The house mouse, Mus musculus, is a widely used animal model in biomedical research, with classical laboratory strains (CLS) being the most frequently employed. However, the limited genetic variability in CLS hinders their applicability in evolutionary studies. Wild-derived strains (WDS), on the other hand, provide a suitable resource for such investigations. This study quantifies genetic and phenotypic data of 101 WDS representing 5 species, 3 subspecies, and 8 natural Y consomic strains and compares them with CLS. Genetic variability was estimated using whole mtDNA sequences, the Prdm9 gene, and copy number variation at two sex chromosome-linked genes. WDS exhibit a large natural variation with up to 2173 polymorphic sites in mitogenomes, whereas CLS display 92 sites. Moreover, while CLS have two Prdm9 alleles, WDS harbour 46 different alleles. Although CLS resemble M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus WDS, they differ from them in 10 and 14 out of 16 phenotypic traits, respectively. The results suggest that WDS can be a useful tool in evolutionary and biomedical studies with great potential for medical applications.

• MeSH
• Alleles MeSH
• Animals, Wild genetics   MeSH
• Species Specificity MeSH
• Phenotype MeSH
• Genetic Variation * MeSH
• Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase genetics   MeSH
• DNA, Mitochondrial genetics   MeSH
• Mice * genetics   MeSH
• DNA Copy Number Variations MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Male MeSH
• Mice * genetics   MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase MeSH
• DNA, Mitochondrial MeSH
• prdm9 protein, mouse MeSH Browser