Submitted on October 16, 2002
Accepted on March 10, 2003
Genetic component of sensorimotor capacity in rats
Lauren G Koch1* and Steven L Britton1
1 Physiology & Molecular Medicine, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lkoch{at}mco.edu.
Creation of generalized genetic models for low and high sensorimotor capacity would be important tools for resolution of this complex trait. As proof-of-principle we estimated phenotypic variation and narrow sense heritability (h2) of sensorimotor capacity in 19 families of genetically heterogeneous N:NIH rats and in 11 strains of inbred rats. Sensorimotor capacity was defined as the time a rat remained on an accelerating rotorod. N:NIH rats recorded variation in rotorod scores that ranged 3 to 7-fold. h2, estimated from offspring-parent regression across one generation, was 0.68 for females and 0.74 for males in N:NIH rats. In inbred rats, h2 was estimated by partitioning phenotypic variation into additive genetic and environmental components and averaged 0.39 in females and 0.48 in males. These results demonstrate a heritable component to sensorimotor capacity sufficient for success in developing contrasting genetic models by divergent artificial selection in rats.
