House mice (Mus musculus) were introduced to New Zealand accidentally in 1824 following the stranding of an Australian ship. Phylogeographic analyses have revealed many subsequent introductions from diverse sources. Mice have significant negative impacts on native ecosystems in New Zealand and elsewhere. This makes their eradication a desirable conservation outcome, yet a large proportion of mo...

We have isolated clones containing the entire mouse proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) gene of 3890 bp and flanking sequences using a rat PCNA cDNA as a probe. The mouse gene has 6 exons whose sequences and junction points of exons with introns are extensively homologous to the human gene while sizes and nucleotide sequences of introns are much less conserved than exons. By a transient e...

Mammalian tears are produced by lacrimal glands to protect eyes and may function in chemical communication and immunity. Recent studies on the house mouse chemical signalling revealed that major urinary proteins (MUPs) are not individually unique in Mus musculus musculus. This fact stimulated us to look for other sexually dimorphic proteins that may-in combination with MUPs-contribute to a pool...

Sex differences in recombination are widespread in mammals, but the causes of this pattern are poorly understood. Previously, males from two interfertile subspecies of house mice, Mus musculus musculus and M. m. castaneus, were shown to exhibit a ∼30% difference in their global crossover frequencies. Much of this crossover rate divergence is explained by six autosomal loci and a large-effect lo...

Xenotropic mouse leukemia viruses (X-MLVs) are broadly infectious for mammals except most of the classical strains of laboratory mice. These gammaretroviruses rely on the XPR1 receptor for entry, and the unique resistance of laboratory mice is due to two mutations in different putative XPR1 extracellular loops. Cells from avian species differ in susceptibility to X-MLVs, and 2 replacement mutat...

The house mouse, Mus musculus, is one of the most widespread and well-studied invasive mammals on islands. It was thought to pose little risk to seabirds, but video evidence from Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean shows house mice killing chicks of two IUCN-listed seabird species. Mouse-induced mortality in 2004 was a significant cause of extremely poor breeding success for Tristan albatrosses,...

The house mouse (Mus musculus) has been spread throughout the world by the actions of humans. It causes severe impacts to native ecosystems, especially in areas where there are no native mammals. It is possible to eradicate mice from islands but they are harder to eradicate than rats. A review of reported eradication attempts found that 17 attempts on 45 islands worldwide failed; a failure rate...