ESTABLISHMENT OF INBRED STRAIN OF LONG-HAIRED GOLDEN-HAMSTER

Features of a long-haired mutant and inheritance of mutation were inve stigated in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). The hair of adu lt long-haired hamsters was longest at the rump and flanks (approximat ely 70 mm) and was also unusually long at the neck (45 to 50 mm). The hair length of males was more striking than that of females. Mating ex periments indicated that an autosomal recessive gene is responsible fo r the inheritance of long hair. An albino long-haired hamster strain w as established by continuous full-sib mating from F2 hybrids, descenda nts of (acromelanic albino x agouti long-haired) F1 progeny, and genet ic homogeneity was confirmed by DNA fingerprinting. The long-haired st rain was characterised by the fact that males grew larger than females , in contrast to the other strains of hamsters.