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What have we learned about sleep from selective breeding strategies?
1Laboratory of Systems Genetics, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD,USA.
Sleep
|September 16, 2022
Summary
Selective breeding modifies heritable traits like sleep and circadian rhythms. This method, enhanced by sequencing, identifies genetic networks and conserved genes for behavioral research.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Chronobiology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Selective breeding is a long-standing method for modifying heritable traits.
- Extreme phenotypes for sleep and circadian rhythms have been successfully altered in model organisms.
- Correlated changes in sleep and circadian behaviors are observed in response to selection for other traits in various species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the phenotypic limits of sleep and circadian behavior using selective breeding.
- To identify genetic networks and naturally occurring variants influencing these traits.
- To discover correlated traits and genes with conserved roles in sleep and circadian regulation.
Main Methods:
- Direct selective breeding for extreme sleep and circadian phenotypes in flies.
- Application of sequencing technologies to identify genetic networks.
- Preservation of extreme phenotypes for community resource generation.
Main Results:
- Selective breeding effectively alters sleep and circadian behaviors.
- Sequencing reveals the genetic architecture underlying selected traits.
- Correlated responses in other traits indicate shared genetic underpinnings.
- Identification of naturally occurring genomic variants and gene expression changes.
Conclusions:
- Selective breeding is a powerful strategy for dissecting the genetic basis of complex behaviors.
- This approach can uncover novel genes and pathways involved in sleep and circadian regulation.
- The generated resources facilitate further functional studies of identified genes and variants.
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