A resource for the simultaneous high-resolution mapping of multiple quantitative trait loci in rats:The NIH heterogeneous stock

Martina Johannesson, Regina Lopez-Aumatell, Pernilla Stridh, Margarita Diez, Jonatan Tuncel, Gloria Blázquez, Esther Martinez-Membrives, Toni Cañete, Elia Vicens-Costa, Delyth Graham, Richard R. Copley, Polinka Hernandez-Pliego, Amennai D. Beyeen, Johan Öckinger, Cristina Fernández-Santamaría, Percio S. Gulko, Max Brenner, Adolf Tobeña, Marc Guitart-Masip, Lydia Giménez-LlortAnna Dominiczak, Rikard Holmdahl, Dominique Gauguier, Tomas Olsson, Richard Mott, William Valdar, Eva E. Redei, Alberto Fernández-Teruel, Jonathan Flint*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

The laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a key tool for the study of medicine and pharmacology for human health. A large database of phenotypes for integrated fields such as cardiovascular, neuroscience, and exercise physiology exists in the literature. However, the molecular characterization of the genetic loci that give rise to variation in these traits has proven to be difficult. Here we show how one obstacle to progress, the fine-mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL), can be overcome by using an outbred population of rats. By use of a genetically heterogeneous stock of rats, we map a locus contributing to variation in a fear-related measure (two-way active avoidance in the shuttle box) to a region on chromosome 5 containing nine genes. By establishing a protocol measuring multiple phenotypes including immunology, neuroinflammation, and hematology, as well as cardiovascular, metabolic, and behavioral traits, we establish the rat HS as a new resource for the fine-mapping of QTLs contributing to variation in complex traits of biomedical relevance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)150-158
Number of pages9
JournalGenome research
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics
  • Genetics(clinical)

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