A biometrical genome search in rats reveals the multigenic basis of blood pressure variation

A genome-wide search for multiple loci influencing salt-loaded systolic blood pressure (NaSBP) variation among 188 F2 progeny from a cross between the Brown-Norway and spontaneously hypertensive rat strains was pursued in an effort to gain insight into the polygenic basis of blood pressure regulation. The results suggest that loci within five to six genomic regions collectively explain approximately 43% of the total NaSBP variation exhibited among the 188 F2 progeny. Many of these loci are in regions that previous studies have not implicated in blood pressure regulation. Ultimately, however, this study not only sheds light on the multigenic basis of blood pressure but provides further evidence that the identification of the genetic determinants of polygenic traits in mammals is possible with modern biometrical and molecular genetic tools in controlled settings (i.e., breeding paradigm and model organism).