Genetic background influences age-related decline in visual and nonvisual retinal responses, circadian rhythms, and sleep.

ABSTRACT: The circadian system is entrained to the environmental light/dark cycle via retinal photoreceptors and regulates numerous aspects of physiology and behavior, including sleep. These processes are all key factors in healthy aging showing a gradual decline with age. Despite their importance, the exact mechanisms underlying this decline are yet to be fully understood. One of the most effective tools we have to understand the genetic factors underlying these processes are genetically inbred mouse strains. The most commonly used reference mouse strain is C57BL/6J, but recently, resources such as the International Knockout Mouse Consortium have started producing large numbers of mouse mutant lines on a pure genetic background, C57BL/6N. Considering the substantial genetic diversity between mouse

SUBMITTER: Banks G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4270439 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature