Watanabe Louis P, Gordon Cameron, Momeni Mina Y, Riddle Nicole C
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Biology, Birmingham, Alabama 35294.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Biology, Birmingham, Alabama 35294
G3 (Bethesda). 2020 Apr 9;10(4):1247-1260. doi: 10.1534/g3.119.401034.
Exercise is recommended by health professionals across the globe as part of a healthy lifestyle to prevent and/or treat the consequences of obesity. While overall, the health benefits of exercise and an active lifestyle are well understood, very little is known about how genetics impacts an individual's inclination for and response to exercise. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the genetic architecture underlying natural variation in activity levels in the model system Activity levels were assayed in the Drosophila Genetics Reference Panel fly strains at baseline and in response to a gentle exercise treatment using the Rotational Exercise Quantification System. We found significant, sex-dependent variation in both activity measures and identified over 100 genes that contribute to basal and induced exercise activity levels. This gene set was enriched for genes with functions in the central nervous system and in neuromuscular junctions and included several candidate genes with known activity phenotypes such as flightlessness or uncoordinated movement. Interestingly, there were also several chromatin proteins among the candidate genes, two of which were validated and shown to impact activity levels. Thus, the study described here reveals the complex genetic architecture controlling basal and exercise-induced activity levels in and provides a resource for exercise biologists.
全球的健康专家都建议将运动作为健康生活方式的一部分，以预防和/或治疗肥胖的后果。总体而言，运动和积极生活方式对健康的益处已广为人知，但对于基因如何影响个体对运动的倾向和反应却知之甚少。为了填补这一知识空白，我们在模型系统中研究了活动水平自然变异背后的遗传结构。使用旋转运动量化系统在果蝇遗传参考面板品系中测定了基线时以及对温和运动处理的反应时的活动水平。我们发现活动测量存在显著的、性别依赖性变异，并鉴定出100多个对基础和诱导运动活动水平有贡献的基因。该基因集富含在中枢神经系统和神经肌肉接头中具有功能的基因，包括几个具有已知活动表型（如飞行能力缺失或运动不协调）的候选基因。有趣的是，候选基因中还有几种染色质蛋白，其中两种经过验证并显示会影响活动水平。因此，此处描述的研究揭示了控制果蝇基础和运动诱导活动水平的复杂遗传结构，并为运动生物学家提供了一个资源。
