Genetics of the mouse
Because of the early development of inbred lines, the mouse provides a powerful tool to identify the genetic basis of both normal and diseased traits. The first genetic linkage in the mouse (and first autosomal linkage in mammals) was the linkage of pink-eyed dilution and albino first described in 1915.
The first genetic maps, based on recombinational estimates from linkage crosses, of the mouse genome were created using spontaneous mutations that produced visible phenotypes and histocompatibility genes. The major mapping centers during the 1930s-1970s were the Harwell MRC Genetics Unit in the U.K., the Biology Unit at the Atomic Energy Commission’s facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine
The discovery of polymorphic genes enabled more rapid genetic mapping. In the 1960s and 1970s biochemical (isoenzyme) genetic marker systems were developed. In the 1980s and 1990s DNA markers revolutionized genetic mapping: restriction fragment polymorphisms (RFLPs), simple sequence length polymorphisms (SSLPs) detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification (e.g. MIT markers), and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). All, especially SNPs, are widespread throughout the genome. One of the biggest advantages of DNA markers for mapping is that newly discovered markers can be typed in indefinitely stored DNAs from linkage crosses or mapping panels or recombinant inbred strains
