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Updated: Aug 8, 2025
Large-scale Gene Knockdown in C. elegans Using dsRNA Feeding Libraries to Generate Robust Loss-of-function Phenotypes
Published on: September 25, 2013
Cryptic genetic variation of expression quantitative trait locus architecture revealed by genetic perturbation in
Marijke H van Wijk1, Joost A G Riksen1, Mark Elvin2
1Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Genetic perturbation in different genetic backgrounds can cause a range of phenotypes within a species. These phenotypic differences can be the result of the interaction between the genetic background and the perturbation. Previously, we reported that perturbation of gld-1, an important player in the developmental control of Caenorhabditis elegans, released cryptic genetic variation (CGV) affecting fitness in different genetic backgrounds. Here, we investigated the change in transcriptional architecture. We found 414 genes with a cis-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) and 991 genes with a trans-eQTL that were specifically found in the gld-1 RNAi treatment. In total, we detected 16 eQTL hotspots, of which 7 were only found in the gld-1 RNAi treatment. Enrichment analysis of those 7 hotspots showed that the regulated genes were associated with neurons and the pharynx. Furthermore, we found evidence of accelerated transcriptional aging in the gld-1 RNAi-treated nematodes. Overall, our results illustrate that studying CGV leads to the discovery of hidden polymorphic regulators.
