History of the Mouse

Fancy Mice

Prior to use as research models, mice were domesticated and served as pets and known as fancy mice. These mice were bred and traded extensively in Europe, Japan, and China. Eventually the National Mouse Club was formed in 1895 which allowed for competitions based on color, size, and behavior and compelled breeders to engage in artificial selection for desirable traits.

Start of mice models

In the early 1900s, the mouse was first used as a way to study mendelian genetics because of the rather short generation time of these organisms. Clarence Little is credited with the development of the first strain of inbred mice which greatly improved the ability of researchers to utilize the genetic power of mice. Since then the development of transgenic mice and knockout mice in the 70s and 80s respectively allowed for the continued and expanded use of mice as a model organism.

Jackson Laboratory

In 1929, Clarence Little founded the Jackson Laboratory. This lab serves as a national repository for different mice strains. It is here that several advancements in science were made using mice as models. This lab started with a staff of about 7 scientists including Clarence Little, and now it employs around 3,000. Furthermore, they keep around 13,000 different strains of mice that are requested by labs internationally. For more information on the Jackson Lab’s history please visit https://www.jax.org/about-us/history#at-jax.