R1 ES cells were electroporated with IRESβgalNeo(-pA) gene-trap vector and cultured with G418. A total of 864 G418-resistant ES clones were cultured on gelatin in ES cell medium for 2 days or on OP9 feeder cells in ES differentiation medium for 5 days, followed by X-gal staining. Some ES clones did not grow at all. The OP9 feeder cell layer with ES cells was sometimes peeled off during culture or X-gal staining.