Burly1 is a mouse QTL for lean body mass that maps to a 0.8-Mb region of chromosome 2.

To fine map a mouse QTL for lean body mass (Burly1), we used information from intercross, backcross, consomic, and congenic mice derived from the C57BL/6ByJ (host) and 129P3/J (donor) strains. The results from these mapping populations were concordant and showed that Burly1 is located between 151.9 and 152.

Adiposity QTL Adip20 decomposes into at least four loci when dissected using congenic strains.

An average mouse in midlife weighs between 25 and 30 g, with about a gram of tissue in the largest adipose depot (gonadal), and the weight of this depot differs between inbred strains. Specifically, C57BL/6ByJ mice have heavier gonadal depots on average than do 129P3/J mice. To understand the genetic contributions to this trait, we mapped several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for gonadal depot weight in an F2 intercross population.

Body Composition QTLs Identified in Intercross Populations Are Reproducible in Consomic Mouse Strains.

Genetic variation contributes to individual differences in obesity, but defining the exact relationships between naturally occurring genotypes and their effects on fatness remains elusive. As a step toward positional cloning of previously identified body composition quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from F2 crosses of mice from the C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J inbred strains, we sought to recapture them on a homogenous genetic background of consomic (chromosome substitution) strains. Male and female mice from reciprocal consomic strains originating from the C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J strains were bred and measured for body weight, length, and adiposity.

QTL analysis of dietary obesity in C57BL/6byj X 129P3/J F2 mice: diet- and sex-dependent effects.

Obesity is a heritable trait caused by complex interactions between genes and environment, including diet. Gene-by-diet interactions are difficult to study in humans because the human diet is hard to control. Here, we used mice to study dietary obesity genes, by four methods.

QTL for body composition on chromosome 7 detected using a chromosome substitution mouse strain.

Objective: Previous studies in mice have detected quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosome 7 that affect body composition. As a step toward identifying the responsible genes, we compared a chromosome 7 substitution strain C57BL/6J-Chr7(129S1/SvImJ)/Na (CSS-7) to its host (C57BL/6J) strain.

Methods And Procedures: Fourteen-week-old mice were measured for body size (weight, length), organ weight (brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and spleen), body and bone composition (fat and lean weight; bone area, mineral content, and density), and individual adipose depot weights (gonadal, retroperitoneal, mesenteric, inguinal, and subscapular).

Quantitative trait loci for individual adipose depot weights in C57BL/6ByJ x 129P3/J F2 mice.

To understand how genotype influences fat patterning and obesity, we conducted an autosomal genome scan using male and female F(2) hybrids between the C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J parental mouse strains. Mice were studied in middle-adulthood and were fed a low-energy, low-fat diet during their lifetime. We measured the weight of the retroperitoneal adipose depot (near the kidney) and the gonadal adipose depot (near the epididymis in males and ovaries in females).

A locus on mouse Chromosome 9 (Adip5) affects the relative weight of the gonadal but not retroperitoneal adipose depot.

To identify the gene or genes on mouse Chromosome 9 that contribute to strain differences in fatness, we conducted an expanded mapping analysis to better define the region where suggestive linkage was found, using the F(2 )generation of an intercross between the C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J mouse strains. Six traits were studied: the summed weight of two adipose depots, the weight of each depot, analyzed individually (the gonadal and retroperitoneal depot), and the weight of each depot (summed and individual) relative to body size. We found significant linkage (LOD = 4.

The human sweet tooth.

Humans love the taste of sugar and the word "sweet" is used to describe not only this basic taste quality but also something that is desirable or pleasurable, e.g., la dolce vita.

Diverse tastes: Genetics of sweet and bitter perception.

Humans will eat almost anything, from caribou livers to rutabagas, but there are some types of foods, and their associated taste qualities, that are preferred by large groups of people regardless of culture or experience. When many choices are available, humans chose foods that taste good, that is, create pleasing sensations in the mouth. The concept of good taste for most people encompasses both flavor and texture of food, and these sensations merge with taste proper to form the concept of goodness.

No relationship between sequence variation in protein coding regions of the Tas1r3 gene and saccharin preference in rats.

Nearly all mammalian species like sweet-tasting foods and drinks, but there are differences in the degree of 'sweet tooth' both between species and among individuals of the same species. Some individual differences can be explained by genetic variability. Polymorphisms in a sweet taste receptor (Tas1r3) account for a large fraction of the differences in consumption of sweet solutions among inbred mouse strains.

Loci on chromosomes 2, 4, 9, and 16 for body weight, body length, and adiposity identified in a genome scan of an F2 intercross between the 129P3/J and C57BL/6ByJ mouse strains.

Mice have proved to be a powerful model organism for understanding obesity in humans. Single gene mutants and genetically modified mice have been used to identify obesity genes, and the discovery of loci for polygenic forms of obesity in the mouse is an important next step. To pursue this goal, the inbred mouse strains 129P3/J (129) and C57BL/6ByJ (B6), which differ in body weight, body length, and adiposity, were used in an F2 cross to identify loci affecting these phenotypes.

The maintenance diets of C57BL/6J and 129X1/SvJ mice influence their taste solution preferences: implications for large-scale phenotyping projects.

We examined the extent to which maintenance diet influences the taste preferences of mice. C57BL/6J (B6) and 129X1/SvJ (129) mice were fed one of three standard cereal-based diets (Teklad 8604, Zeigler NIH-07, Purina 5001), a cereal-based diet formulated for breeding (Purina 5015), or two purified diets (AIN-76A or AIN-93G). The mice were given 48-h two-bottle choice tests between water and the following seven taste solutions: 2 mmol/L saccharin, 5 mmol/L citric acid, 50 mmol/L citric acid, 30 micro mol/L quinine hydrochloride (QHCl), 300 micro mol/L QHCl, 75 mmol/L NaCl, and 10% ethanol.