When it comes to genes, the situation is even worse. Even in plants, where the existence of genetic variation for tolerance has been long known, genes responsible for this anti-disease variation have not yet been identified at a molecular level. Similarly, the mouse genes responsible for our observations [9] have yet to be identified.
Elucidating genes involved in tolerance will be important for several reasons. First, it is a way to determine what types of mechanisms are involved and their relative importance (tissue repair? immunological?).