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Unravelling the diversity of the wild house mouse

Date:
June 14, 2022
Source:
Hokkaido University
Summary:
Scientists have revealed the genetic structure and diversity, and inferred the population history, of the wild house mouse across Europe and Asia.
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Scientists have revealed the genetic structure and diversity, and inferred the population history, of the wild house mouse across Europe and Asia.

The house mouse,亩骶, is the most common rodent and is found across the world. While it is most commonly considered a pest, it has also been domesticated as the pet mouse and laboratory mouse. Laboratory mice have been invaluable to medical and genetics research as a model animal, and have been subject to intensive research, including genomic sequencing. However, the wild house mouse has not been subject to the same level of research.

A team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Naoki Osada at Hokkaido University, has conducted an analysis of whole genome sequences of wild house mice from across Europe and Asia, focusing on East, Southeast, and South Asia. Their findings, published in the journalGenome Biology and Evolution, will facilitate future biomedical and evolutionary research.

Prior research into wild house mice has revealed that, genetically, they are highly diverse. There are three primary subspecies:M. m. musculusfrom northern Eurasia,M. m. castaneusfrom southern and southeast Asia, andm . m .做mesticusfrom western Europe. The inbred variants of laboratory mice represent only a small fraction of the diversity of the wild house mouse.

For this study the team sequenced the whole genomes of 98 wild house mice from across Europe and Asia, collected by Dr. Kazou Moriwaki at the National Institute of Genetics, Japan. They then analysed the whole genome sequences of 121 wild house mice. They confirmed that wild house mice have a greater genetic diversity than humans. In addition,castaneushas the greatest diversity among the three subspecies. Samples from Japan and China showed the highest degrees of interbreeding between thecastaneusandmusculussubspecies.

The team also reconstructed the population history of the three subspecies. They estimated that the three subspecies diverged 187,000–247,000 years ago, the most recent being thecastaneusandmusculussplit. They also inferred that thedosmesticusandmusculussubspecies experienced strong population bottlenecks and expansions in the recent past, which were likely associated with the spread of agriculture.

This study illustrates the genetic diversity of wild house mice across East, Southeast, and South Asia, which had not previously been well studied. In particular they revealed that the extent and geographic range of interbreeding between the subspecies was greater than previously thought, and likely occurred after their spread alongside humans. This will significantly contribute to the understanding of mice models.

“As the lab mouse was bred from wild house mice, our study paves the way for significantly increasing the understanding of mice models,” says Naoki Osada.

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Story Source:

Materialsprovided byHokkaido University.注意:内容可能被编辑风格d length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kazumichi Fujiwara, Yosuke Kawai, Toyoyuki Takada, Toshihiko Shiroishi, Naruya Saitou, Hitoshi Suzuki, Naoki Osada.Insights into Mus musculus Population Structure across Eurasia Revealed by Whole-Genome Analysis.Genome Biology and Evolution, 2022; 14 (5) DOI:10.1093/gbe/evac068

Cite This Page:

Hokkaido University. "Unravelling the diversity of the wild house mouse." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 June 2022. /releases/2022/06/220614095611.htm>.
Hokkaido University. (2022, June 14). Unravelling the diversity of the wild house mouse.ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 3, 2023 from www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220614095611.htm
Hokkaido University. "Unravelling the diversity of the wild house mouse." ScienceDaily. www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220614095611.htm (accessed September 3, 2023).

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