Cx3cr1-Cre for microglial conditional models
Target conditional knockout mice carry a floxed allele so you delete function only where Cre recombinase is active. This design keeps the germline allele intact until you cross to a tissue specific Cre. It is often the first choice when a global knockout is lethal, when you need adult onset loss, or when regional redundancy masks a whole body phenotype. For microglial work, plan Cre specificity, reporter crosses, and baseline phenotyping before you scale.
Driver pairing notes
Cx3cr1-Cre biases recombination toward microglial lineages. Inducible design: no, constitutive activity.
Conditional knockout keeps microglia as the experimental theater while the rest of the animal retains a wild type allele. That pattern mirrors somatic mutation in patients and avoids systemic compensation that can erase subtle phenotypes. It is often preferred when a germline null is lethal, weak, or confounded by developmental rescue.
A conventional knockout answers whether the gene is required broadly. When microglia is the organ of interest, a global null can still be informative if viability is acceptable and you want the simplest genotype. If the null is harsh, a floxed allele with a regional Cre is the safer long term platform.
Example conditional alleles to pair with Cx3cr1-Cre
Frequently asked questions
What animals express Cx3cr1-Cre?
Cx3cr1-Cre is used for microglial biased recombination in community standard protocols. We recommend reporter validation on your background before large experiments.
Is Cx3cr1-Cre inducible?
Some lines in the CreERT2 family need tamoxifen for nuclear access. Tell us your timing goals and we help pick tamoxifen versus constitutive strategies.
Which floxed genes pair with Cx3cr1-Cre?
Top pairs depend on your disease model. We link common conditional alleles in our catalog and can suggest three to five references genes that match microglial biology.