PubMed · 6407575
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P Rhodes. 1983-06-04. Relationships.. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.286.6380.1805
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Genetic variation in behavioral traits allows organisms to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. Genetic variation in behavior is often affected by many genes and thus has a complex genetic basis. Inversions, the reorientation of genes along the chromosome, tightly link genetic variants together because they suppress recombination. Therefore, inversions are believed to have a major impact on phenotypic variation because they combine the effects of multiple genes, which can pleiotropically alter multiple aspects of behavior. This study investigates how the inversion In(2L)t, found in Drosophila melanogaster populations around the world, impacts different aspects of behavior in an environment-sensitive manner. We test the activity, foraging, and startle-induced behavior of flies with different In(2L)t genotypes across sex and temperatures. We observe that Drosophila homozygous for In(2L)t sleep less frequently, spend more time away from a food source, and have a longer duration of startle response. Additionally, the impacts of In(2L)t on aspects of behavior can be sex-specific and are largely consistent across temperatures. Taken together, our research demonstrates that inversions can regulate aspects of behavior, and suggests hypotheses explaining the distribution of In(2L)t across space and time.
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This paper contains four parts. The first focuses on The Human Genome Project (HGP). The concept of a "normal sequence" seems problematic. The second part reviews what is meant by "genetically-caused" and by "a (several) gene(s) for a trait". Genes work in concert, and it is likely that many genes together influence most complex traits. A difference in traits between two individuals, however, can be due to a difference in a single gene, as is the case for several thousand rare "genetic diseases". Such diseases were the original focus of gene therapy. Could gene therapy also be applied to more common complex traits? Diagnostic problems and the unsuccessful attempts to find a single gene difference in patients with manic depressive disorder, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease are discussed. Part three reviews future genetic research into complex traits and what kind of treatment can realistically be expected. It is concluded that improved diagnostics is the most likely outcome, not therapy. Part four raises arguments from the emerging Darwinian approach to medicine and states that it is far too early to even think of gene therapy. The needed knowledge about genes, behaviour and disease will not come from the one-sided genetic effort represented by HGP, and the resources should instead be invested in several different approaches to these complex issues.