Correlation of C_Tβ Phenotype with Origins of Laboratory Mouse Strains

Abstract

The majority of laboratory mouse strains have been derived from relatively limited pools from the Mus musculus species. The original breeders, with a few exceptions, originated from European and North American pet dealers and Japanese mice fanciers. The primary source “of these pet dealers probably trace back to wild mice caught in restricted areas like England and eastern North America (domesticus) and Japanese animals related to the musculus group through the Japanese fancy tradition, resulting in a genetic melting pot for classical inbred strains that are more or less all related to each other. Besides these, a few lines were independently derived from wild stocks. Among the exceptions are the SJL and certain related strains which are derived from the so called “Swiss” stock. SJL mice have been shown to contain genes for lambda L chains (Lieberman 1977; Arp 1982) and certain kappa L chain V regions (Huppi 1985) that are different from other laboratory mice. More recently, many wild derived inbred and partially inbred strains of known geographical origin and systematical status make it possible to assess the precise origin of variation found in laboratory stocks (Bonhomme 1984).