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Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on July 27, 2008.
Genetics, Vol. 179, 2147-2155, August 2008, Copyright © 2008
doi:10.1534/genetics.108.088070
Within-Generation Mutation Variance for Litter Size in Inbred Mice
Joaquim Casellas* and
Juan F. Medrano
,1
* Genètica i Millora Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries-Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain and Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, California 95616-8521
1 Corresponding author: Department of Animal Science, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-8521.
E-mail: jfmedrano{at}ucdavis.edu
The mutational input of genetic variance per generation (
) is the lower limit of the genetic variability in inbred strains of mice, although greater values could be expected due to the accumulation of new mutations in successive generations. A mixed-model analysis using Bayesian methods was applied to estimate and the across-generation accumulated genetic variability on litter size in 46 generations of a C57BL/6J inbred strain. This allowed for a separate inference on and on the additive genetic variance in the base population (
). The additive genetic variance in the base generation was 0.151 and quickly decreased to almost null estimates in generation 10. On the other hand, was moderate (0.035) and the within-generation mutational variance increased up to generation 14, then oscillating between 0.102 and 0.234 in remaining generations. This pattern suggested the existence of a continuous uploading of genetic variability for litter size (
). Relevant genetic drift was not detected in this population. In conclusion, our approach allowed for separate estimation of and within the mixed-model framework, and the heritability obtained highlighted the significant and continuous influence of new genetic variability affecting the genetic stability of inbred strains.