Mice as models for human genetics.

Despite having diverged some 75 million years ago, mice and humans share a remarkable degree of genomic, anatomical, and physiological similarity. As mammals, mice facilitate the study of processes and pathologies that cannot be modelled in yeast, worms, or flies. The figure illustrates some of the features and technologies that together make the mouse an exceptionally tractable system for determining mammalian gene function and modelling human disease. Apart from its small size, the mouse has, compared with other mammals, a short generation time and is relatively fecund. This makes it feasible to carry out genetic studies that necessarily involve significant numbers of animals and considerable breeding efforts. Another advantage is that a large number of well-characterized inbred strains exist, allowing investigators in different laboratories to carry out controlled experiments on the same genetic background and facilitating genetic mapping. Assisted reproduction technologies mean that strains can be cryogenically preserved, transferred, and reconstituted at any time. In addition, an unsurpassed array of technologies and tools exist in the mouse, which allow a host of physical and genetic manipulations to be carried out.