Breeding experiments to combine the X-linked sparse-fur (spf) mutation with the autosomal recessive BALB/cByJ strain: testing the biochemical phenotype of double-mutant mice as a model for ammonia: fatty acyl CoA synergism.

Breeding experiments were conducted to combine the X-linked sparse-fur (spf) mutation with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and the autosomal recessive deficiency of short-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) in BALB/cByJ mice. We obtained spf/Y (scad/scad), spf/+ (scad/scad) and spf/spf (scad/scad) double mutants amongst the F2 progeny, which were tested and separated on the basis of urinary orotate and the GC/MS analysis of urinary butyrylglycine, methylsuccinate and ethylmalonate. The testing of the biochemical type was feasible both on the basis of a 24-h urine collection form adult mice kept in metabolic cages and on the basis of urine spots collected on filter paper from younger progeny. It is postulated that the spf/Y (scad/scad) double-mutant may serve as a useful animal model to study the ammonia: fatty acyl CoA synergism.