AUTHOR=Gunturkun Mustafa Hakan , Wang Tengfei , Chitre Apurva S. , Garcia Martinez Angel , Holl Katie , St. Pierre Celine , Bimschleger Hannah , Gao Jianjun , Cheng Riyan , Polesskaya Oksana , Solberg Woods Leah C. , Palmer Abraham A. , Chen Hao 

TITLE=Genome-Wide Association Study on Three Behaviors Tested in an Open Field in Heterogeneous Stock Rats Identifies Multiple Loci Implicated in Psychiatric Disorders

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.790566

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.790566

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p>Many personality traits are influenced by genetic factors. Rodents models provide an efficient system for analyzing genetic contribution to these traits. Using 1,246 adolescent heterogeneous stock (HS) male and female rats, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of behaviors measured in an open field, including locomotion, novel object interaction, and social interaction. We identified 30 genome-wide significant quantitative trait loci (QTL). Using multiple criteria, including the presence of high impact genomic variants and co-localization of cis-eQTL, we identified 17 candidate genes (<italic>Adarb2, Ankrd26, Cacna1c, Cacng4, Clock, Ctu2, Cyp26b1, Dnah9, Gda, Grxcr1, Eva1a, Fam114a1, Kcnj9, Mlf2, Rab27b, Sec11a, and Ube2h</italic>) for these traits. Many of these genes have been implicated by human GWAS of various psychiatric or drug abuse related traits. In addition, there are other candidate genes that likely represent novel findings that can be the catalyst for future molecular and genetic insights into human psychiatric diseases. Together, these findings provide strong support for the use of the HS population to study psychiatric disorders.</p>