Kunming mice are the most widely used outbred colony in China. Differences in biological characters and drug reactions among different populations have been observed when using Kunming mice. But the molecular genetic profiles of Kunming mice and the extent of genetic differentiation among populations are unclear. Fifteen microsatellite markers were screened by a fluorescence-based semi-automated genotyping method for the two main populations of Kunming mice from Beijing (BJ) and Shanghai (SH) in China. The observed number of alleles, effective number of alleles, observed heterozygosity, unbiased expected heterozygosity and Shannon information index were used to estimate the genetic variation within the populations. A total of 89 alleles were detected in the two populations, with two to 12 at each locus, and the mean unbiased expected heterozygosity was 0.5724, which implies that there is abundant genetic variation in the populations of Kunming mice. Population differentiation was shown by shared alleles, F-statistics, Nei genetic distance and Nei genetic identity. In population BJ and population SH, respectively, only 35 of 61 and 35 of 63 alleles were shared by both. The Fst per locus varied from 0.0131 (D2Mit30) to 0.5697 (D7Mit281) and the average Fst of all loci was 0.1433, which indicates moderate genetic differentiation between the two Kunming mouse populations. The differences were also observed by Nei's [Genetic distance between populations. Am Nat 1972;106:283-92](1) genetic distance (0.3987) and Nei's [Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics 1978;89:583-90](2) unbiased measures of genetic distance (0.3881) estimates of subdivision. This research on Kunming mouse genetic diversity will assist in developing a national plan for the unification and standardization of the populations of Kunming mice in China.

Kunming mice are the most widely used outbred colony in China. Differences in biological characters and drug reactions among different populations have been observed when using Kunming mice. But the molecular genetic profiles of Kunming mice and the extent of genetic differentiation among populations are unclear. Fifteen microsatellite markers were screened by a fluorescence-based semi-automated genotyping method for the two main populations of Kunming mice from Beijing (BJ) and Shanghai (SH) in China. The observed number of alleles, effective number of alleles, observed heterozygosity, unbiased expected heterozygosity and Shannon information index were used to estimate the genetic variation within the populations. A total of 89 alleles were detected in the two populations, with two to 12 at each locus, and the mean unbiased expected heterozygosity was 0.5724, which implies that there is abundant genetic variation in the populations of Kunming mice.

BackgroundThe naked mole-rat (NMR, Heterocephalus glaber) is being bred as a novel laboratory animal due to its unique biological characteristics, including longevity, cancer resistance, hypoxia tolerance, and pain insensitivity. It is expected that differences exist between the microbiota of wild NMRs and that of NMRs in an artificial environment. Overall, the effect of environment on changes in the NMR microbiota remains unknown. In an attempt to understand the microbiota composition of NMRs in captivity, variability in the microbiota of the intestinal and respiratory tracts of two groups of NMRs was assessed under two conditions.ResultsThe results obtained by high-throughput sequencing revealed significant differences at the phylum, class, order, family and genus levels in the microbiota between the two groups of NMRs examined (first group in conventional environment, second group in barrier environment). For the trachea, 24 phyla and 533 genera and 26 phyla and 733 genera were identified for the first and second groups of animals. Regarding the cecum, 23 phyla and 385 genera and 25 phyla and 110 genera were identified in the microbiota of first and second groups of animals. There were no obvious differences between females and males or young and adult animals.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the intestinal and respiratory tract NMR microbiota changed during captivity, which may be related to the transition to the breeding environment. Such changes in the microbiota of NMRs may have an effect on the original characteristics, which may be the direction of further research studies.