Identification of the M. spretus A/B V1R Locus: Molecular Evolution and Speciation in Mice

The characterization of V1Rs between rat and mouse raises intriguing questions about the nature and mechanism of pheromone receptor gene evolution. To determine whether the prezygotic reproductive isolation between two much more closely-related rodent species, Mus spretus and Mus musculus, is reflected in divergent V1R repertoires, and to examine the possible mechanisms that characterize the short-term evolution of these genes, we attempted to identify and analyze V1R genes in the spretus genome orthologous to the A/B gene subfamilies of musculus V1Rs. We present here a complete experimental plan and preliminary findings for the isolation and characterization of V1R genes in M. spretus, with an ultimate goal of direct sequence comparison to the M. musculus V1R repertoire.