There are two identifiable alleles of CD45 in mice: CD45.1 (Ly5.1 historically) and CD45.2 (Ly5.2 historically). These two types of CD45 are believed to be functionally identical. As such, they are routinely used in scientific research to allow identification of cells. For instance, leukocytes can be transferred from a CD45.1 donor mouse, into a CD45.2 host mouse, and can be subsequently identified due to their expression of CD45.1. This technique is also routinely used when generating chimeras. An alternative system is the use of CD90 (Thy1) alleles, which CD90.1/CD90.2 system is used in the same manner as the CD45.1/CD45.2 system.