| First Author | Dumont BL | Year | 2024 |
| Journal | PLoS Genet | Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | e1011228 |
| PubMed ID | 38598567 | Mgi Jnum | J:349037 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7624921 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011228 |
| Citation | Dumont BL, et al. (2024) Into the Wild: A novel wild-derived inbred strain resource expands the genomic and phenotypic diversity of laboratory mouse models. PLoS Genet 20(4):e1011228 |
| abstractText | The laboratory mouse has served as the premier animal model system for both basic and preclinical investigations for over a century. However, laboratory mice capture only a subset of the genetic variation found in wild mouse populations, ultimately limiting the potential of classical inbred strains to uncover phenotype-associated variants and pathways. Wild mouse populations are reservoirs of genetic diversity that could facilitate the discovery of new functional and disease-associated alleles, but the scarcity of commercially available, well-characterized wild mouse strains limits their broader adoption in biomedical research. To overcome this barrier, we have recently developed, sequenced, and phenotyped a set of 11 inbred strains derived from wild-caught Mus musculus domesticus. Each of these "Nachman strains" immortalizes a unique wild haplotype sampled from one of five environmentally distinct locations across North and South America. Whole genome sequence analysis reveals that each strain carries between 4.73-6.54 million single nucleotide differences relative to the GRCm39 mouse reference, with 42.5% of variants in the Nachman strain genomes absent from current classical inbred mouse strain panels. We phenotyped the Nachman strains on a customized pipeline to assess the scope of disease-relevant neurobehavioral, biochemical, physiological, metabolic, and morphological trait variation. The Nachman strains exhibit significant inter-strain variation in >90% of 1119 surveyed traits and expand the range of phenotypic diversity captured in classical inbred strain panels. These novel wild-derived inbred mouse strain resources are set to empower new discoveries in both basic and preclinical research. |
