Sterken Mark G, Snoek L Basten, Kammenga Jan E, Andersen Erik C
Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Trends Genet. 2015 May;31(5):224-31. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2015.02.009. Epub 2015 Mar 21.
Model organisms are of great importance to our understanding of basic biology and to making advances in biomedical research. However, the influence of laboratory cultivation on these organisms is underappreciated, and especially how that environment can affect research outcomes. Recent experiments led to insights into how the widely used laboratory reference strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans compares with natural strains. Here we describe potential selective pressures that led to the fixation of laboratory-derived alleles for the genes npr-1, glb-5, and nath-10. These alleles influence a large number of traits, resulting in behaviors that affect experimental interpretations. Furthermore, strong phenotypic effects caused by these laboratory-derived alleles hinder the discovery of natural alleles. We highlight strategies to reduce the influence of laboratory-derived alleles and to harness the full power of C. elegans.
模式生物对于我们理解基础生物学以及推动生物医学研究进展至关重要。然而，实验室培养对这些生物的影响尚未得到充分认识，尤其是这种环境如何影响研究结果。最近的实验使我们深入了解了广泛使用的线虫秀丽隐杆线虫实验室参考菌株与自然菌株的比较情况。在这里，我们描述了导致npr-1、glb-5和nath-10基因的实验室衍生等位基因固定的潜在选择压力。这些等位基因影响大量性状，导致影响实验解释的行为。此外，这些实验室衍生等位基因引起的强烈表型效应阻碍了天然等位基因的发现。我们强调了减少实验室衍生等位基因影响并充分利用秀丽隐杆线虫全部潜力的策略。
