BAR HARBOR – Though Gulf Coast laboratory mice are among the tiniest victims of Hurricane Katrina, their genes might pack a big punch in the quest to find a cure for cancer and other deadly diseases.

Officials at The Jackson Laboratory want to ensure that the valuable genetic material won’t be lost and so are offering emergency housing for mice that survived the storm and other rescue efforts, officials said Friday.

“The loss of this type of resource represents the loss of years of work that in many cases can’t be replaced,” Rob Taft, associate director of the reproductive sciences program at The Jackson Laboratory, said. “Our goal is to try and assist scientists in the affected region pretty much in any way we can.”

The Jackson Laboratory, the world’s leading institution for the study of genetics using the mouse as a model, survived two major disasters of its own after being devastated by fires in 1947 and 1989. Though many mice perished in the blazes, their genetic material was saved when scientists around the world sent mice back to Maine.

“We’ve been affected by disasters, and we’ve benefited by the scientific community,” Taft said. “They’ve reached out to us and helped us when we were in need.”

Laboratories at Tulane University, Louisiana State University and some National Institute of Health-funded cancer centers all were affected by the storm, Taft said.

In addition to providing emergency housing for the mice in its Maine and California facilities, the lab is offering:

. embryo-freezing and other emergency rescue techniques for genetic strains that are in immediate danger of disappearing, and

. special programs to assist Gulf Coast facilities as they re-establish their mouse-related research capabilities and programs, including providing free breeder pairs of mice and providing three months of mouse room space for custom breeding.

Lab officials have experienced communication difficulties as they have attempted to broadcast the offer to affected institutions.

“At this point, there’s very limited cell phone service and certainly nonexistent land-line service,” Taft said. “One challenge is to try to communicate with people in these areas and let them know we’re trying to help.”

One institution so far has responded. The attending veterinarian at Tulane University in New Orleans is doing an inventory of their animals and thinks that there is a good possibility that some of the mouse genetic lines may need help, Taft reported.

“There’s a number of things we can do. It depends what their needs are,” he said.

The laboratory plans to keep on offering a helping hand to Gulf Coast institutions even after the flood waters dry and the immediate crisis is over.

“It might be quite some period of time before people can really assess the damage and also assess their recovery strategy,” Taft said. “Once people get to the point of rebuilding their programs, they’re still going to be facing a lot of challenges.”