Forty mouse strain survey of water and sodium intake

We measured voluntary water and sodium intakes of 40 inbred strains of mice. Groups of approximately 10 males and approximately 10 females from each strain received a series of 48-h tests with a choice between a bottle of water and a bottle of one of the following: water, 25, 75, and 225 mM NaCl, 25, 75, and 225 sodium lactate. Sodium solution intakes were influenced by strain, sex, anion and concentration: Nine strains drank significantly more chloride than lactate, and only one strain (I/LnJ) drank significantly more lactate than chloride. The other 30 strains drank similar volumes of chloride and lactate. Sodium intakes were higher in females than males of 8 strains and did not differ by sex in the other 32 strains. Some strains had consistently high sodium intakes and preferred all sodium solutions to water (129S1/SvImJ, MA/MyJ, NZW/LacJ and SWR/J), some showed indifference (i.e. preferences not significantly different from 50%) to all concentrations tested (A/J, C57BL/6J, FVB/NJ and SEA/GnJ), and some had consistently low sodium intakes (AKR/J, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/10J, CBA/J, DBA/2J, I/LnJ, JF1/Ms, LP/J, NON/LtJ, PERA/EiJ, PL/J, and RIIIS/J). The results illustrate the diversity of voluntary sodium intake in mice and will assist in the selection of appropriate strains for focused genetic and physiological analyses.