Mapping of putative ether-anesthesia resistance gene using C57BL/6J and MSM/Ms mouse strains

We attempted to identify the locations of major mouse genes responsible for sensitivity to diethylether (ether) anesthesia, using microsatellite linkage analyses including Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) analysis.

To determine the locations of ether anesthesia resistance genes on chromosomes, an ether anesthesia-resistant mouse strain, C57BL/6J (C57BL), and an ether anesthesia-sensitive mouse strain, MSM/Ms (MSM), were used. The sensitivity of mice to ether anesthesia was determined from the latency time required to lose the righting reflex during exposure to 4% ether vapor in air. The (C57BL x MSM) F(1) mice were found to be resistant to ether, showing that the resistant phenotype is genetically dominant. Twelve resistant and 12 sensitive mice were then selected from the 196 backcrossed F(2) mice (F(1) x MSM) at 11-16 weeks of age. Genomic DNA samples were extracted from the tails for mapping ether anesthesia-related genes using microsatellite linkage analyses.

One major putative gene related to resistance to ether anesthesia was restricted in the region 23 to 37 cM from the centromere in chromosome 7 by primary and secondary linkage analyses. The QTL analysis narrowed the position of the gene to 29.0 cM, with a maximum logarithm of odds (LOD) score of 3.03, and it was termed Etan1 ( ether-anesthesia 1).

Microsatellite linkage analyses, including QTL analysis, determined the location of the ether-resistance gene, Etan1, within a narrow range. Our findings should be helpful for further experiments, such as cloning of the gene governing the sensitivity to ether anesthesia in mice.