Epigenetic polymorphism in wild populations ofMus musculus

Abstract

It has been suggested (Berry & Searle, 1963) that the discontinuous (‘quasi-continuous’) variants studied by Grüneberget al.in the skeleton of rodents can be regarded as constitutingepigenetic polymorphismin different populations. Comparisons have been made between the incidences of skeletal variants in house mouse populations collected from: corn ricks on a single farm in Hampshire; eleven separated localities in different parts of the British Isles; and nine other places throughout the world. These showed that the method could profitably be used for genetically characterizing and hence comparing populations. There was evidence suggestive of genetical drift between local populations and stabilizing selection over a larger area.