Project: Gough Island x WSB intercross to investigate body weight

Investigators: Bret A. Payseur, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Contact: Bret A. Payseur, bret.payseur@wisc.edu

Other participants: Gray MM, Parmenter MD, Hogan CA, Ford I,
                    Cuthbert RJ, Ryan PG, Broman KW

Introductory description:

The mice on the remote Gough Island evolved the largest body size
among wild house mice from around the world. Through comparisons with
a smaller-bodied wild-derived strain from the same subspecies
(WSB/EiJ), we demonstrated that Gough Island mice achieve their
exceptional body weight primarily by growing faster during the 6 weeks
after birth. We used genetic mapping in large F2 intercrosses between
Gough Island mice and WSB/EiJ to identify quantitative trait loci
(QTL) responsible for the evolution of 16-week weight trajectories.

Paper:
Gray MM, Parmenter MD, Hogan CA, Ford I, Cuthbert RJ, Ryan PG, Broman
KW, Payseur BA (2015) Genetics of rapid and extreme size evolution in
island mice. Genetics 201:213-228

Availability:
Available download files:
  Excel file with descriptions and data:  • Data_Description_Payseur_2015_Gough.xlsx

  CSV files:                              • goughF2.csv
                                          • gough_marker_map.csv

  Progenitors: WSB/EiJ; wild Gough Island mice
  Cross type:  F2 intercross
  Population size: 594 F, 618 M

Studied phenotypes:
body weight (g) age 1-16 weeks

Notes and funding:
This project was supported by National Institutes of Health grant
R01GM100426A (to BAP), NIH National Research Service Award
1F32GM090685 (to MMG), and a National Science Foundation graduate
research fellowship (to MDP).