Biomaterial Database

Rules and guidelines for genetic nomenclature in mice: excerpted version. Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice. 1997

M T Davisson

Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, USA.

The unique identification of genes and mouse strains is critical to their identification in research and in the scientific literature. Rules for genetic nomenclature in mice have existed since the 1940s. The latest complete revision of the rules was approved by the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice in November, 1993. Minor revisions have occurred since. The complete, current rules are available on-line from The Jackson Laboratory's Mouse Genome Database (MGD), URL: http:(+)+www.informatics.jax.org. A printed version appeared in Mouse Genome 92 (2), June, 1994, and in Genetic Variants and Strains of the Laboratory Mouse, 3rd edition (Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice, 1996a,b,c). The excerpted version below gives the general guidelines for naming and symbolizing mouse genes, transgenes and transgenic strains, targeted mutations and DNA markers. More detailed guidelines, including revisions as they are made, may be found at the MGD Web site given above. Subparagraphs are numbered as in the complete guidelines so that the user can refer easily from this excerpted version to the full text. Textual references to paragraphs not included here may be found in the full text as well.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008815	Mice, Inbred Strains	Genetically identical individuals developed from brother and sister matings which have been carried out for twenty or more generations, or by parent x offspring matings carried out with certain restrictions. All animals within an inbred strain trace back to a common ancestor in the twentieth generation.	Inbred Mouse Strains,Inbred Strain of Mice,Inbred Strain of Mouse,Inbred Strains of Mice,Mouse, Inbred Strain,Inbred Mouse Strain,Mouse Inbred Strain,Mouse Inbred Strains,Mouse Strain, Inbred,Mouse Strains, Inbred,Strain, Inbred Mouse,Strains, Inbred Mouse
D008822	Mice, Transgenic	Laboratory mice that have been produced from a genetically manipulated EGG or EMBRYO, MAMMALIAN.	Transgenic Mice,Founder Mice, Transgenic,Mouse, Founder, Transgenic,Mouse, Transgenic,Mice, Transgenic Founder,Transgenic Founder Mice,Transgenic Mouse
D009154	Mutation	Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations.	Mutations
D009626	Terminology as Topic	Works about the terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.	Etymology,Nomenclature as Topic,Etymologies
D009857	Oncogenes	Genes whose gain-of-function alterations lead to NEOPLASTIC CELL TRANSFORMATION. They include, for example, genes for activators or stimulators of CELL PROLIFERATION such as growth factors, growth factor receptors, protein kinases, signal transducers, nuclear phosphoproteins, and transcription factors. A prefix of "v-" before oncogene symbols indicates oncogenes captured and transmitted by RETROVIRUSES; the prefix "c-" before the gene symbol of an oncogene indicates it is the cellular homolog (PROTO-ONCOGENES) of a v-oncogene.	Transforming Genes,Oncogene,Transforming Gene,Gene, Transforming,Genes, Transforming
D010641	Phenotype	The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment.	Phenotypes
D012150	Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length	Variation occurring within a species in the presence or length of DNA fragment generated by a specific endonuclease at a specific site in the genome. Such variations are generated by mutations that create or abolish recognition sites for these enzymes or change the length of the fragment.	RFLP,Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism,RFLPs,Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms
D002875	Chromosomes	In a prokaryotic cell or in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell, a structure consisting of or containing DNA which carries the genetic information essential to the cell. (From Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)	Chromosome
D004272	DNA, Mitochondrial	Double-stranded DNA of MITOCHONDRIA. In eukaryotes, the mitochondrial GENOME is circular and codes for ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, and about 10 proteins.	Mitochondrial DNA,mtDNA
D005796	Genes	A category of nucleic acid sequences that function as units of heredity and which code for the basic instructions for the development, reproduction, and maintenance of organisms.	Cistron,Gene,Genetic Materials,Cistrons,Genetic Material,Material, Genetic,Materials, Genetic