Genetic perturbations that impair functional trait interactions lead to reduced bone strength and increased fragility in mice.

ABSTRACT: Functional adaptation may complicate the choice of phenotype used in genetic studies that seek to identify genes contributing to fracture susceptibility. Often, genetic variants affecting one trait are compensated by coordinated changes in other traits. Bone fracture is a prototypic example because mechanical function of long bones (stiffness and strength) depends on how the system coordinately adjusts the amount (cortical area) and quality (tissue-mineral density, TMD) of bone tissue to mechanically offset the natural variation in bone robustness (total area/length). We propose that efforts aimed at identifying genes regulating fracture resistance will benefit from better understanding how functional adaptation contributes to the genotype-phenotype relationship. We analyzed the femurs of

SUBMITTER: Smith LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413452 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature