Genetic basis of individuality in mouse urinary pheromones

Wild populations of house mice show high levels of variation in the blend of major urinary proteins (MUPs) excreted in their urine. The variation in MUPs is known to be the major mediator of individual recognition in mouse urine. Previous work on lab strains has linked the pheromones to the major urinary protein gene family, though which elements of the gene family vary among individuals in wild populations to produce distinctive scents is unknown. The goal of this project is to use a combination of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to dissect the relative importance of variation in protein coding sequences, gene expression and protein translation in contributing to individual identity.