Genomic comparison of Lewis and Wistar-Furth rat substrains by use of microsatellite markers

Inbred strains of the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) are commonly used models in biomedical and behavioral research. Genetic contamination caused by breeding errors, incomplete inbreeding with residual allogenicity, mutation, and genetic drift all are known to contribute to substrain divergence. Therefore, colonies of inbred strains from various suppliers likely contain differing amounts of genetic variation. We used microsatellite markers to scan the genomes and compare the genetic composition of 3 Lewis substrains and 2 Wistar-Furth substrains obtained from 3 different suppliers. LEW/SsNHsd rats showed approximately 37% genomic difference as compared with LEW/MolTac rats, and 8% difference as compared with LEW/Crl rats. WF/NHsd rats demonstrated a difference of approximately 8% as compared with WF/CrCrl rats. Investigators should consider the background genetics of the particular strains for their research projects and should use strains from a single source when feasible.