Mice lacking galectin-3 (Lgals3) function have decreased home cage movement

Abstract Background Galectins are a large family of proteins evolved to recognize specific carbohydrate moieties. Given the importance of pattern recognition processes for multiple biological tasks, including CNS development and immune recognition, we examined the home cage behavioral phenotype of mice lacking galectin-3 (Lgals3) function. Using a sophisticated monitoring apparatus capable of examining feeding, drinking, and movement at millisecond temporal and 0.5 cm spatial resolutions, we observed daily behavioral patterns from 10 wildtype male C57BL/6J and 10 Lgals3 constitutive knockout (Lgals3 −/−; both cohorts aged 2–3 months) mice over 17 consecutive days. We performed a second behavioral assessment of this cohort at age 6–7 months. Results At both ages, Lgals3 −/− mice demonstrated less movement compared to wildtype controls. Both forward locomotion and movement-in-place behaviors were decreased in Lgals3 −/− mice, due to decreased bout numbers, initiation rates, and durations. We additionally noted perturbation of behavioral circadian rhythms in Lgals3 −/− mice, with mice at both ages demonstrating greater variability in day-to-day performance of feeding, drinking, and movement (as assessed by Lomb-Scargle analysis) compared to wildtype. Conclusion Carbohydrate recognition tasks performed by Lgals3 may be required for appropriate development of CNS structures involved in the generation and control of locomotor behavior

Allele-specific Expression Reveals Interactions Between Genetic Variation And Environment

Identifying interactions between genetics and the environment (GxE) remains challenging. We have developed EAGLE, a hierarchical Bayesian model for identifying GxE interactions based on associations between environmental variables and allele-specific expression. Combining whole-blood RNA-seq with extensive environmental annotations collected from 922 human individuals, we identified 35 GxE interactions, compared with only four using standard GxE interaction testing. EAGLE provides new opportunities for researchers to identify GxE interactions using functional genomic data