ANOTHER ESTERASE VARIANT IN THE KIDNEY OF THE HOUSE MOUSE, MUS MUSCULUS

Electrophoretic studies of kidney homogenates of the house mouse, Mus musculus, have revealed two patterns in zone II of the esterase zymogram. Animals of inbred strains C3H and C57BL/10 possess seven bands in this region and mice derived from a mating between a wild animal and a C3H mouse have only two bands of considerable activity in zone II. Breeding results are consistent with a two-allele, one-autosomal-locus mode of inheritance, with the allele for the absence of the multiple-band phenotype being dominant. Sensitivity data indicate that the esterases in zone II are aliesterases. Breeding and population data revealed that the zone II esterase-controlling locus is closely linked with but not identical to Es-1, Es-2 and Es-5 loci and so has been tentatively designated Es-6.

Download Full-text

Insights into mammalian biology from the wild house mouse Mus musculus

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.05959 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽

Michael W Nachman

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Inbred Strains ◽

Mendelian Inheritance ◽

Model Organisms ◽

House Mice ◽

Small Subset ◽

Wild Mice ◽

Wide Range

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.

Download Full-text

Twirler: A Mutant Affecting the Inner Ear of the House Mouse

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.6.1.105 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 105-116

Author(s):

Mary F. Lyon

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Inner Ear ◽

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Horizontal Plane ◽

The Other ◽

Genetic Tests ◽

Postural Reflexes ◽

New Born ◽

Mode Of Inheritance

The mutant twirler, symbol Tw, of the house mouse, Mus musculus, was first recognized by the ‘waltzing’ behaviour which the heterozygotes show. It was later found to affect the morphology of the inner ear and, when homozygous, to cause death of new-born animals through harelip and cleft palate. This paper describes the behaviour and ear defects of heterozygotes and the appearance of homozygotes. It also describes the genetic tests carried out to determine the mode of inheritance. Twirler heterozygotes show head-shaking in a horizontal plane, combined often with circling, and less often with vertical head-shaking. Postural reflexes are abnormal. For example, normal mice of about a week old, if held up by the tail, respond to this change of position by extending the back and stretching the forelimbs forward. Twirler mice, on the other hand, flex the back, tuck the head under, and draw the limbs back.

Download Full-text

Variation of the lumbar vertebrae of mice at two environmental temperatures

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.21.1.97 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 97-103

Author(s):

Kathleen M. H. Munro ◽

S. A. Barnett

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Environmental Temperature ◽

Lumbar Vertebrae ◽

Inbred Strains ◽

Laboratory Mice ◽

Maternal Factors ◽

Breeding Colony ◽

Environmental Temperatures

The house mouse, Mus musculus L., usually has twenty-six presacral vertebrae: these consist of seven cervical, thirteen thoracic and six lumbar vertebrae (Weber, 1950; Deol, 1958; Berry & Searle, 1963; Berry, 1964). The twenty-sixth vertebra is, however, sometimes abnormal, especially among laboratory mice: on one or both sides it may be fused with the sacrum. There are then five typical lumbar vertebrae, instead of six. The proportion of such abnormalities in a population is influenced by genotype, diet and unidentified maternal factors (reviewed by Grüneberg, 1963). Evidence is given below that a low environmental temperature can also increase the incidence of ‘sacralization of L6’. The mice used included three highly inbred strains: A/Tb, A2G/Tb and C57BL/Tb. A permanent breeding colony of each strain was kept at each of two environmental temperatures, namely, 21 °C and −3 °C. In addition, GFF mice were studied at 21 °C only.

Download Full-text

α-HYDROXYACID OXIDASE GENETICS IN THE MOUSE: EVIDENCE FOR TWO GENETIC LOCI AND A TETRAMERIC SUBUNIT STRUCTURE FOR THE LIVER ISOZYME

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/76.1.93 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 76 (1) ◽

pp. 93-97

Author(s):

John Duley ◽

Roger S Holmes

Keyword(s):

Linkage Group ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Genetic Locus ◽

Inbred Strains ◽

Subunit Structure ◽

Autosomal Locus ◽

Genetic Studies ◽

Group V ◽

F1 Hybrid ◽

Hybrid Mice

ABSTRACT We have examined a polymorphism for liver GOX in inbred strains of the mouse Mus musculus. Genetic studies demonstrated that the two phenotypes for this enzyme present in BALB/C and NZC parental strains segregated as though they were controlled by codominant alleles at a single autosomal locus (GOX) which mapped closely to the agouti locus in linkage group V. Kidney HAOX activity is invariant in these inbred strains and is encoded by a separate genetic locus designated HAOX. BALB/C × NZC F1 hybrid mice exhibited three intermediate forms of liver GOX activity, in addition to the parental enzymes, which is consistent with a tetrameric subunit structure.

Download Full-text

Allelic profile at 37 biochemical loci of two inbred strains of the house mouse derived from wild Mus musculus musculus

Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1258/002367788780746610 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 61-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

O. H. Von Deimlingi ◽

J. Forejt ◽

T. F. Wienker

Keyword(s):

Genetic Distance ◽

House Mouse ◽

Genetic Relationship ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Inbred Strains ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Allelic Profile ◽

Mus Musculus Musculus

Two newly established inbred strains derived from Mus musculus musculus, designated PWD/Ph (F29) and PWK/Ph (F33), were examined for their alleles at 37 biochemical loci located on 12 different chromosomes. The allelic pattern showed characteristic differences from those observed in common inbred strains. The genetic distance D between PWK/Ph and PWD/Ph was 0·027, whereas the corresponding values for the genetic distances between PWK/Ph and C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, BALB/cJ and SWR/J were 0·777, 0·721, 0·721 and 0·838 respectively. New allozymes are described as being controlled by the loci Es-23, Pre-2 and Tam-1. The genetic relationship to M.m. molossinus is indicated by identical alleles at six other loci ( Es-2, Es-9, Es-10, Es-11, Es-18 and Es-22).

Download Full-text