SRA

Onychomys torridus, also known as the "grasshopper mouse". These muridae, unlike mus musculus, show a very prominent and innate predatory instinct. Northern Grasshopper Mice are highly predatory, and their skulls and teeth resemble those of flesh-eating carnivores such as cats and dogs. Grasshopper Mice prey primarily on grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and notably are resistant to scorpion venom. These muridae, unlike mus musculus, show a very prominent and innate predatory instinct. They morphological and phylogenetic vicinity to the mus musculus might allow us to investigate what changes in circuit organization and neuronal properties underlie the evolution of predatory behaviour or the loss of it. We believe that the Onychomys represents an exciting opportunity to study the evolution of instinct to an unprecedented level of genetic and neural circuit detail. We also believe that it might pave the way to a different approach to the study of animal behaviour, where the selection of the appropriate animal is strictly dictated by the behaviour that one intends to study. Recent advancements in viral circuit tracing and manipulation that we pioneered combined with the improvement in CRISPR genome editing approach truly offers the opportunity to reach the same degree of genetic understanding that was, until now, only possible in mice.