A Method for Rapid Determination of Male Mouse Genotypes and Transmission Distortion by Breeding with Estrous Females

Abstract

To assess the frequency of haplotypes at the t complex of loci and their transmission distortion in natural populations of the house mouse (Mus domesticus) with minimal disruption to the social organization, it is important to use a technique by which males can be brought into the laboratory, bred to tester females (T/+), and then returned to their site of capture. It would be desirable if males could be returned to the field within 24 hrs of being captured. Older methods typically require a period of male retention of several weeks, but this could compromise conclusions of behavioral ecological studies. For example, the t complex of loci in house mice is frequently referred to in marshalling evidence for group selection (Lewontin 1970; Lacy 1978). Yet the removal of males from the population for a period of weeks alters the mating system and territorial structure and could severely disrupt the spatial and temporal dynamics of alleles at the t complex. A new method uses DNA from a 1 cm biopsy of the tail to assess the t haplotype with a specific DNA probe (Silver, et al. 1984). Whether the tail biopsy influences sexual or parental behavior is unknown, but seems unlikely.