Faster genetic mapping of complex traits in C. elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a tractable model system that enables the identification of genetic determinants that underlie phenotypic variation. Over the years, new approaches have been developed to lower the cost of and expedite genetic mapping in this model system. The ce X-QTL approach uses the fog-2 ( q71 ) allele to create obligate outcrossing recombinant populations for selection and sequencing experiments. Here, we tested whether the fog-2 ( q71 ) allele is essential to the ce X-QTL approach by comparing crosses between the N2 and XZ1516 strains using either fog-2 ( q71 ) or fog-2 RNAi knockdown to facilitate outcrossing. The genome-wide allele frequencies of the bulk recombinant populations derived from these two methods were largely similar. These results demonstrate that fog-2 RNAi is a viable alternative for rapidly generating recombinant populations, allowing greater flexibility in experimental design.