Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vomeronasal receptors (VRs), expressed in sensory neurons of the vomeronasal organ, are thought to bind pheromones and mediate innate behaviours. The mouse reference genome has over 360 functional VRs arranged in highly homologous cl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2012-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Genomics |
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| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/13/415 |
| _version_ | 1811250597690605568 |
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| author | Wynn Elizabeth H Sánchez-Andrade Gabriela Carss Keren J Logan Darren W |
| author_facet | Wynn Elizabeth H Sánchez-Andrade Gabriela Carss Keren J Logan Darren W |
| author_sort | Wynn Elizabeth H |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vomeronasal receptors (VRs), expressed in sensory neurons of the vomeronasal organ, are thought to bind pheromones and mediate innate behaviours. The mouse reference genome has over 360 functional VRs arranged in highly homologous clusters, but the vast majority are of unknown function. Differences in these receptors within and between closely related species of mice are likely to underpin a range of behavioural responses. To investigate these differences, we interrogated the VR gene repertoire from 17 inbred strains of mice using massively parallel sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately half of the 6222 VR genes that we investigated could be successfully resolved, and those that were unambiguously mapped resulted in an extremely accurate dataset. Collectively VRs have over twice the coding sequence variation of the genome average; but we identify striking non-random distribution of these variants within and between genes, clusters, clades and functional classes of VRs. We show that functional VR gene repertoires differ considerably between different <it>Mus</it> subspecies and species, suggesting these receptors may play a role in mediating behavioural adaptations. Finally, we provide evidence that widely-used, highly inbred laboratory-derived strains have a greatly reduced, but not entirely redundant capacity for differential pheromone-mediated behaviours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Together our results suggest that the unusually variable VR repertoires of mice have a significant role in encoding differences in olfactory-mediated responses and behaviours. Our dataset has expanded over nine fold the known number of mouse VR alleles, and will enable mechanistic analyses into the genetics of innate behavioural differences in mice.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:07:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3aec128435014220aca44f28c6688105 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2164 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:07:00Z |
| publishDate | 2012-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Genomics |
| spelling | doaj.art-3aec128435014220aca44f28c66881052022-12-22T03:26:01ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642012-08-0113141510.1186/1471-2164-13-415Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred miceWynn Elizabeth HSánchez-Andrade GabrielaCarss Keren JLogan Darren W<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vomeronasal receptors (VRs), expressed in sensory neurons of the vomeronasal organ, are thought to bind pheromones and mediate innate behaviours. The mouse reference genome has over 360 functional VRs arranged in highly homologous clusters, but the vast majority are of unknown function. Differences in these receptors within and between closely related species of mice are likely to underpin a range of behavioural responses. To investigate these differences, we interrogated the VR gene repertoire from 17 inbred strains of mice using massively parallel sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately half of the 6222 VR genes that we investigated could be successfully resolved, and those that were unambiguously mapped resulted in an extremely accurate dataset. Collectively VRs have over twice the coding sequence variation of the genome average; but we identify striking non-random distribution of these variants within and between genes, clusters, clades and functional classes of VRs. We show that functional VR gene repertoires differ considerably between different <it>Mus</it> subspecies and species, suggesting these receptors may play a role in mediating behavioural adaptations. Finally, we provide evidence that widely-used, highly inbred laboratory-derived strains have a greatly reduced, but not entirely redundant capacity for differential pheromone-mediated behaviours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Together our results suggest that the unusually variable VR repertoires of mice have a significant role in encoding differences in olfactory-mediated responses and behaviours. Our dataset has expanded over nine fold the known number of mouse VR alleles, and will enable mechanistic analyses into the genetics of innate behavioural differences in mice.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/13/415VomeronasalReceptorOlfactionPheromoneBehaviourGenome sequencingSingle nucleotide polymorphismMouse |
| spellingShingle | Wynn Elizabeth H Sánchez-Andrade Gabriela Carss Keren J Logan Darren W Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice BMC Genomics Vomeronasal Receptor Olfaction Pheromone Behaviour Genome sequencing Single nucleotide polymorphism Mouse |
| title | Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| title_full | Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| title_fullStr | Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| title_short | Genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| title_sort | genomic variation in the vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires of inbred mice |
| topic | Vomeronasal Receptor Olfaction Pheromone Behaviour Genome sequencing Single nucleotide polymorphism Mouse |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/13/415 |
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