25]Selected methods related to the mouse as a model system

Abstract

Publisher Summary The power of model systems for the study of genome structure and function and for the dissection of complex traits is, by now, well established. For a variety of reasons, the mouse remains the experimental mammal of choice for genetic research. The possibility of establishing crosses that exploit the many strains and mutations accumulated over the years constitutes just one reason for the extensive use of the mouse as a model system. This chapter presents insights into some of the strengths and originality of mouse genetics that may prove of help to nonmouse geneticists and highlights selected techniques that have contributed to the progress made in mouse genetics. The initial steps in positional cloning involve the definition of the genetic interval containing a disease gene or mutation. The size of the genetic interval depends on both the number of informative meioses and the number of polymorphic markers available for the region under study. The genus, Mus , has been divided into a complex species containing the four major biochemical groupings— Mus musculus domesticus , Mus m. musculus , Mus castaneus , and Mus bactrianus ,—all of which can be treated as subspecies, in addition to several distinct species such as the western Mediterranean mouse, M. spretus . The degree of fertility among different members of the genus ranges from complete sterility to reduced fertility and is correlated with the degree of taxon divergence.