Chemical Senses, Vol 23, 327-332, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
DB Harder and G Whitney
Inbred strains of mice (Mus musculus) differ greatly in ability to taste
various bitter compounds. For some compounds, the differences result from
allelic variation at a single locus. However, segregation patterns
incompatible with monogenic inheritance have been found for quinine
avoidance. The Soa bitter sensitivity locus exerts some influence on this
phenotype, but an unknown number of other loci also contribute. Relative
avoidance patterns for quinine sulfate in panels of naive inbred strains
resembled avoidance patterns for 6-n-propyl-2- thiouracil (PROP),
suggesting a common genetic basis. In particular, C57BL/6J mice strongly
avoided both 0.1 mM quinine sulfate and 1 mM PROP in two-bottle preference
tests, whereas C3H/HeJ mice were indifferent to both. Therefore, 12 BXH/Ty
recombinant inbred strains, derived from these strains, were tested with
both solutions to begin identification of the unknown bitter loci. Naive
mice were tested for four consecutive days with each compound (order
counterbalanced). Some BXH/Ty strain means resembled those of the parent
strains, but others were intermediate. This indicated recombination among
loci affecting avoidance, and therefore polygenic inheritance. The strain
means were highly correlated across compounds (r = 0.98), suggesting that
the same polygenes controlled both phenotypes. The BXH/Ty means for both
compounds were then compared with the strain genotypes at 212 chromosome
position markers distributed throughout the genome. Eight markers on five
chromosomes (3, 6, 7, 8 and 9) yielded significant correlations. Six of the
markers were correlated with both phenotypes, again suggesting common
polygenic inheritance. The marker with the highest correlation was Prp,
tightly linked to Soa on chromosome 6. The correlated marker regions likely
contain quantitative trait loci affecting bitter avoidance. The phenotypic
similarity of PROP to quinine, rather than to phenylthiourea, apparently
stemming from a common polygenic basis, indicates a difference between mice
and humans in gustatory organization related to bitters.
ARTICLES
A common polygenic basis for quinine and PROP avoidance in mice
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306- 1270, USA.
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