Project description:PURPOSE: Infantile nystagmus syndrome (INS) is a gaze-holding disorder characterized by conjugate, uncontrolled eye oscillations that can result in significant visual acuity loss. INS is often associated with albinism, but the mechanism is unclear. Albino mice have nystagmus; however, a pigmented mouse with a tyr mutation making it phenotypically albino, the B6(CG)-Tyr(c-2J)/J (B6 albino), had not been tested. We tested optokinetic nystagmus reflexes (OKN) in B6 albino and control mice. RNA-Seq was performed on extraocular muscles (EOM), tibialis anterior muscle (TA), abducens (CN6), and oculomotor (CN3) neurons to uncover molecular differences that could account for nystagmus.
Project description:Susceptibility to tumor development varies among mice strains. Using inbred NIH and wild-derived outbred Mus spretus backcrosses, skin cancer-susceptibility loci were mapped [Nagase et al. 1995. Nat Genet 10: 424-429; Nagase et al. 1999. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96: 15032-15037], and Skts13 was identified as the Aurka gene using a conventional linkage in conjunction with haplotype analysis [Ewart-Toland et al. 2003. Nat Genet 34: 403-412]. In the present study, we examined another wild-derived outbred Mus musculus castaneus in which 10.3% of the analyzed SNPs showed heterogeneity among the colony. All mice examined were completely resistant to the two-stage skin carcinogenesis protocol using 7.12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), and this resistant phenotype was dominant when we crossed them with the highly susceptible strain FVB. By scanning F1 backcross progeny between M. m. castaneus and FVB, we found a highly significant linkage for tumor multiplicity on Chromosome 4, which was overlapped with the Skts-fp1 locus, found in the previous study using FVB and PWK cross [Fujiwara et al. 2007. BMC Genet 8: 39]. The linkage was observed in all pedigrees from the five F1 founders, while the linkage for papilloma size on Chromosome 4 was mapped only in pedigrees from founders 1 and 2. By scanning the whole Chromosome 4 of the five F1 founders, founders 1- and 2-specific haplotype block was found between D4Mit293 (20.6 Mbp) and D4Mit171 (22.4 Mbp). In this study we exploited the outbred nature of M. m. castaneus stock to identify a haplotype contributing to papilloma size on mouse Chromosome 4. These data illustrate the strength of using outbred mice in identification of the genetic component of a mouse complex trait such as the skin cancer-susceptibility phenotype.
Project description:RNA sequencing of livers and gonadal fat pads obtained from an F2 intercross mice between C57BL/6JJcl and B6.Cg-Pbwg1/1Nga (SR1) strains
Project description:This experiment is one of a series of experiments on interspecific recombinant congenic strain (IRCS) mice that aimed to identify novel genes involved in male or female hyporfertility by comparing characteristics of the sperm, number of offspring, quality of implantation etc. in C57B6/J and IRCS mice. <br>The goal of this experiment was to understand the basis of female hypofertility/embryonic resorption in a mouse model of congenic strains. The IRCS strain used in this experiment is the 66H Ch13 mouse. This strain was derived by introgression of a ~6 Mb fragment of mus spretus origin inside the genome of Mus musculus (C57B6/J) (L'hôte et al, Bioessays, 2010. PMID:20091755 ) Previous ultrasonographic analysis of this line revealed an increased rate of embryonic resorption compared to the C57B6/J parent (Laissue et al, Int. J . Dev. Biol, 2009 PMID: 19488966 ). <br>In this experiment we measured gene expression in the tissues that are relevant for implantation and early development, i.e. the uterus and the placenta, in C57B6/J and 66H Chr13 mice at 12 days post-coïtus with C57B6/J males. Pools of RNA from four mice per sample were obtained and analysed using a Nimblegen mouse expression array.
Project description:A C57BL6/J (B6) x CAST/Ei (CAST) strain intercross was used to identify the first mammalian QTL for macronutrient-specific intake (carbohydrate and fat) and for total energy intake. A region on proximal Chromosome 17 revealed two significant QTL that co-localized for increased macronutrient intake-carbohydrate (Mnic1) and total kilocalorie intake (Kcal2), adjusted for body weight. An interval-specific congenic strain, B6.CAST-17, was then developed which verified the QTL. A new sub-congenic strain was developed which retained the linked traits. Important new findings emerged shows that this congenic interval confers an activity phenotype, i.e., mice carrying the differential segment have 20% higher spontaneous physical activity levels compared with the host B6 strain. We hypothesize that this Chromosome 17 QTL is either encoded by a single gene locus that determines both food intake and physical activity, or by two or more genes, each determining a sub-phenotype of energy balance. Microarray analysis of skeletal muscle and hypothalamus in congenic and wild type B6 mice was carried out to identify potential candidate genes for the activity and food intake behavior. Keywords: macronutrient-specific intake, sub-congenic strain
Project description:We have analyzed the differential expression between the obesity model lean congenic B6.C-D7Mit353 (1) and the background C57BL/6J strains, in four different tissues of male mice: Brain, GWAT (Gonadal White Adipose Tissue), liver and muscle (gastrocnemius). From the 32,381 mouse genes covered by the Applied Biosystems AB1700 microarray system, we identified 330 genes passing FDR at 5% and 188 genes passing FDR at 1%, in any one of the four tissues examined. None of the genes that passed FDR testing were in the congenic donor region. 65 genes from the 8 megabases congenic region were assayed; only six genes (Thrsp, Kctd14, Myo7a, Capn5, Dgat2 and Mtap6) passed statistical significance filtering but not FDR filtering. (1) Diament & Warden 2004: PMID 14569280. Keywords: Congenic mice whole genome gene expression survey
Project description:We previously utilized interval-specific congenic lines derived from C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) alleles to fine map a quantitative trait locus (QTL) influencing methamphetamine (MA)- induced locomotor activity. We identified a 0.23 MB critical interval on chromosome 11 containing only two protein coding genes, Rufy1 and Hnrnph1. Notably, Rufy1 contains three missense SNPs and Hnrnph1 contains 1 SNP near the 5’ UTR. In an effort to identify the molecular mechanisms that bridge genetic variation with behavior, we conducted transcriptome analysis via mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in a B6.D2 congenic line (chr.11: 50-60 Mb) that captures the QTL. There was an overrepresentation of cis-regulated, differentially expressed genes within the congenic interval (4 out of 92 differentially expressed genes; FDR < 0.05) and widespread genomic regulation on all autosomes.