Atropine esterase status of laboratory mice

Fifty eight inbred strains of laboratory mice and two species of wild mice [Mus castaneus (inbred) and Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii (closed colony)] were tested for the presence of atropine esterase by the microhematocrit tube test of Tucker and Beattie. The results show clearly that laboratory mice do not have significant levels of atropine esterase as determined either by the microhematocrit tube test or by the agar plate test, and therefore that under these conditions atropine esterase is not a polymorphic variant as has been demonstrated clearly in the rabbit.