When the Y chromosome of the laboratory inbred mouse strain C57BL/6 (B6) is replaced by the Y of certain strains of Mus musculus domesticus, testis determination fails and all XY fetuses develop either as hermaphrodites or XY females (XY sex reversal). This suggests the presence of at least two alleles of Sry, the male-determining gene on the Y:M. m. domesticus and B6. The B6 Y chromosome is de...

Mus Musculus was randomly mutagenized using N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU). Mutations on Chromosome 5 were selected using the Rw inversion, a visibly marked, recessive, lethal inversion that covers almost fifty megabases (Mb). Multiple mutations were isolated from the subsequent three-generation mutagenesis screen, one of which was lethal 6. Using a combination of complementation tests and recombi...

PCR diagnostics detected 100% prevalence of Helicobacter in 425 wild house mice (Mus musculus) from across central Europe. Of seven species identified, the five most frequent were Helicobacter rodentium (78%), H. typhlonius (53%), H. hepaticus (41%), H. bilis (30%), and H. muridarum (1%). Double infections were more common (42%) than single (30%) and triple (21%) infections. Wild house mice cou...

We report on a genome-wide scan for introgression between the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) and the Algerian mouse (Mus spretus), using samples from the ranges of sympatry and allopatry in Africa and Europe. Our analysis reveals wide variability in introgression signatures along the genomes, as well as across the samples. We find that fewer than half of the autosomes in each genome harb...

Mapping hybrid defects in contact zones between incipient species can identify genomic regions contributing to reproductive isolation and reveal genetic mechanisms of speciation. The house mouse features a rare combination of sophisticated genetic tools and natural hybrid zones between subspecies. Male hybrids often show reduced fertility, a common reproductive barrier between incipient species...

Using generic PCR, we identified a variant of murine pneumotropic virus (MptV) (family Polyomaviridae) in 3 wild house mice (Mus musculus). The fully amplified and sequenced genomes display considerable differences from the MptV genomes published previously and enlighten us on the natural diversity of rodent polyomaviruses.