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Hybrids show parental influence in the adaptation of wild house mice to cold

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

S. A. Barnett  and
R. G. Dickson
S. A. Barnett
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Australian National University*
R. G. Dickson
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Australian National University*

Summary

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Wild house mice, Mus musculus, were bred (a) at 3 °C (‘Eskimo’) and (b) at 23 °C. Mice of the ninth generation bred at 23°C were transferred to the cold environment. Their young, and Eskimo of the same (tenth) generation, were mated to give the four possible types of pairs: controls; the two reciprocal hybrid pairings; and Eskimo. In the resulting (eleventh) generation there were therefore two hybrid classes, genetically identical but with different parentage. The growth and reproduction of the eleventh generation were studied. At all ages from birth, mice with Eskimo mothers were heavier than those with control mothers. They were also better breeders: (1) they matured earlier; (2) their litters were larger; (3) the mortality of their young in the nest was lower. In one feature there was heterosis: of the four classes, the hybrids with Eskimo mothers produced the largest litters. These and previous findings suggest rapid selection, in the cold, for changes in growth, reproductive physiology and other aspects of metabolism. The cold-adapted mice of a given generation differed from the controls partly as a result of favourable parental effects, which acted in conjunction with genetical differences. It is hypothesized that the ecological versatility of Mus musculus depends partly on the presence, in each population, of alternative genotypes which allow rapid adaptation to new conditions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , December 1987 , pp. 199 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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