Environmental influences on the preferences of wild female house mice for males of differing t-complex genotypes.

Twenty-five percent of wild house mice are heterozygous (+/t) for a deleterious, recessive mutation at the t complex. In previous studies we have demonstrated that wild female house mice can discriminate +/+ from +/t males and show strong preferences for the odors of males who do not carry t mutations. In the present study we examine the extent to which preferences of +/+ female mice are influenced by the genotype of their parents and or littermates. Our data indicate that when +/+ females are reared by two +/+ parents, they exhibit strong preferences for the odors of +/+ males. In contrast, when a +/+ female is reared by one +/+ and one +/t parent she shows no preference for males of either genotype. A second experiment using mice carrying recombinant chromosomes indicates that the genes responsible for the parental (or family) odor cue are not the deleterious t mutations per se but rather other genes linked to these mutations.