Genetic mechanisms controlling the domestication of a wild house mouse population (Mus musculus L.)

A controlled reenactment of the domestication process provided information on the relative effects of natural selection, inbreeding, and habitat upon an originally wild house mouse population. Effects were assessed by testing offspring that were bred under either laboratory or simulated natural conditions, systematically inbred or outbred, and postnatally fostered in laboratory or simulated natural habitats. Ten generations of domestication failed to reveal any behavioral differences due to either natural selection or habitat on nine different behavioral tests. Inbreeding strongly reduced intermale aggression, partially reduced resistance to recapture by humans, but failed to affect any of the seven other behaviors.