Mouse Forward Genetics in the Study of the Peripheral Nervous System and Human P

[Guest guest]

Neurochem Res. 2008 May 15.

Mouse Forward Genetics in the Study of the Peripheral Nervous System

and Human Peripheral Neuropathy.

DS, Popko B.

Committee on Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Forward genetics, the phenotype-driven approach to investigating gene

identity and function, has a long history in mouse genetics. Random

mutations in the mouse transcend bias about gene function and provide

avenues towards unique discoveries. The study of the peripheral

nervous system is no exception; from historical strains such as the

trembler mouse, which led to the identification of PMP22 as a human

disease gene causing multiple forms of peripheral neuropathy, to the

more recent identification of the claw paw and sprawling mutations,

forward genetics has long been a tool for probing the physiology,

pathogenesis, and genetics of the PNS.

Even as spontaneous and mutagenized mice continue to enable the

identification of novel genes, provide allelic series for detailed

functional studies, and generate models useful for clinical research,

new methods, such as the piggyBac transposon, are being developed to

further harness the power of forward genetics.