The Genesis of Multiparental Genetic Reference Populations

Multiparental reference populations provide the genetic raw material for genetic resources in the post-genome era. Now available for many plant and animal species, they arose from the ambition of a small group of mouse geneticists to extend the concept of the recombinant inbred strain panels first produced in the 1960s, and to provide sufficient power for modern genetic research. I will present an overview of the original RI strains, and how the first mutiparental population, The Collaborative Cross, was conceived and produced.