Sex-restricted non-Mendelian inheritance of mouse chromosome 11 in the offspring of crosses between C57BL/6J and (C57BL/6J x DBA/2J)F1 mice.

We report on the observation of sex-restricted, non-Mendelian inheritance over a region of mouse Chromosome (Chr) 11, occurring in the offspring of crosses between two commonly used Mus musculus-derived inbred strains, C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. In the surviving backcross progeny of reciprocal matings between (C57BL/6J x DBA/2J)F1 hybrids and the C57BL/6J parental strain, we observed the preferential appearance of C57BL/6J alleles along a region of Chr 11. The deviation from Mendelian predictions was observed only in female offspring from both reciprocal backcrosses, and not in males from either cross. The sex-specificity of the observed non-Mendelian inheritance points to an explanation based on embryonic or neonatal lethality. Our data add to previously obtained evidence for a Chr 11 locus or loci with sex-specific and allele-specific effects on viability.