duper is a null mutation of Cryptochrome 1 in Syrian hamsters.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2022 May 03

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The duper mutation is a recessive mutation that shortens the period length of the circadian rhythm in Syrian hamsters. These animals show a large phase shift when responding to light pulses. Limited genetic resources for the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) presented a major obstacle to cloning duper. This caused the duper mutation to remain unknown for over a decade. In this study, we did a de novo genome assembly of Syrian hamsters with long-read sequencing data from two different platforms, Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Using two distinct ecotypes and a fast homozygosity mapping strategy, we identified duper as an early nonsense allele of Cryptochrome 1 (Cry1) leading to a short, unstable protein. CRY1 is known as a highly conserved component of the repressive limb of the core circadian clock. The genome assembly and other genomic datasets generated in this study will facilitate the use of the Syrian hamster in biomedical research.

Citation

Yin Yeng Lee, Sibel Cal-Kayitmazbatir, Lauren J Francey, Michael Seifu Bahiru, Katharina E Hayer, Gang Wu, Molly J Zeller, Robyn Roberts, James Speers, Justin Koshalek, Mark E Berres, Eric L Bittman, John B Hogenesch. duper is a null mutation of Cryptochrome 1 in Syrian hamsters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 May 03;119(18):e2123560119