Analysis Tools
mortality/aging
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• at birth, homozygotes are grossly indistinguishable from wild-type mice; however, more than 75% of homozygotes die at P2 without milk in their stomachs
• trimming the litter at 1 week enhances the survival of homozygous mutant animals
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behavior/neurological
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• newborn homozygotes exhibit a ~75% reduction in the magnitude of the electro-olfactogram (EOG) response to a wide variety of different odors; the reduction in EOG response is even more pronounced in mutant animals that survive beyond 3 weeks
• in addition, EOG responses are significantly slowed and prolonged, suggesting impaired adaptation in olfactory receptor cells
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• >75% of homozygotes fail to suckle; about 1%-5% of homozygotes ultimately begin to feed, but by 1 week these mutants display a 30% reduction in body weight relative to wild-type mice
• at 3 weeks, when wild-type and heterozygous animals wean from the mother, homozygous mutants continue to nurse; if nursing persists, ~5% of homozygotes survive to sexual maturity
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• at ~5 weeks, surviving homozygotes begin to display hyperactive locomotor behaviors in the open-field test
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• surviving male and female homozygotes mate and are fertile; however, all pups born to homozygous mutant females die due to inadequate maternal behavior
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• mutant mothers fail to nest or crouch over their pups in a characteristic nursing manner
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• mutant mothers neither collect nor retrieve their pups when they are scattered
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taste/olfaction
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• homozygotes display a striking reduction in the electrophysiological response of primary olfactory sensory neurons to a wide variety of odors
• surprisingly, the topographic map of primary sensory projections to the olfactory bulb remains unchanged
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growth/size/body
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• rare survivors are smaller than heterozygous and wild-type littermates; this difference is apparent by 1 week of age
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