Epistatic interactions of genes influence within-individual variation of physical activity traits in mice |
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Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Larry?J?LeamyEmail author Daniel?Pomp |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA;(2) Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;(3) Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;(4) Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;(5) Carolina Center for Genome Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;(6) Sydney and JL Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA;(7) Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA |
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Abstract: | A number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) recently have been discovered that affect various activity traits in mice, but
their collective impact does not appear to explain the consistently moderate to high heritabilities for these traits. We previously
suggested interactions of genes, or epistasis, might account for additional genetic variability of activity, and tested this
for the average distance, duration and speed run by mice during a 3 week period. We found abundant evidence for epistasis
affecting these traits, although, recognized that epistatic effects may well vary within individuals over time. We therefore
conducted a full genome scan for epistatic interactions affecting these traits in each of seven three-day intervals. Our intent
was to assess the extent and trends in epistasis affecting these traits in each of the intervals. We discovered a number of
epistatic interactions of QTLs that influenced the activity traits in the mice, the majority of which were not previously
found and appeared to affect the activity traits (especially distance and speed) primarily in the early or in the late age
intervals. The overall impact of epistasis was considerable, its contribution to the total phenotypic variance varying from
an average of 22–35% in the three traits across all age intervals. It was concluded that epistasis is more important than
single-locus effects of genes on activity traits at specific ages and it is therefore an essential component of the genetic
architecture of physical activity. |
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