Selection Response in a Divergent Selection Experiment for Birth Weight Variability in Mice Compared with a Control Line.

Birth weight (BW) in animal production is an economically important trait in prolific species. The laboratory mouse ( ) is used as an experimental animal because it is considered a suitable model for prolific species such as rabbits and pigs. Two mouse lines were divergently selected for birth weight variability with a third line of non-selected control population of the same origin as the animals starting the experiment.