Within-strain variation in behavior differs consistently between common inbred strains of mice

Genetic and environmental factors interact throughout life and give rise to individual differences, i.e., individuality. The diversifying effect of environmental factors is counteracted by genetic mechanisms to yield persistence of specific features (robustness). Here, we compared robustness between...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mammalian genome 2015-08, Vol.26 (7-8), p.348-354
Main Authors: Loos, Maarten, Koopmans, Bastijn, Aarts, Emmeke, Maroteaux, Gregoire, van der Sluis, Sophie, Verhage, Matthijs, Smit, August B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cell Biology
Gene-Environment Interaction
Genetic Heterogeneity
Genotype
Human Genetics
Life Sciences
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Inbred DBA
Mice, Inbred NOD
Species Specificity
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Summary:Genetic and environmental factors interact throughout life and give rise to individual differences, i.e., individuality. The diversifying effect of environmental factors is counteracted by genetic mechanisms to yield persistence of specific features (robustness). Here, we compared robustness between cohorts of isogenic mice of eight different commonly used strains by analyzing to what extent environmental variation contributed to individuality in each of the eight genotypes, using a previously published dataset. Behavior was assessed in the home-cage, providing control over environmental factors, to reveal within-strain variability in numerous spontaneous behaviors. Indeed, despite standardization and in line with previous studies, substantial variability among mice of the same inbred strain was observed. Strikingly, across a multidimensional set of 115 behavioral parameters, several strains consistently ranked high in within-strain variability (DBA/2J, 129S1/Sv A/J and NOD/LtJ), whereas other strains ranked low (C57BL/6J and BALB/c). Strain rankings of within-strain variability in behavior were confirmed in an independent, previously published behavioral dataset using conventional behavioral tests administered to different mice from the same breeding colonies. Together, these show that genetically inbred mouse strains consistently differ in phenotypic robustness against environmental variation, suggesting that genetic factors contribute to variation in robustness.
ISSN:0938-8990
1432-1777
DOI:10.1007/s00335-015-9578-7