The Monell Mouse Taste
Phenotyping Project (MMTPP) is an NIH-sponsored initiative to develop efficient
methods to measure the acceptance and liking of taste solutions by mice. The recent impetus to understand the genetic basis
of taste perception has provided several challenges for the measurement of
taste preferences. First, most previous
work has used rats but most genetic studies involve mice, which drink less than
do rats. This is a challenge because it
is difficult to measure small volumes accurately, the range of intakes is
smaller, and the errors due to spillage and evaporation are relatively
greater. Second, many more animals must
be tested than for previous research.
For example, several hundred mice are required to identify most
quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and it is likely that several thousand mice will
be required to identify taste-related mutations. Third, genetic studies require highly
reliable results: Whereas interpretation of most previous research has been
based on differences between groups of animals, the results of a single mouse
in genetic studies can be crucial.
Inaccurate phenotyping can lead to incorrect localization of QTLs or a
great deal of wasted effort trying to breed, genotype and phenotype the
offspring of mice that do not have a genetic anomaly. A major portion of this project is to develop
test methods to maximize the sensitivity of taste tests involving mice.
In
addition, the MMTPP will provide normative taste solution intake data on many
strains of mice. Such data will provide
a valuable resource for choosing inbred strains for genetic studies.
This
work was initially supported by a NIH grant, AA-12715, which has the catchy
title “Efficient methods to detect taste abnormalities in mice”. The abstract can be found here and a complete copy of the
proposal in Word format is available here.
An
illustrated story about the project entitled “Nice Mice” is available in pdf format.