Abstract
We and many others have noted the advantages of using heterogeneous (HS) animals to map genes and gene networks associated with both behavioral and non-behavioral phenotypes. Importantly, genetically complex Mus musculus crosses provide substantially increased resolution to examine old and new relationships between gene expression and behavior. Here we report on data obtained from two HS populations: the HS/NPT derived from eight inbred laboratory mouse strains and the HS-CC derived from the eight collaborative cross inbred mouse strains that includes three wild-derived strains. Our work has focused on the genes and gene networks associated with risk for excessive ethanol consumption, individual variation in ethanol consumption and the consequences, including escalation, of long-term ethanol consumption. Background data on the development of HS mice is provided, including advantages for the detection of expression quantitative trait loci. Examples are also provided of using HS animals to probe the genes associated with ethanol preference and binge ethanol consumption.
Highlights
TO heterogeneous stocks (HS) MICEMcClearn and Rodgers [1] observed that among five inbred mouse strains there was a marked difference in ethanol preference (2-bottle choice, water vs. 10% ethanol)
For more than 50 years, HS and other outbred rodent populations have been key to investigating the genetics and basic biology of ethanol phenotypes, including excessive ethanol consumption
One suggested solution to this problem was to generate from the F2 an advanced intercross that would build the recombination density [see e.g., [100]]
Summary
TO HS MICEMcClearn and Rodgers [1] observed that among five inbred mouse strains there was a marked difference in ethanol preference (2-bottle choice, water vs. 10% ethanol). Behavioral and gene expression data are generally available for the founder strains, which facilitates the mapping process.
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