Unpredictable Effects of the Genetic Background of Transgenic Lines in Physiological Quantitative Traits.

ABSTRACT: Physiology, fitness and disease phenotypes are complex traits exhibiting continuous variation in natural populations. To understand complex trait gene functions transgenic lines of undefined genetic background are often combined to assess quantitative phenotypes ignoring the impact of genetic polymorphisms. Here, we used inbred wild-type strains of the Drosophila Genetics Reference Panel to assess the phenotypic variation of six physiological and fitness traits, namely, female fecundity, survival and intestinal mitosis upon oral infection, defecation rate and fecal pH upon oral infection, and terminal tracheal cell branching in hypoxia. We found continuous variation in the approximately 150 strains tested for each trait, with extreme values differing by more than four standard devia

SUBMITTER: Evangelou A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6829147 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature