Spontaneous mutation

These deer mice exhibit a pronounced tremor and staggering, awkward gait. The tremor is expressed whenever the animal is awake and at rest. The awkward gait is due to uncoordinated movements of the hind limbs. The trait is most strongly expressed in adults, but there is variable expressivities and low grade 'boggling' behavior is not easily distinguished from the wild-type. The tremor involves the whole body, but head movements are more noticeable. Boggler deer mice are less adept at climbing than normal arivals, but swimming ability is unimpaired. The trait cannot be recognized until after three months of age, and expression occasionally is delayed until the animal is more than a year old.

Source: About 1948. University of Michigan. The trait appeared within a stock of P.m. blandus descended from deer mice trapped near Tularosa, New Mexico. Apparently the first laboratory generation carried the mutant gene.

The MMRRC Centers have developed a genetic QC pipeline using MiniMUGA array genotyping to provide additional information on strain backgrounds for MMRRC congenic and inbred strains. For more information on when data may be available, or to request genotyping for a strain of interest, please contact mmrrc@missouri.edu. Older strains may not have this information.

Michael Felder, The Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center, University of South Carolina.

Vandermeer J, Barto E. Axonal dystrophy in a deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) with an inherited ataxia and tremor. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 1969 Apr;28(2):257-66. (Medline PMID: 5787431).

For more information, please see Boggler on the Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center website.