Mus musculus, house mouse

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Taxonomic lineage

cellular organisms - Eukaryota - Fungi/Metazoa group - Metazoa - Eumetazoa - Bilateria - Coelomata - Deuterostomia - Chordata - Craniata - Vertebrata - Gnathostomata - Teleostomi - Euteleostomi - Sarcopterygii - Tetrapoda - Amniota - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Euarchontoglires - Glires - Rodentia - Sciurognathi - Muroidea - Muridae - Murinae - Mus - Mus musculus

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Brief facts

• Mus musculus is the best known mouse species in the world.
• House mice are found in nearly all countries as house pests, as pets, and as laboratory animal model.
• In the wild mice, as other rodents, are important food source for many predators: cats, foxes, birds, snakes, etc. Thus, they play a significant role in ecosystem.
• Because of its incredible adaptability to almost any environment, and its ability to live commensally with humans, the mouse is regarded to be the third most successful mammalian species living on Earth today, after human and the rat.
• Mouse is one of the smallest mammals which is evolutionary close to humans (about 60 million years).

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Developmental stages (life cycle)

• Oocyte MeSH Primary oocyte (located in the ovarian follicle); for each primary oocyte that undergoes meiosis, only one functional oocyte is produced; the other two or three cells produced are called polar bodies; polar bodies have no function and eventually deteriorate.
• Unfertilized ovum Secondary oocyte the primary oocyte turns into a secondary oocyte in mature ovarian follicles; unlike the sperm, the egg is arrested in the secondary stage of meiosis until fertilization; upon fertilization by sperm, the secondary oocyte continues the second part of meiosis and becomes a zygote.
• prenatal
  • Embryo MeSH The average gestation period is about 20-21 days.
    • Early gestation embryo
      • Pre-implantation embryo
        • Zygote MeSH Fertilized egg, 1-cell embryo;
          0 dpc, Theiler 1.
        • Cleavage MeSH Dividing egg, 1-2 dpc, Theiler 2.
          • Early cleavage
            • 2-cell embryo
            • 4-cell embryo
          • Morula MeSH 8-16-cell embryo,
            1-3.5 dpc, Theiler 3.
        • blastocyst MeSH16-40-cell embryo,
          2-5.5 dpc, Theiler 4-5.
          
          Blastocyst, 3.5 dpc
          Hadjantonakis AK et al. BMC Biotechnol. 2002 Jun 11;2:11.
    • Post implantation embryo
      • Egg cylinder 4.5-6.5 dpc, Theiler 7-10;
        stages of egg cylinder:
        implantation, formation,
        differentiation, and
        advanced egg cylinder
        (equivalent to Downs and Davies
        pre-streak and early streak).
      • Mid-gestation embryo
        • Gastrula MeSH 6.5+-8.0 dpc, Theiler 10abc.
        • Neurula 7.5-8.5 dpc, Theiler 11abcd.
        • Organogenesis
          MeSH 8.5-12 dpc, Theiler 12-19;
          stages of organogenesis:
          first 1-7 somite pairs,
          turning of the embryo;
          formation and closure of
          anterior and posterior
          neurospore;
          development of limb buds,
          olfactory pit,
          and optic vesicles.
          
          Embryo 9.5.dpc
          Jones B et al. PLoS Genet. 2008 Sep 12;4(9):e1000190.
      • Late gestation embryo
        • Fetus MeSH 12-21 dpc, Theiler 20-26;
          embryo resembling mouse;
          stages: signs of fingers;
          anterior footplate indented,
          marked pinna;
          fingers and toes separate;
          reposition of umbilical hernia;
          skin wrinkles;
          long whiskers.
          
          Fetus, 13.5 dpc
          Hadjantonakis AK et al. BMC Biotechnol. 2002 Jun 11;2:11.
          
          Fetus, 18.5 dpc
          Heupel K et al. Neural Dev. 2008 Oct 14;3:25.
• Post natal
  • Neonate 1-14 days of age; eyes closed.
    
    Newborn mouse
    Kawauchi S et al. PLoS Genet. 2009 Sep;5(9):e1000650.
  • Juvenile 14-35 days old; eyes are opening at 14 days of age; weaning at 21 days of age.
    
    Juvenile mice
    Lee HH, Behringer RR. PLoS One. 2007 May 16;2(5):e450.
  • Adult Reaching sexual maturity at 5-7 weeks; average life span is about 3 months in the wild and up to 3 years in captivity.
    
    Adults, 12+ months
    Anderson MG et al. BMC Biol. 2006 Jul 7;4:20.

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References

• Wikipedia: mouse
• Animal Diversity Web: Mus musculus
• Emap Edinburg Mouse Atlas Project
• UNSW Embryology: Mouse Development - Stages
• The Anatomy of the Laboratory Mouse

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