Genetic correlations and associative networks for CNS transcript abundance and neurobehavioral phenotypes in a recombinant inbred mapping panel Elissa J. Chesler, Jintao Wang, Lu Lu, Jeremy L. Peirce, Yanhua Qu, Kenneth F. Manly, Robert W. Williams University of Tennessee-Memphis Health Science Center
Genetic Correlations: Relation of trait values in genetically similar individuals Which traits share a common genetic mediation? (Genetic Correlations) Which genes have expression levels associated with the trait? (Genetic Correlations) Where are the polymorphisms that influence the traits? (Trait to Marker Correlations - Quantitative Trait Loci)
BXD Recombinant Inbred Strains Several hundred phenotypes have been studied ( > 500 ). Brain expression of several thousand genes have been measured using Affymetrix microarrays genetic marker strain distributions are known. All data is available at No additional genotyping is necessary to perform genetic analyses.
Search the BXD Published Phenotypes and Gene Expression Databases at Affymetrix Gene Expression Data in BXD RI mice
High density Marker Map for Re-analysis of BXD Phenotypes The marker map used for BXD RI expression QTL mapping. The current map has ~750 markers Pair-wise recombination fractions (upper triangle) and LOD scores for linkage of markers (lower triangle). Warmer colors indicate greater linkage. Plots were created using R/QTL.
C57BL/6J DBA/2J Marker-Trait Associations
Correlation Analysis Options and Diagnostic Plots Evaluating Linearity and Univariate Normality
Drd2 expression is determined by genetic variation near the transcript
Correlations of Drd2 expression with published phenotypes Negative correlation with activity Positive correlation with conditioned place preference and other consumption
Re-mapping a published phenotype N = 20 strains
Genes that correlate with ethanol conditioned place preference
Phenotyping a larger set of BXD mice will increase statistical power for QTL detection and trait association Drd2 Conditioned Place Preference The same polymorphism controlling Drd2 expression may regulate EtOH induced CPP and OFA EtOH Open Field Activity
Kcnj9 Chr Mb Sdhc Chr Mb Ethanol Acceptance (Female) Tolerance to Ethanol Ataxia Pleiotropy or Linkage? Trait 1 Trait 2 Trait 1 Trait 2 Gene 1 Gene 2 Gene 1 r = -.68 r =.73 r = -.24 r = 0.65
Linking In and Out From WebQTL UTHSC GENE EXPRESSION DATA LOCUS LINK Pub MED UCSC GENOME BROWSER PUBLISHED PHENOTYPES DATABASE SCATTER PLOTS
SNPs in the untranslated region near Drd2 Flanking SNPs Several SNPs Are Within 4 KB of Drd2
Building Association Networks for Transcripts and Behavior
Relational Genetic Analysis Using RI Strains As more traits are added the utility of this resource grows multiplicatively
Complete tutorial at
Acknowledgements University of Tennessee Health Science Center Dr. Robert Williams Dr. Lu Lu Dr. Siming Shou Dr. Yan Hua Qu Roswell Park Cancer Institute - WebQTL Dr. Kenneth Manly Jintao Wang Oregon Health Sciences University Dr. John Crabbe Dr. John Belknap -Human Brain Project funded jointly by the NIMH, NIDA, and the NSF -The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (INIA grants U01AA13499, U24AA13513 to RW)