Cross-species utility of the Mouse Diversity Genotyping Array in assaying single nucleotide polymorphisms
Abstract
In the study of genetic diversity in non-model species there is a notable lack of the low-cost, high resolution tools that are readily available for model organisms. Genotyping microarray technology for model organisms is well-developed, affordable, and potentially adaptable for cross-species hybridization. The Mouse Diversity Genotyping Array (MDGA), a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping tool designed for M. musculus, was tested as a tool to survey genomic diversity of wild species for inter-order, inter-family, inter-genus, and intra-genus comparisons. Application of the MDGA cross-species provides genetic distance information that reflects known taxonomic relationships reported previously between non-model species, but there is an underestimation of genetic diversity for non-Mus samples. The number and types of samples included in sets genotyped together must be considered in cross-species hybridization. The number of loci with heterozygous genotypes mapped to published genome sequences indicates potential for cross-species MDGA utility.