with the aid of this animal report template, which is ideal for kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. Children will discover fascinating facts about animals: habitats, their place in the wild, what they eat, where they live, who their predators are, and much more as they conduct research and complete the My Animal Report! For a biology or zoology curriculum, this is an excellent addition. Complete one report, or several reports, for each category of animal. You can play and learn by just printing the PDF file containing the animal report template!

With the aid of these entertaining Animal Report templates, children can learn about a variety of animals, including their habitat, where they live, classification, and more. Teachers, homeschoolers, and parents will find these animal report forms extremely useful to utilize with any program. They work well as a summer learning aid to prevent summertime loss, in conjunction with an animal study or a field trip to the zoo. Use these worksheets for animal reports with kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Each of the following classifications has an animal report worksheet: bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, insect, general, mollusks, and crustaceans . These worksheets are available in both simple lines and ruled lines.

These no prep first-grade, kindergarten, and pre-kindergarten worksheets on animals are very beneficial. For younger students, they have handwriting lines to help with clarity. They will consist of items like:

• Description of the Animal Classification
• What do they eat
• How big does it get
• Where does it live (habitat & location on a map)
• Interesting Facts
• Place for student to draw or place a picture

More information about the animals can be found in the animal report templates for grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. They consist of:

• Description of each animal classification
• Babies, what are they called
• What is its habitat & where does it live
• Who are it’s predators
• Draw or place a picture

The Animal Report Form Printable is based on my concept that students should write reports on each animal class. One of the three cover options (two in black and white and one in color for your student to color) can then be added. In addition to learning about a wide range of animals, children would also gain an understanding of the various categories into which animals are classified.

There are individual Animal Report Forms with descriptions for the following Animal Classifications:

• Amphibian Class
• Reptile Class
• Mammal Class
• Insect Class
• Crustacean Class
• Mollusks Class

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Animal Research Report (Digital Templates)

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Do you have your students complete an Animal Research Project? This Digital Resource will provide your students 15 templates to help them organize their research into a creative Google Slides Presentation.

Resource Includes:

✦ Instructional Video for Students on the Basics of Google Slides

✦ 15 Editable Slide Templates in Google Slides

✦ Planning Pages for Teacher and Students

✦ Examples of Completed Slides

✦ Grading Rubrics (Two Versions)

✦ Step by Step Directions for Getting Assignment Set-Up in Google Classroom

Check out the preview to see a closer look at everything that is included in this resource. When you download the PDF file, you will have access to a clickable link to add the resource to your Google Drive.

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Animal Research for Kids with Zoey and Sassafras (Free Printable)

Animal Research for Kids with Zoey and Sassafras

We at Natural Beach Living LOVE everything that has to do with animals and animal habitats . In fact, my kids would have one of every animal if they could. We also love to read and learn new things every day. Recently we received Zoey and Sassafras and fell in love with the series. I think every child will enjoy this spunky little girl and her scientific adventures. Download the free printable below so your kids can enjoy a little animal research of their own.

Animal Research Printable for Kids

If your child is anything like Zoey , they’ll be learning about new creatures, asking questions, and figuring out why animals do and need certain things.

Animal Activities 

In the Zoey and Sassafras series , Zoey discovers she can see Magical animals. She also finds out that she and her mom are the only ones that can help them, but she has to learn about them first. Whether you go searching for animals, they visit you at home, or you find them in a book , learning about animals can be so rewarding.

Animal Information for Students

You might want to click over here and grab the free printable for Body Coverings . It will be a great addition to any animal study, or to add to your Zoey and Sassafras fun.

Subscribe Below for Your Animal Research for Kids Printable

You might want to get a copy of Zoey and Sassafras for your home library. The books are so good we recommend them to all of our friends.

Animal Habitat Activities

Animal habitat activities for kids.

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FREE Printable for Animal Research Projects

Published: March 20, 2019

Contributor: Jeannette Tuionetoa

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

If your kids love animals like mine, then they will love this Animal Research for Kids Zoey and Sassafras free printable to learn all about them. These free activities are perfect for the Zoey and Sassafras book series. Your kids will love the sassy little girl and her scientific adventures to bring some enjoyment to learning.

This research is all based on new creatures, asking questions, and figuring out why animals do and need certain things. The printables include a section for determining the species, appearance, fats facts and more. We can actually learn so much from animals.

When animals grow well and stay healthy, farmers can produce more meat, milk or eggs for our consumption. That is pretty amazing! There are some invaluable things that animals can teach us as well, like teaching kids to be gentle, to be safe, to play pretend, and more.

Grab your free printable for animal research for Kids Zoey and Sassafras from Natural Beach Living.

Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!

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Mammalian genome research resources available from the National BioResource Project in Japan

• Open access
• Published: 11 September 2024

Cite this article

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• Saori Mizuno-Iijima 1 ,
• Shoko Kawamoto   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6404-3443 2 ,
• Masahide Asano   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9087-6481 3 ,
• Tomoji Mashimo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7543-7301 4 ,
• Shigeharu Wakana   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7037-8354 5 ,
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• Ken-ichi Nishijima   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7189-465X 7 ,
• Hitoshi Okamoto   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7512-8549 8 ,
• Kuniaki Saito   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8233-9283 9 ,
• Sawako Yoshina 10 ,
• Yoshihiro Miwa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4827-5022 11 ,
• Yukio Nakamura 12 ,
• Moriya Ohkuma 13 &
• Atsushi Yoshiki   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9450-5151 1  

Mammalian genome research has conventionally involved mice and rats as model organisms for humans. Given the recent advances in life science research, to understand complex and higher-order biological phenomena and to elucidate pathologies and develop therapies to promote human health and overcome diseases, it is necessary to utilize not only mice and rats but also other bioresources such as standardized genetic materials and appropriate cell lines in order to gain deeper molecular and cellular insights. The Japanese bioresource infrastructure program called the National BioResource Project (NBRP) systematically collects, preserves, controls the quality, and provides bioresources for use in life science research worldwide. In this review, based on information from a database of papers related to NBRP bioresources, we present the bioresources that have proved useful for mammalian genome research, including mice, rats, other animal resources; DNA-related materials; and human/animal cells and microbes.

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The Rat Genome Database (RGD) facilitates genomic and phenotypic data integration across multiple species for biomedical research

Meeting report: 31st international mammalian genome conference, mammalian genetics and genomics: from molecular mechanisms to translational applications.

Establishment and application of information resource of mutant mice in RIKEN BioResource Research Center

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Bioresources represent a fundamental component of the research infrastructure that supports the life sciences. The development of bioresources is a lengthy and meticulous process, and they serve as the foundation for discoveries and future research endeavors. The sharing of these resources among researchers is crucial for the advancement of research and development. In response to this need, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) established the National BioResource Project (NBRP) in FY2002. This initiative aims to create a systematic framework for the collection, preservation, and distribution of bioresources, with a particular emphasis on those requiring strategic development at the national level. This review synthesizes information on bioresources that have proven valuable for mammalian genome research. These resources include mice, rats, other animal resources, DNA-related materials, and human/animal cells and microbes. This review draws upon data extracted from a comprehensive database of publications related to NBRP bioresources, offering insights into the current landscape and potential future directions of bioresource utilization in genomic research.

The Core Center of NBRP-Mice is the Experimental Animal Division of the RIKEN BioResource Research Center (RIKEN BRC) (Mizuno-Iijima et al. 2022 ), which has collected mouse strains developed mainly in Japan that have been reported in academic publications (Fig.  1 ) in order to preserve unique and cutting-edge mouse models (Table  1 ). NBRP-Mice performs rigorous quality control, including microbial and genetic testing to ensure the reproducibility of animal experiments. As one of the international hubs for mouse resources, we continuously participate in global mouse resource networks such as International Mouse Strain Resource (IMSR), International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC), Asian Mouse Mutagenesis & Resource Association (AMMRA) and Asian Network of Research Resource Centers (ANRRC). NBRP-Mice has archived approximately 10,000 mouse strains, most of which are genetically modified mice, as tools for gene functional analysis tools, including Cre/Flp drivers, fluorescent and luminescent reporters, and human disease models such as the third-generation Alzheimer’s disease model with genetic mutations of Alzheimer’s disease patients (Sasaguri et al. 2018 ; Sato et al. 2021 ) as well as a novel Down syndrome mouse model using a mouse artificial chromosome-based chromosome engineering technique (Kazuki et al. 2020 ). Information on the available mouse strains is disseminated through the NBRP-Mice website ( https://mus.brc.riken.jp/ ) and the IMSR ( https://www.findmice.org/ ), an all-encompassing database of the major international mouse repositories. NBRP-Mice receives requests from research communities worldwide (Fig.  2 ) and distributes live mice, frozen embryos/sperm, recovered litters from frozen embryos/sperm, and organ/tissue/genomic DNA. To date, NBRP-Mice has distributed mouse resources to researchers at 712 domestic and 1003 overseas academic and industry organizations in 44 countries. Outstanding research results from studies using NBRP-Mice have been published in 1300 papers so far (Fig.  3 ) and registered in our database.

Breakdown of collected mouse strains in NBRP-Mice (FY2017-FY2023)

Breakdown of distributed mouse strains from NBRP-Mice (FY2017-FY2023)

Number of publications using NBRP-Mice mouse resources

In addition to genetically modified strains, NBRP-Mice also preserves wild-derived inbred strains such as the Japanese subspecies MSM/MsRbrc (MSM, RBRC00209) and JF1/MsRbrc (JF1, RBRC00639). The enormous number of genomic polymorphisms present between these subspecies and classical inbred strains is useful for understanding the genomic function and diverse biological phenotypes in mice and other mammals including humans as well. MoG + ( https://molossinus.brc.riken.jp/mogplus/ ) (Takada et al. 2022 ) is a mouse genome database designed to support research using Mus musculus subspecies, with a focus on comparisons between mouse subspecies and classical inbred strains. MoG + provides access to more than 40 million polymorphisms found by comparative genomic analysis of 10 Asian wild-derived strains, including Mus musculus molossinus -derived MSM and JF1; Mus musculus musculus -derived KJR/Ms (RBRC00655), SWN/Ms (RBRC00654), CHD/Ms (RBRC00738), NJL/Ms (RBRC00207), and BLG2/Ms (RBRC00653); Mus musculus domesticus -derived BFM/2Ms (RBRC00659) and PGN2/Ms (RBRC00667); and Mus musculus castaneus -derived HMI/Ms (RBRC00657), all of which are available from NBRP-Mice, while linking to mouse resource catalog information, human genome variations, and so on. In addition, public genome polymorphism information on 36 classical inbred strains is stored. MoG + has been utilized for disease and phenotypic analysis (Takeishi et al. 2022 ; Yasuda et al. 2020 ). Reproductive engineering techniques are being developed to support research involving subspecies mouse strains (Hasegawa et al. 2021 ; Hirose et al. 2017 ; Mochida et al. 2014 ). An example of the use of subspecies strains is gene expression analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in F1 hybrid mice (Saito et al. 2024 ; Yagi et al. 2017 , 2020 ). Genomic DNA derived from these multiple subspecies strains has also been used (Bamunusinghe et al. 2013 , 2016 , 2018 ).

The Core Center of NBRP-Rats is the Institute of Laboratory Animals, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University. Scientists conducting research involving rats have conventionally accumulated physiological and pharmacological data. Compared with mice, rats have typically been used for experiments involving drug administration and surgery because of their larger body size and for behavioral studies because of their higher intelligence. NBRP-Rats collects rat strains that have been maintained by individual scientists or laboratories in Japan and overseas, making over 800 strains available, including inbred and genetically modified strains, and has provided about 1500 strains so far (Table  2 ). NBRP-Rats has common inbred strains, spontaneous mutants, congenic strains, recombinant inbred strains, transgenic and newly genetically modified strains, and so on. Recently, genome-edited rats have also been collected. Available strains can be accessed via the NBRP-Rats website ( https://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr/Default.aspx ). NBRP-Rats provides reference information for strain selection, including the results of approximately 200 strains on 109 phenotypic measurements for physiological and behavioral parameters such as body weight at various ages, blood pressure, spontaneous locomotor activity, and the passive avoidance test ( https://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr/phenome.aspx ); the phylogenetic tree of 132 rat strains based on genomic profile data ( https://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr/phylo.aspx ); and a pedigree-like charting tool showing 357 simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) marker differences for 179 genotyped rat strains ( https://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/nbr/pedigree/sb.aspx ). NBRP-Rats has also worked to develop reproductive technology and has established optimal freezing and thawing methods for sperm, stable in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology (Honda et al. 2019 ; Mochida et al. 2024 ; Morita et al. 2023 ) and is making progress in the cryopreservation of rat strains.

At the Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, which is an NBRP-Rats Sub-Core Center, the development of novel genome-edited rat models is underway. Three severely immunodeficient (SCID) rat strains generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system [F344- Il2rg em1Iexas (NBRP Rat No: 0883), F344- Rag2 em1Iexas (NBRP Rat No: 0894), and F344- Il2rg/Rag2 em1Iexas (NBRP Rat No: 0895)] (Mashimo et al. 2010 ) have already been made available to researchers ( https://www.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/animal-genetics/scid/index_en.html ). SCID rats can be transplanted with human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), cancer cells, liver cells, and so on. Therefore, SCID rats are useful for analyzing human physiological functions in vivo (Eguchi et al. 2022 ; Lahr et al. 2021 ; Miyasaka et al. 2022 ). In fact, the demand from translational research and regenerative medicine is increasing every year. In addition, NBRP-Rats has been collecting and developing new Cre driver rats, and 22 Cre driver strains are available for conditional studies. In the near future, a database of Cre driver rats will be made available on the website, and the results of comprehensive expression analysis, local expression analysis using adeno-associated virus (AAV), behavioral analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis will be published as phenotype information.

The other animal resources

In addition to laboratory mice and rats, the NBRP provides Aged mice and Japanese macaques as mammalian resources for researchers in Japan. NBRP-Aged mice provides three standard mouse strains [C57BL/6J, C57BL/6N (B6N), BALB/cA] that are bred for about 2 years in a uniform environment under strict microbiological control. Aged mice are expected to be used for various aging research, such as elucidating the mechanisms of the aging process, aging control, and aging-related diseases. The Japanese macaque is a species of macaque monkey. Due to their close relationship with humans, Japanese macaques are used mainly in the field of neuroscience but also in the fields of infectious diseases, immunology, and regenerative medicine. Compared with other Southeast Asian macaque species such as rhesus and cynomolgus macaques, Japanese macaques have a curious and calm temperament as well as highly developed cognitive and learning abilities, making them suitable for research on higher brain functions and fine motor functions that require complex task acquisition (Kubota et al. 2024 ; Kumano and Uka 2024 ; Sasaki et al. 2024 ). In fact, Japanese macaques have contributed to the elucidation of the pathogenesis and pathology of neurological disorders such as dementia and Parkinson's disease as well as to the development of treatments to restore neurological functions (Chiken et al. 2021 ; Darbin et al. 2022 ; Oyama et al. 2023 ).

The NBRP supports life science research by providing a total of 12 animal bioresources for which whole-genome sequencing has been performed, which is necessary for analyzing orthologs of human genes (Table 3 ). For example, chickens and quails have been used in a variety of fields, particularly in embryology. In vitro culture of primordial germ cells (PGCs) is now possible in 20 chicken strains, and gene transfer and genome editing of chickens using such cells are under development. To meet the demand for fluorescent live imaging of developmental processes, NBRP-Chickens & Quails provides a transgenic chicken strain (pLSi/ΔAeGFP-TG) that expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) almost systemically under the control of the chicken β-actin promoter (Motono et al. 2010 ; Tsujino et al. 2019 ) and a PRDM14-eGFP knock-in chicken strain that express eGFP under the control of the chicken endogenous PRDM14 promoter (Hagihara et al. 2020 ). As a tool for generating new models, Cas9-T2A-mCherry transgenic chickens that expresses Cas9 under the control of the homeostatic human EF1α promoter are also available. NBRP-Chickens & Quails releases the results of quail genome analysis as the Quail Genome Browser ( http://viewer.shigen.info/uzura/index.php ). A PGK:H2B-chFP-TG quail strain that expresses mCherry throughout the body (Huss et al. 2015 ) is used for live imaging of developmental processes, with the advantage of easy microsurgery in embryos (Haneda et al. 2024 ; Yoshihi et al. 2020 ).

Zebrafish are transparent throughout embryogenesis, are easy to breed, have a short life cycle, and are amenable to mutation and genetic modification. NBRP-Zebrafish has about 400 mutant lines and about 1800 transgenic lines. The neuronal composition and neural mechanisms of the zebrafish brain are highly conserved with those of humans, making zebrafish particularly useful in the field of neuroscience. Tg(CM-isl1:GFP), which expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) in hindbrain motor neurons (Higashijima et al. 2020 ), is useful for imaging neural circuit networks (Derrick et al. 2024 ; Zhao et al. 2024 ). Tg(vglut2a:loxP-DsRed-loxP-GFP), which expresses DsRed in glutamatergic neurons prior to Cre recombinase exposure and GFP in the Cre-recombined cells (Satou et al. 2012 ), has been used to elucidate the mechanisms of neural circuit construction processes (Itoh et al. 2024 ; Schmidt et al. 2024 ) and the relationship between behavior/movement and neuronal activity (Berg et al. 2023 ; Carbo-Tano et al. 2023 ).

Drosophila is used to study life phenomena and in disease research because of its many similarities to humans, including gene homology and basic biological mechanisms. The NBRP- Drosophila conserves many useful mutants for life science research, including about 14,000 RNAi strains and about 30 FlyCas9 strains. CAS-001 (Kondo and Ueda 2013 ), a transgenic line expressing the Cas9 protein, can be crossed with various guide RNA strains to generate gene knock-out mutant flies with high efficiency. The generation of mutant strains with CAS-001 is versatile and has been reported in the development of novel models for metabolic disease research (Martelli et al. 2024 ) and biochemical research (Banreti et al. 2022 ). GAL4 enhancer trap insertion strains (Hayashi et al. 2002 ) are useful for tissue-specific expression and knock-down using the GAL4/UAS system, and approximately 4200 such lines have been conserved. A traffic jam-GAL4 driver strain (DGRC#104055), which is expressed in all stages of ovarian follicle cells at every developmental stage, has been used by many scientists in various fields as well as for the elucidation of reproductive mechanisms (Mallart et al. 2024 ; Taniguchi and Igaki 2023 ).

Ca enorhabditis elegans is useful for understanding gene function because C.elegans has only about 1000 somatic cells, the cell lineage of which has been extensively described, and detailed descriptions of its morphology have been made through serial electron microscopy images. NBRP- C. elegans has about half the number of deletion mutants as there are genes in wild-type C. elegans. The drp-1 deletion mutant (tm1108), an ortholog of the human DMNL1 gene that functions in mitochondrial division, has been used to study mitochondria-related diseases (Chen et al. 2024 ) and aging (Sharifi et al. 2024 ). The brc-1 deletion mutant (tm1145), an ortholog of the human BRCA1 gene that is involved in DNA repair and has been reported to be associated with several diseases including cancer, is used to elucidate DNA repair mechanisms (Bujarrabal-Dueso et al. 2023 ; Wang et al. 2023 ).

DNA-related materials

The Gene Engineering Division, RIKEN BRC provides genetic materials such as plasmids, expression and reporter vectors, and comprehensive clone sets of cDNAs and genomic DNAs. To date, NBRP-DNA-related materials have conserved about 3.8 million resources including about 3400 research tools for imaging and genome editing, about 600,000 human cDNA/genomic DNA clones, about 350,000 mouse cDNA/genomic DNA clones, and 1.3 million animal cDNA/genomic DNA clones (Table  4 ). Mammalian expression vectors for protein production and gene expression, mouse and rat BAC clones, and fluorescent and luminescent protein expression vectors for imaging are used to generate genetically modified mice, rats, and mammalian cells. BAC clones can be searched with the BAC browser, using gene symbols as keywords, and the physical location of BAC clones on the genome can be confirmed. The BAC browsers for B6N and MSM mouse strains ( http://analysis2.nig.ac.jp/mouseBrowser/cgi-bin/index.cgi?org=mm ), for F344/Stm and LE/Stm rat strains ( http://analysis2.nig.ac.jp/ratBrowser/cgi-bin/index.cgi?org=rn ), and for Japanese macaque ( http://analysis2.nig.ac.jp/jmonkeyBrowser/cgi-bin/index.cgi?org=jm ) are published on the website. The B6N BAC library consists of 128,000 clones representing 90.2% of the actual coverage of the haploid genome. The MSM BAC library consists of 200,000 BAC clones.

NBRP-DNA-related materials collects useful tools that are expected to be requested by researchers in the future using artificial intelligence technology. Regarding genome-editing tools, Cas9-poly(A) expressing improved plasmid [T7-NLS hCas9-pA (RDB13130)] (Yoshimi et al. 2016 ) and the expression vector of sgRNA with hSpCas9-Cdt1(mouse) fusion protein [px330-mC (RDB14406)] (Mizuno-Iijima et al. 2021 ) are available. In addition to conventionally used fluorescent and luminescent proteins, NBRP-DNA-related materials also provides the highly photostable and bright GFP StayGold [e.g., (n1)StayGold/pRSET (RDB19605) (Hirano et al. 2022 ) and pRSETB/mStayGold (RDB20214) (Ando et al. 2023 )], and the novel yellow fluorescent protein Achilles [Achilles/pRSETB (RDB15982)] (Yoshioka-Kobayashi et al. 2020 ) to meet the needs of researchers. The highly luminescent luciferases Akaluc [pcDNA3 Venus-Akaluc (RDB15781)] (Iwano et al. 2018 ) and oFluc [pPmat Luc1 (RDB14359)] (Ogoh et al. 2020 ) are also provided. Reporter mice expressing Akaluc or oFluc are available from NBRP-Mice [C57BL/6J- Gt(ROSA)26Sor em13(CAG-luc)Rbrc /#77 (RBRC10451), C57BL/6J- Gt(ROSA)26Sor em14(CAG-Venus/Akaluc)Rbrc /#87 (RBRC10858), C57BL/6J- Gt(ROSA)26Sor em13.1(CAG-luc)Rbrc /#77 (RBRC10919), and C57BL/6J- Gt(ROSA)26Sor em17.1(CAG-Venus/Akaluc)Rbrc /#11 (RBRC10921)] (Nakashiba et al. 2023 ).

Human and animal cells

The Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BRC has collected many cultured cell lines, including about 4600 human cell lines and about 3800 animal cell lines. Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell lines with germline-transmission [e.g., B6J-S1 UTR (AES0140), B6NJ-22 UTR (AES0141) (Tanimoto et al. 2008 ), and EGR-G101 (AES0182) (Fujihara et al. 2013 )] are used to generate genetically engineered mice, using both conventional gene targeting and genome-editing technologies (Hasan et al. 2021 ; Noda et al. 2017 , 2019 ; Serizawa et al. 2019 ). As mentioned above, because SCID rat strains are transplantable with human cells, human iPS cells and cancer cells have been transplanted and used for in vivo functional analysis. Some users have reported research results in combination with human iPS cells derived from healthy volunteers provided by NBRP-Human and animal cells (Gima et al. 2024 ; Hayashi et al. 2024 ; Tada et al. 2022 ). NBRP-Human and animal cells also provides human iPS cell lines derived from patients with various diseases (Table  5 ). These disease-specific iPS cell lines are expected to be further used for research with a view toward clinical application.

NBRP-Human and animal cells performs genetic analysis of some disease-specific iPS cells to promote their use. For example, for iPS cells derived from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, the results of target sequence analysis for the casual genes ( SOD1 / TARDBP / ALS10 / TDP-43 genes) have been published on the RIKEN BRC website ( https://cell.brc.riken.jp/en/ga-als ). As for iPS cells derived from spinocerebellar degeneration, the results of the number of repeated sequences in related 8-gene regions have been published ( https://cell.brc.riken.jp/en/ga-scd ). In addition to the cell material itself, human iPS cell lines (disease-specific iPS cells and healthy human iPS cells) provide clinical information such as sex, age and the names of diseases, and researchers can use these data upon appropriate application and review.

The NBRP also manages general microbes (bacteria, archaea, yeast, and filamentous fungi), prokaryotes ( Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis ), pathogenic eukaryotic microbes, pathogenic bacteria, and human pathogenic viruses). The most popular paper among NBRP-Mice users’ results sorted by Citation Index is one that identified and isolated 11 gut bacterial strains that strongly induce IFNγ-producing CD8T cells and showed that administration of these strains inhibited infection and tumor growth in mouse strains (Tanoue et al. 2019 ). The influence of the gut microbiota and skin microbiota on phenotype is a topic of great interest, and more results are expected in the future.

Research Resource Circulation

All the article information discussed in this paper, which is based on studies using NBRP resources, is registered and accessible in the Research Resource Circulation (RRC) database ( https://rrc.nbrp.jp/ ) (Fig.  4 ). RRC is an integrated database that connects published research outcomes to the specific bioresources used in those studies. Its primary objective is to aggregate and organize information on published papers and patents that have utilized these resources and to make this information publicly available along with statistical data, thereby enhancing the information content of each resource and promoting their utilization.

Research Resource Circulation (RRC) Database: a system for tracking and analyzing the utilization of NBRP bioresources and research outcomes

A key feature of the RRC is assigning a unique RRC ID to each paper corresponding PubMed information, strain names, citation metrics, and other relevant data. Development of the RRC began in 2007, and it presently contains entries for approximately 55,000 papers and 1300 patents. Users can easily register papers using PubMed IDs or DOIs. Moreover, the RRC is linked with NCBI’s LinkOut service, enabling resource links to be added to corresponding papers in PubMed.

The NBRP provides useful biological resources, technologies, and information for mammalian genome research both in Japan and overseas, and many users’ research results have been reported. Not only the use of individual bioresources but also the combination of bioresources has been reported by many users. We encourage global scientists to conduct a comprehensive search with biological resources of high quality available from NBRP. In addition, we are constantly updating the information on each bioresource to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated and complex research while reviewing the latest research trends and increasing the number of stored resources. We hope you will make effective use of the NBRP to advance mammalian genome research.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Dr. Yuji Kohara, Program Director of NBRP; Dr. Yuichi Obata, Program Officer of NBRP; and Dr. Toshihiko Shiroishi, Director of RIKEN BRC for their thoughtful leadership and guidance. We are grateful to Drs. Ayumi Koso and Asuka Mukai, NBRP Public Relations Team for providing accurate information and advice. The NBRP is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan.

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Experimental Animal Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan

Saori Mizuno-Iijima & Atsushi Yoshiki

Department of Informatics, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan

Shoko Kawamoto

Institute of Laboratory Animals, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

Masahide Asano

Division of Animal Genetics, Laboratory Animal Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8639, Japan

Tomoji Mashimo

Department of Animal Experimentation, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan

Shigeharu Wakana

Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

Katsuki Nakamura

Avian Bioscience Research Center, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan

Ken-ichi Nishijima

RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan

Hitoshi Okamoto

Department of Chromosome Science, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan

Kuniaki Saito

Department of Physiology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan

Sawako Yoshina

Gene Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan

Yoshihiro Miwa

Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan

Yukio Nakamura

Microbe Division/Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan

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S.M.-I. made a conceptualization and wrote the main manuscript text. S.K. prepared Fig. 4. M.A., T.M., S.W., K.N., K.-I.N., H.O., K.S., S.Y., Y.M., Y.N., and M.O. provided accurate information and data. A.Y. supervised the manuscripts. All authors reviewed and revised the manuscript.

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Mizuno-Iijima, S., Kawamoto, S., Asano, M. et al. Mammalian genome research resources available from the National BioResource Project in Japan. Mamm Genome (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-024-10063-2

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Received : 16 July 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-024-10063-2

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