MetaRodent Home: rat and mouse

Rodents

This website is about all rodents. Although, Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and house mouse (Mus musculus) are main players.

Norway rats are originally native to northern China. Today, rats can be found on every continent of the world except Antarctica.
Rats are destructive pests and carriers of various parasites, and as such, they played an enormous role in history of human civilization.
Rat was used for biologocal research for over 150 years. Nowadays, the rat is one of the most important laboratory animal used for genetic and medical research.

Nemose

Mus musculus is the best known mouse species in the world.
House mice are found in nearly all countries as house pests, as pets, and as laboratory animal model.
In the wild mice, as other rodents, are important food source for many predators: cats, foxes, birds, snakes, etc. Thus, they play a significant role in ecosystem.
Because of its incredible adaptability to almost any environment, and its ability to live commensally with humans, the mouse is regarded to be the third most successful mammalian species living on Earth today, after humans and the rat.

One of the smallest mammals which is evolutionary close to humans (about 60 million years).
Easily maintained in captivity: hardy and easily handled, have very high proliferation rates.
Conserved synteny with human genome (10-20 mb streches).