A Brief Overview of Taconic Health Standards

Taconic Biosciences' health standards are defined by exclusion lists and also by husbandry as well as testing methods and frequency. The standards can be grouped into barrier standards (with exclusion lists) and gnotobiotic isolator standards (in which all organisms in a location are known). A core list of rodent pathogens is excluded from all Taconic health standards.

Barrier Health Standards

Applied to majority of animals produced by Taconic.

Murine Pathogen Free™ (MPF™) - free of rodent pathogens. Appropriate for many types of experiments and may be preferred for certain immunological studies.

Restricted Flora™ (RF™) - free of rodent pathogens and 6 select opportunistic pathogens. Note that Taconic has phased out all commercial RF™ production in the US and Europe in favor of OF™.

Opportunist Free™ (OF™) - free of rodent pathogens and 7 select opportunistic pathogens.

Taconic produces nearly all immunodeficient animals at OF™ and provides certain standard strains at these more restrictive standards. OF™ is defined by more biosecure husbandry methods as well as enhanced health monitoring.

Gnotobiotic Isolator Standards

Applied to limited quantities of special purpose animals.

Defined Flora (DF) - Only permitted microorganisms are Altered Schaedler Flora, dimorphic yeast, mold, aerobic spore forming bacteria, and anaerobic spore forming bacteria. No excluded pathogens are allowed. All organisms in isolator are known.

Germ Free (GF) - Devoid of all microorganisms, as determined within the limitations of the detection methods available, including bacteria, fungi and viruses; they have no microbiome.