hairy: A Quantitative Trait Locus for Drosophila Sensory Bristle Number

Corresponding author: Trudy F. C. Mackay, Campus Box 7614, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7614., trudy_mackay{at}ncsu.edu (E-mail)

Communicating editor: W. STEPHAN

Advances in medicine, agriculture, and an understanding of evolution depend on resolving the genetic architecture of quantitative traits, which is challenging since variation for complex traits is caused by multiple interacting quantitative trait loci (QTL) with small and conditional effects. Here, we show that the key developmental gene, hairy (h), is a QTL for Drosophila sternopleural bristle number, a model quantitative trait. Near-isoallelic lines (NIL) for the h gene region exhibited significant variation in bristle number and failed to complement a hairy mutation. Sequencing 10 h alleles from a single population revealed 330 polymorphic sites in 10 kb. Genotypes for 25 of these and 14 additional sites in the flanking regions were determined for the 57 NIL and associated with variation in bristle number in four genetic backgrounds. A highly significant association was found for a complicated insertion/deletion polymorphism upstream of the transcription start site. This polymorphism, present in 17.5% of the h alleles, was associated with an increase of 0.5 bristle and accounted for 31% of the genetic variance in bristle number in the NIL.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. J. Macdonald and A. D. Long Joint Estimates of Quantitative Trait Locus Effect and Frequency Using Synthetic Recombinant Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, June 1, 2007; 176(2): 1261 - 1281. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. D. Gruber, A. Genissel, S. J. Macdonald, and A. D. Long How Repeatable Are Associations Between Polymorphisms in achaete-scute and Bristle Number Variation in Drosophila? Genetics, April 1, 2007; 175(4): 1987 - 1997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. W. Jordan, T. J. Morgan, and T. F. C. Mackay Quantitative Trait Loci for Locomotor Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, September 1, 2006; 174(1): 271 - 284. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Macdonald, T. Pastinen, and A. D. Long The Effect of Polymorphisms in the Enhancer of split Gene Complex on Bristle Number Variation in a Large Wild-Caught Cohort of Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, December 1, 2005; 171(4): 1741 - 1756. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Thumma, M. F. Nolan, R. Evans, and G. F. Moran Polymorphisms in Cinnamoyl CoA Reductase (CCR) Are Associated With Variation in Microfibril Angle in Eucalyptus spp. Genetics, November 1, 2005; 171(3): 1257 - 1265. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. F. C. Mackay, R. F. Lyman, and F. Lawrence Polygenic Mutation in Drosophila melanogaster: Mapping Spontaneous Mutations Affecting Sensory Bristle Number Genetics, August 1, 2005; 170(4): 1723 - 1735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Macdonald and A. D. Long Prospects for identifying functional variation across the genome PNAS, May 3, 2005; 102(suppl_1): 6614 - 6621. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Mezey, D. Houle, and S. V. Nuzhdin Naturally Segregating Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Wing Shape of Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, April 1, 2005; 169(4): 2101 - 2113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Dworkin, A. Palsson, and G. Gibson Replication of an Egfr-Wing Shape Association in a Wild-Caught Cohort of Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, April 1, 2005; 169(4): 2115 - 2125. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Weber, N. Johnson, D. Champlin, and A. Patty Many P-Element Insertions Affect Wing Shape in Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, March 1, 2005; 169(3): 1461 - 1475. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. V. Symonds, A. V. Godoy, T. Alconada, J. F. Botto, T. E. Juenger, J. J. Casal, and A. M. Lloyd Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci in Multiple Populations of Arabidopsis thaliana Identifies Natural Allelic Variation for Trichome Density Genetics, March 1, 2005; 169(3): 1649 - 1658. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Macdonald and A. D. Long Identifying Signatures of Selection at the Enhancer of split Neurogenic Gene Complex in Drosophila Mol. Biol. Evol., March 1, 2005; 22(3): 607 - 619. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Nikoh, A. Duty, and G. Gibson Effects of Population Structure and Sex on Association Between Serotonin Receptors and Drosophila Heart Rate Genetics, December 1, 2004; 168(4): 1963 - 1974. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Macdonald and A. D. Long A Potential Regulatory Polymorphism Upstream of hairy Is Not Associated With Bristle Number Variation in Wild-Caught Drosophila Genetics, August 1, 2004; 167(4): 2127 - 2131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Palsson and G. Gibson Association Between Nucleotide Variation in Egfr and Wing Shape in Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, July 1, 2004; 167(3): 1187 - 1198. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. F. C. Mackay Methods for Genetic Dissection of Complex Traits Sci. Aging Knowl. Environ., April 28, 2004; 2004(17): pe17 - pe17. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				A. Genissel, T. Pastinen, A. Dowell, T. F. C. Mackay, and A. D. Long No Evidence for an Association Between Common Nonsynonymous Polymorphisms in Delta and Bristle Number Variation in Natural and Laboratory Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Genetics, January 1, 2004; 166(1): 291 - 306. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. A. Wray, M. W. Hahn, E. Abouheif, J. P. Balhoff, M. Pizer, M. V. Rockman, and L. A. Romano The Evolution of Transcriptional Regulation in Eukaryotes Mol. Biol. Evol., September 1, 2003; 20(9): 1377 - 1419. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]