Dataset Information

Molecular and phenotypic distinction of the very recently evolved insular subspecies Mus musculus helgolandicus ZIMMERMANN, 1953.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Populations and subspecies of the house mouse Mus musculus were able to invade new regions worldwide in the wake of human expansion. Here we investigate the origin and colonization history of the house mouse inhabiting the small island of Heligoland on the German Bight - Mus musculus helgolandicus. It was first described by Zimmermann in 1953, based on morphological descriptions which were considered to be a mosaic between the subspecies M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus. Since mice on islands are excellent evolutionary model systems, we have focused here on a molecular characterization and an extended phenotype analysis. RESULTS:The molecular data show that the mice from Heligoland are derived from M. m. domesticus based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences as well as on four nuclear diagnostic markers, including one each from the sex-chromosomes. STRUCTURE analysis based on 21 microsatellite markers assigns Heligoland mice to a distinct population and D-loop network analysis suggests that they are derived from a single colonization event. In spite of mice from the mainland arriving by ships, they are apparently genetically refractory against further immigration. Mutation frequencies in complete mitochondrial genome sequences date the colonization age to approximately 400 years ago. Complete genome sequences from three animals revealed a genomic admixture with M. m. musculus genomic regions with at least 6.5% of the genome affected. Geometric morphometric analysis of mandible shapes including skull samples from two time points during the last century suggest specific adaptations to a more carnivorous diet. CONCLUSIONS:The molecular and morphological analyses confirm that M. m. helgolandicus consists of a distinct evolutionary lineage with specific adaptations. It shows a remarkable resilience against genetic mixture with mainland populations of M. m. domesticus despite major disturbances in the past century and a high ship traffic. The genomic admixture with M. m. musculus genetic material may have contributed to the genomic distinction of the Heligoland mice. In spite of its young age, M. m. helgolandicus may thus be considered as a true subspecies of Mus, whose evolution was triggered through fast divergence on a small island.

SUBMITTER: Babiker H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4535776 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular and phenotypic distinction of the very recently evolved insular subspecies Mus musculus helgolandicus ZIMMERMANN, 1953.

Babiker Hiba H Tautz Diethard D

BMC evolutionary biology 20150814

<h4>Background</h4>Populations and subspecies of the house mouse Mus musculus were able to invade new regions worldwide in the wake of human expansion. Here we investigate the origin and colonization history of the house mouse inhabiting the small island of Heligoland on the German Bight - Mus musculus helgolandicus. It was first described by Zimmermann in 1953, based on morphological descriptions which were considered to be a mosaic between the subspecies M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus. Si ...[more]

PMID: 26268354

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe genome of classical laboratory strains of mice is an artificial mosaic of genomes originated from several mouse subspecies with predominant representation (>90%) of the Mus m. domesticus component. Mice of another subspecies, East European/Asian Mus m. musculus, can interbreed with the classical laboratory strains to generate hybrids with unprecedented phenotypic and genotypic variations. To study these variations in depth we prepared the first genomic large insert BAC library from an inbred strain derived purely from the Mus m. musculus-subspecies. The library will be used to seek and characterize genomic sequences controlling specific monogenic and polygenic complex traits, including modifiers of dominant and recessive mutations.ResultsA representative mouse genomic BAC library was derived from a female mouse of the PWD/Ph inbred strain of Mus m. musculus subspecies. The library consists of 144,768 primary clones from which 97% contain an insert of 120 kb average size. The library represents an equivalent of 6.7 x mouse haploid genome, as estimated from the total number of clones carrying genomic DNA inserts and from the average insert size. The clones were arrayed in duplicates onto eight high-density membranes that were screened with seven single-copy gene probes. The individual probes identified four to eleven positive clones, corresponding to 6.9-fold coverage of the mouse genome. Eighty-seven BAC-ends of PWD/Ph clones were sequenced, edited, and aligned with mouse C57BL/6J (B6) genome. Seventy-three BAC-ends displayed unique hits on B6 genome and their alignment revealed 0.92 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) per 100 bp. Insertions and deletions represented 0.3% of the BAC end sequences.ConclusionAnalysis of the novel genomic library for the PWD/Ph inbred strain demonstrated coverage of almost seven mouse genome equivalents and a capability to recover clones for specific regions of PWD/Ph genome. The single nucleotide polymorphism between the strains PWD/Ph and C57BL/6J was 0.92/100 bp, a value significantly higher than between classical laboratory strains. The library will serve as a resource for dissecting the phenotypic and genotypic variations between mice of the Mus m. musculus subspecies and classical laboratory mouse strains.

Dataset Information

Molecular and phenotypic distinction of the very recently evolved insular subspecies Mus musculus helgolandicus ZIMMERMANN, 1953.

Publications

Molecular and phenotypic distinction of the very recently evolved insular subspecies Mus musculus helgolandicus ZIMMERMANN, 1953.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets