A novel wild-derived inbred strain resource expands the genomic and phenotypic diversity of laboratory mouse models

Inbred mouse strains have served as the workhorses of mammalian genetics for over a century. However, commonly used inbred strains capture only a small fraction of the genetic variation present in wild mouse populations, limiting their relevance as biomedical models for genetically diverse human populations. In a recent PLoS Genetics publication, project participants Dumont, Nachman, Gatti, and Phifer-Rixey present a new panel of inbred strains developed from wild-caught mice across North and South America and characterize the extent of phenotypic and genomic diversity across this panel. Their strain survey emphasizes the collective promise of these new strains to advance biomedical discoveries into multiple trait domains, systems genetics analysis, and fundamental principles of evolutionary biology.