Whole Shotgun Genome Sequence of the ALR/LtJ Mouse Strain

Susceptibility to development of Type 1 Diabetes is controlled by a large number of genetic loci. The NOD mouse is a widely used model of spontaneous T1D, with approximately 75% of females becoming diabetic between 16 to 30 weeks of age. The ALR mouse was derived from the same outbred colony as the NOD mouse for resistance against the beta cell toxin Alloxan and does not spontaneously develop T1D. Interestingly, investigation into the genetic background of the ALR mouse determined that it shares many T1D susceptibility alleles with the NOD mouse. Therefore, the ALR mouse was outcrossed to the NOD to identify novel T1D resistance alleles. Four genetic loci derived from the ALR mouse were identified which confer resistance to disease, however, traditional microsatellite fine mapping failed to sufficiently define at least one of the regions. We therefore generated a whole genome sequence of the ALR mouse to better define the genetic loci responsible for the strong resistance to T1D.