Expressed sequence tags from Peromyscus testis and placenta tissue: analysis, annotation, and utility for mapping.

Background: Mice of the genus Peromyscus are found in nearly every habitat from Alaska to Central America and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They provide an evolutionary outgroup to the Mus/Rattus lineage and serve as an intermediary between that lineage and humans. Although Peromyscus has been studied extensively under both field and laboratory conditions, research has been limited by the lack of molecular resources.

Comparative genome mapping of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) reveals greater similarity to rat (Rattus norvegicus) than to the lab mouse (Mus musculus).

Background: Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and congeneric species are the most common North American mammals. They represent an emerging system for the genetic analyses of the physiological and behavioral bases of habitat adaptation. Phylogenetic evidence suggests a much more ancient divergence of Peromyscus from laboratory mice (Mus) and rats (Rattus) than that separating latter two.