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StatusReference proteome
Taxonomy10116 - Rattus norvegicus
StrainBrown Norway
Last modifiedJanuary 15, 2020

Rattus norvegicus (also called the brown rat, Hanover rat, Norwegian rat, Brown Norway rat) is a common rodent closely related to mouse. The species originated in Asia, not Norway as the name suggests, and has spread throughout the world.

The rat is a major pest and a reservoir of pathogens, being involved in the transmission of infectious diseases such as cholera, bubonic plague and typhus. On the other hand, Rattus norvegicus was the first mammalian species to be domesticated for scientific research.

The rat is an indispensable model organism in biomedical research, especially in cardiovascular and psychological research, and in therapeutic efficacy and toxicity studies. It is the third mammalian species to have its genome sequenced.

The reference proteome of Rattus norvegicus is derived from the genome sequence of strain Brown Norway (BN) that was published in 2004. The sequence data were mostly from two inbred female animals of strain BN/SsNHsd/Mcwi. The assembled genome size is 2.75 Gb.


Component nameGenome Accession(s)
Component representationProteins
Chromosome 13561
Chromosome 21766
Chromosome 32116
Chromosome 41648
Chromosome 51604
Chromosome 61141
Chromosome 71631
Chromosome 81487
Chromosome 91073
Chromosome 102101
Chromosome 11717
Chromosome 12819
Chromosome 13841
Chromosome 14850
Chromosome 15858
Chromosome 16771
Chromosome 17756
Chromosome 18638
Chromosome 19672
Chromosome 20862
Chromosome X1018
Chromosome Y12


  1. "Genome sequence of the Brown Norway rat yields insights into mammalian evolution."
    Gibbs R.A., Weinstock G.M., Metzker M.L., Muzny D.M., Sodergren E.J., Scherer S., Scott G., Steffen D., Worley K.C., Burch P.E., Okwuonu G., Hines S., Lewis L., Deramo C., Delgado O., Dugan-Rocha S., Miner G., Morgan M.
    Collins F.S.
    Nature 428:493-521(2004) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract]
  2. Rat Genome Sequencing Consortium
    Submitted (NOV-2002) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases
  3. "The Mitochondrial Genome of Rattus Norvegicus strain Brown Norway."
    McLeod M.P., Muzny D.M., Metzker M.L., Abramzon S., Adams C., Alder J., Allen C., Allen H., Alsbrooks S., Amin A., Anguiano D., Anyalebechi V., Aoyagi A., Ayodeji M., Baca E., Baden H., Baldwin D., Bandaranaike D.
    Gibbs R.A.
    Submitted (DEC-2002) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases
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Main funding by: National Institutes of Health


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