Laboratory Rat Strains. The laboratory rat (rattus norvegicus) has long been favored as an experimental model for nutritional research because of its moderate size, profligate reproduction, adaptability to. With more than 200 rats strains being bred as models of human diseases, laboratory rats have played an important role in biomedical research for over 100 years.
Here, we surveyed 172 laboratory rat strains for the albino mutation and the hooded (h) mutation that we identified by positional cloning approach to investigate possible genetic. • also known as the hooded rat • used for neurological, toxicological and ophthalmologic studies • reported higher resistance to respiratory problems than outbred albino rats,.