Insertion of a Retrotransposon in Mbp Disrupts mRNA Splicing and Myelination in a New Mutant Rat

Our understanding of myelination has been greatly enhanced via the study of spontaneous mutants that harbor a defect in a gene encoding one of the major myelin proteins (myelin mutants). In this study, we describe a unique genetic defect in a new myelin mutant called the Long Evans shaker (les) rat that causes severe dysmyelination of the CNS. Myelin deficits result from disruption of the myelin basic protein (Mbp) gene caused by the insertion …