Russia-Japan Cooperative Survey and Breeding of Wild Mice

我们主要与俄罗斯科学家合作，从俄罗斯18个地方收集了大约400只野生小鼠。对所有小鼠进行了形态学（肉眼观察和测量身体、具有图像数据的模式标本）、核型学（C-带型和着丝粒特异性探针FISH）、生化学（血红蛋白β链多态性、补体成分等）、免疫组化（免疫组化）、免疫组化（免疫组化）等研究。遗传学分析（线粒体、核糖体和微卫星DNA多态性）以揭示其生物学特性。通过研究发现，俄罗斯小家鼠（Mus musculus）有3个亚种，即M.m. musculus、M m. castaneus和M.m.阿提库斯M.M. musculus占据了俄罗斯的大部分，M. m. Castaneus只在俄罗斯远东海岸。M.M.在海参崴及其沿着铁路北方地区发现了一个新成员，表明该亚种是最近从其它栖息地传入俄罗斯的。我们选择了包括上述突变体在内的超过25对育种对，并开始在宫崎医学院（K.Tsuchiya博士）建立它们以获得近交系。有10个菌株通过了F5代。在建立近交系后，它们将作为新的生物资源提供给我们的小鼠社区。

Collaborating mainly with Russian scientists, we collected about 400 individuals of wild mice from 18 localities in Russia. All of these mice were subjected by morphological (visual observation and measurement of bodies, type specimens with image data), karyological (C-banding pattern and FISH with centromere specific-probes), biochemical (polymorphisms of hemoglobin β chain, complement components, etc.) and genetical analyses (polymorphisms of mitochondrial, ribosomal and microsatellite DNA) to disclose their biological characteristics. Based on the studies, we found that there have been three subspecies of Mus musculus in Russia ; e.g. M.m. musculus, M m. castaneus and M.m. domesticus. M.m. musculus occupied major part of Russia, and M.m. castaneus did only in the Far-eastern coast of Russia. M.m. domesticus is a new member found in the Russia and is distributed near Vladivostok and its Northern area along railway, suggesting that the domesticus subspecies was recetly invaded into Russia from other habitat(s).After the analyses mentioned above, we discovered many mutants including hemoglobin β chain variants, deficiency of complement components and of mast cell activities in the colon, etc. We selected more than 25 breeding pairs including above-mentioned mutants and started to establish them to ve inbred strains at the Miyazaki Medical College (Dr. K.Tsuchiya). Ten strains have passed F5 generations. After their establishment as inbred strains, they will be provided to our mouse community as new biological resources.