PARC Alcohol QTLs by Phenotype

This is a list that was developed primarily for internal use by PARC investigators. Presently it consists largely, but not solely, of QTLs discovered by PARC researchers using C57BL/6J x DBA/2J mouse cross mapping populations. It does not include QTLs for responses to other drugs. For more about “QTL Code,” see the end of this introduction.

It is arranged by phenotype, broadly defined. We have updated the peak position and range, and statistical status to date (reference is to genome wide "significance" at p < .01 or "suggestive" at p < .05, corrected for multiple comparisons).

Clicking on an individual QTL leads to more detailed information, including name, alias(es), the drug (“Alcohol” = ethanol), the broad phenotype designation, and a somewhat more detailed description of how that phenotype was assessed (“Assay”). LOD scores are typically based on df = 2 (i.e., two degrees of freedom). “Strains Tested” gives mapping populations for which data have been cumulated to test significance, which often includes selectively bred lines and/or congenic lines or strains. The sex specificity is given if known, the increaser allele identified as D2 (DBA/2J) or B6 (C57BL/6J), and dominance given if known. Where results are published, the references are given. Where unpublished, the PI's laboratory is stated. The time of the last update of the tabled information is indicated. QTL information for loss of righting reflex was obtained from Beth Bennett and Tom Johnson at the Institute for Behavior Genetics in Boulder.

QTL Code - Names and Aliases
There is now terminological confusion for many traits. We at PARC adopted early on (and have maintained) the practice of not "naming" our QTLs in the literature unless they reached Lander & Kruglyak "significant" levels. These lists also report our "suggestive" QTLs by that standard. Mouse Genome Informatics has of their own initiative named several of our published QTLs. They also assigned names to some QTLs regardless of statistical significance. They made assumptions about the phenotypes in several instances. For instance, they treated Actre QTLs mapped in the Hitzemann lab as representing the same trait as Etact QTLs mapped in the Phillips lab. Both groups assessed Alcohol Stimulated Activity, but they used different doses of ethanol and different time periods after injections. To our way of very conservative thinking, these are not the same trait. So, we list a number of aliases in our table to try to indicate what is going on. The “QTL Code” name is our new local name, and sometimes combines two earlier names. For example, the Chronic Alcohol Withdrawal QTL on chromosome 14 we originally named Caws5 was renamed by MGI as Alcw7. We now also name all suggestive QTLs using the suffix "prov" for provisional, which allows us to keep them with the same basic name, and to upgrade them later if additional data render them significant.

For additional information, contact Michelle Bobo (bobom@ohsu.edu). For specific information about the traits and their assessment, and the further mapping progress, contact the individual PIs indicated.

Acute Alcohol Withdrawal

Chronic Alcohol Withdrawal

Alcohol Preference Drinking

Alcohol Acceptance

Alcohol Stimulated Activity

Alcohol Metabolism

Loss of Righting Reflex

Alcohol Response Conditioning

Hypothermia