The DGRP is a community resource for association mapping of quantitative trait loci. The same strains can be evaluated for multiple complex traits, including ‘intermediate’ phenotypes such as whole genome transcript abundance and quantitative variation in the proteome and metabolome. This will facilitate a systems genetics approach for understanding the genetic architecture of complex traits in an economical genetic model organism. Interrogating a common resource population for genetic variation at multiple levels, traits, and environments will provide an unprecedented opportunity to quantify genetic correlations and pleiotropy among traits, as well as to quantify the magnitude and nature of genotype by environment interaction. A sample of 192 strains has the power to detect intermediate frequency variants with moderately small to large effects on complex traits.

Both unfiltered and filtered DGRP SNP data on a subset of 168 DGRP lines is now currently available for download.  Whole transcriptome data is also available for a subset of 40 of the lines as referenced in Ayroles et al. 2009.

The DGRP is a community resource of common Drosophila sequence polymorphisms (SNPs and indels) with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of 0.02 or greater. These variants will be valuable for high resolution QTL mapping as well as mapping alleles of major effect, molecular population genetic analyses, and allele specific transcription studies.

The DGRP can also be used to identify extreme lines for QTL mapping – the lines are already inbred and therefore can be used immediately to construct mapping populations. They can also be used as a base population for artificial selection experiments, in which lines can be derived with trait phenotypes that greatly exceed the range of the base population.

The Mackay laboratory is examining variation among the DGRP for many quantitative traits:

•   Longevity

•   Resistance to starvation stress

•   Chill coma recovery time

•   Oxidative stress resistance

•   Competitive fitness

•   Abdominal and sternopleural bristle number

•   Pigmentation

•   Aggressive behavior

•   Locomotor startle response

•   Mating behavior

•   Alcohol sensitivity and tolerance

•   Olfactory responses to multiple odorants

•   Sleep

•   Phototaxis

•   Behavioral responses to dopamine, serotonin, alcohol and other drugs

•   Life history traits in different environments

1. •   Whole genome transcript abundance
   

2. •   Behavioral senescence
   

3. •   Circadian rhythms
   

4. •   Cuticular hydrocarbons
   

5. •   Phototaxis
   

All phenotype data will be publicly available for all traits. As community members add each new phenotype to the database, they will be able to assess genetic correlations with all other traits that have been studied to date, thus building an unprecedented and comprehensive picture of the Drosophila phenome that would not be possible if all investigators used different strains.