Population genomics of the house mouse and the brown rat

Abstract

Mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus) have long served as model systems for biomedical research. However, they are also excellent models for studying the evolution of populations, subspecies, and species. Within the past million years, they have spread in various waves across large parts of the globe, with the most recent spread in the wake of human civilization. They have developed into commensal species, but have also been able to colonize extreme environments on islands free of human civilization. Given that ample genomic and genetic resources are available for these species, they have thus also become ideal mammalian systems for evolutionary studies on adaptation and speciation, particularly in the combination with the rapid developments in population genomics. The chapter provides an overview of the systems and their history, as well as of available resources.