The next great advance in human genetics research has arrived, courtesy of the common mouse. Scientists have published the genetic blueprint of the mouse and 99 per cent of its working elements are identical to those found in humans.
The 2,500-million element mouse genome is published this morning in the journal Nature. Included with it is a glowing scientific commentary, with researchers promising rapid breakthroughs in the treatment of human diseases.
The remarkable level of genetic similarity between the two species allows human illnesses to be mimicked and studied in laboratory mice.
An understanding of how individual mouse genes work leads to an almost immediate understanding of how matching genes work in humans.
The international Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium, involving researchers in Britain and the US, did the sequencing work that mapped out the genome. It identified 9,000 new mouse genes but, tellingly, the mouse work also helped reveal 1,200 new human genes, according to associated research papers in Nature.
The reports suggest that lab experiments under way around the world involve perhaps 25 million laboratory mice at any given time. They are employed in the fight against almost all types of human disease from HIV and malaria to progressive blindness and cancer.
The release of the Mus musculus or "house mouse" genome should greatly accelerate this research according to leading researchers.
The human and mouse genomes can now be compared directly and disease processes can be studied in close gene-by-gene detail.
Mice can also be genetically modified by either adding or deleting specific genes, changes which mimic deficits typical of human diseases such as the major human killers, heart disease and cancer and others, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
This allows detailed study of the damage caused by genetic changes brought about by diseases.
"As a resource for genetics this is very, very important," said Prof David McConnell, professor of genetics at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics in Trinity College.
"This is a very big step. It might be said to be the next most important genome release after the human genome."
Special strains of mice that imitate human disease were a "remarkable resource" for researchers, he added.
"It is very important in that we can use the mouse as a sick animal model," said Prof Brian Harvey, director of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Charitable Infirmary Trust Molecular Medicine Laboratory, based at Beaumont Hospital. "We can look at the progress of a disease over a short period," he said, drawing direct comparisons with disease progression in humans.
"We have learnt a huge amount about human medical problems by studying mouse genetics," said Prof Robert Winston of Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital in London.
"This new landmark announcement is of immense importance and will undoubtedly further our understanding of the molecular basis for human diseases and the treatment of the widest range of human disorders."
The papers published in Nature reveal important new findings about the mouse genome. Almost a third of mouse genes don't produce any proteins and apparently only switch other genes on and off. Also, previously named "junk" genetic material with no apparent purpose may, in fact, be essential for controlling wider gene activity.
A key feature of the mouse genome data is that researchers around the world have free access to this resource. Researchers can access the information without cost and use it in their own labs.
"We have deciphered the mouse book of life, and translated this huge tome into a meaningful edition for the research community," stated Dr Jane Rogers, head of sequencing at the Sanger Institute. "The entire biomedical research community can for the first time fully use this resource to tackle human diseases."
The sequencing consortium included the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK, and the Whitehead Institute of Maryland and Washington University in Missouri.