Animal Models of Gene–Nutrient Interactions

Abstract

Food intake of humans is governed by the food's nutritional value and pleasing taste, but also by other factors such as food cost and availability, cultural imperatives, and social status. The biological determinants of human food intake are not easily parsed from these other factors, making them hard to study against the whirligig aspects of human life in a modern age. The study of animals provides a useful alternative. Humans have a history of studying animal food intake, for agricultural reasons (e.g., pigs and cows), and for personal reasons (e.g., dogs and cats), and these practical concerns have been joined with the appreciation that other models can teach us the principles of behavior, genetics, and nutrition. Thus there is a steady use of the traditional animal models in this type of research, as well as growth in the use of other systems such as worms and flies. Rats and mice occupy a special niche as animal models for two reasons; first, they share with humans a love of the same types of food, and second, they are the target of a number of well-developed genetic tools. The available genetic tools that make mice a popular model include a well-annotated genome (Mouse Build 37), profiles of RNA expression from many tissues, a diverse panel of inbred strains, and the ability to manipulate genes in the whole animal, including removing a gene only in specific tissues (e.g., Cre-lox system). Mice have been harnessed to find genotypes that contribute to sweet-liking, and other studies are underway to understand how genetic variation might at least partially explain other puzzles of human appetites. Animal models provide a way to study the genetic determinants of food selection with experimental rigor and therefore complement human genetics studies.