Abstract

The primary purpose is to pursue research on the genetic basis of alcohol action. A typical teaching load in the Department of Psychology is about 132 classroom contact hours per year, three full semester courses. The only exceptions are faculty who have career research awards. I have initiated a study wherein we are identifying and mapping mouse genes of relevance to alcoholism. In our initial studies we are using the Long- Sleep (LS) and Short-Sleep (SS) lines of mice that were selectively bred for differential sensitivity to the anesthetizing action of alcohol. We are establishing a strain distribution pattern (SDP) for molecular markers among 27 recombinant inbred (RI) strains generated by crosses between the LS and SS lines and are using this SDP to establish a provisional map of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for alcohol sensitivity. These provisional QTLs are being confirmed in F/2 crosses. I have also initiated a number of collaborative studies including the testing of tryptophan hydroxylase involvement in ethanol sensitivity, the mapping of QTLs for non-alcohol anesthetics, the mapping of QTLs specifying alcohol sensitivity in the rat, and the identification of syntenic regions of the human genome that contain genes of relevance to alcoholism. During the tenure of this award I will pursue research on the biological and molecular basis of alcohol action.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research (K02)
Project #
5K02AA000195-04
Application #
2516779
Study Section
Biochemistry, Physiology and Medicine Subcommittee (ALCB)
Project Start
1994-09-29
Project End
1999-08-31
Budget Start
1997-09-01
Budget End
1998-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department
Genetics
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
City
Boulder
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80309

  Publications

Henderson, Samuel T; Bonafe, Massimiliano; Johnson, Thomas E (2006) daf-16 protects the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans during food deprivation. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 61:444-60
Johnson, Thomas E (2005) Genes, phenes, and dreams of immortality: the 2003 Kleemeier Award lecture. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 60:680-7
Proctor, William R; Wu, Peter H; Bennett, Beth et al. (2004) Differential effects of ethanol on gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptor-mediated synaptic currents in congenic strains of inbred long and short-sleep mice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 28:1277-83
de Castro, Edouard; Hegi de Castro, Sarah; Johnson, Thomas E (2004) Isolation of long-lived mutants in Caenorhabditis elegans using selection for resistance to juglone. Free Radic Biol Med 37:139-45
Downing, Chris; Shen, Elaine H; Simpson, Victoria J et al. (2003) Mapping quantitative trait loci mediating sensitivity to etomidate. Mamm Genome 14:367-75
Cypser, James R; Johnson, Thomas E (2003) Hormesis in Caenorhabditis elegans dauer-defective mutants. Biogerontology 4:203-14
Rikke, Brad A; Yerg 3rd, John E; Battaglia, Matthew E et al. (2003) Strain variation in the response of body temperature to dietary restriction. Mech Ageing Dev 124:663-78
Yashin, Anatoli I; Cypser, James W; Johnson, Thomas E et al. (2002) Heat shock changes the heterogeneity distribution in populations of Caenorhabditis elegans: does it tell us anything about the biological mechanism of stress response? J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 57:B83-92
Bennett, Beth; Beeson, Mary; Gordon, Lena et al. (2002) Genetic dissection of quantitative trait loci specifying sedative/hypnotic sensitivity to ethanol: mapping with interval-specific congenic recombinant lines. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 26:1615-24
Eisenman, Leonard M; Donovan, H Scott; Johnson, Thomas E (2002) Alcohol differentially affects c-Fos expression in the supraoptic nucleus of long-sleep and short-sleep mice. Brain Res 935:114-7

Showing the most recent 10 out of 23 publications