Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Oxford have compiled the largest known database of non-human vertebrate organisms used to study and identify mutations related to more than 700 genetic traits.

Studying the DNA sequences of both common laboratory and wild mice, these researchers have completed the genomes of 17 strains of mice, according to a UW statement. Their findings were published in the Sept. 14 issue of Nature.

With the advances in sequencing capabilities, these genomes will help further research on common human diseases.

According to a release from WTSI, the study’s purpose was not just to catalog these genetic codes but to also discover what caused variations between genes.

The release also said the study will open the door to research on gene function and the identification of which genes are related to the contraction of certain diseases.

David Adams, leader of the study and member of WTSI, said the combination of known human genomes with the newly discovered mice genomes will prove beneficial in treating disease.

“We are living in an era where we have thousands of human genomes at our fingertips,” he said. “The mouse and the genome sequences we have created will play a critical role in understanding how genetic variation contributes to disease and will lead us towards new therapies.”

UW geneticist Bret Payseur said he was initially drawn to the study through an interest in the genetic mechanics underlying disease.

“Mice are the premier model organisms for human disease,” Payseur said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in understanding the genetics of common human diseases by studying mice.”

Assisted by UW graduate student Michael White, Payseur’s research also focuses on how mice genome sequences can aid the study of evolution.

Payseur said by studying specific sequences in these different strains of mice’s DNA, ancestral relationships between each mouse are more easily ascertained.

These relationships further aid researchers in their ability to compare differences and similarities of the genomes characterizing evolutionary relationships.

Payseur intends to extend his studies to “look even more in depth at genetic sequencing to try to understand [and] reconstruct the pedigree of most mouse strains.”

This, he hopes, will allow researchers to better determine which strains of mice are best suited for specific studies of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Oxford professor Jonathon Flint, co-leader of the study, emphasized discovering these genome sequences is just the beginning.

“This study is a first step in a long path that moves from understanding what the genome is to what it does,” Flint said in a Wellcome Trust Centre statement.

Of the immediate benefits of this discovery is the ability to quickly identify mouse genes associated with common human diseases as well as search for these diseases cause.

Researchers will also be able to place less reliance on mice breeding, condensing the number of mice needed for genetic studies.