Measurement of alcohol preference in genetic experiments.

Abstract

Alcohol intake scores of A/J, C3HeB/J, C57BL/6J, and DBA/2J mice and their F1 hybrids were determined by a new method involving simultaneous choice from 6 solutions ranging in strength from .5% to 16%. Group variances with this method are independent of group means making the technique suitable for genetic studies. Differences between strains were highly significant. Results on the hybrids indicated that specific combining activity of the 4 genotypes tested was more important than general combining activity in determining alcohol intake. This finding points up the risk of inferring the generality of a genetic system affecting behavior from observations of a cross between only 2 strains.