RRC ID 87827
Author Gierten J, Welz B, Fitzgerald T, Thumberger T, Agarwal R, Hummel O, Leger A, Weber P, Naruse K, Hassel D, Hübner N, Birney E, Wittbrodt J.
Title Natural genetic variation quantitatively regulates heart rate and dimension.
Journal Nat Commun
Abstract The polygenic contribution to heart development and function along the health-disease continuum remains unresolved. To gain insight into the genetic basis of quantitative cardiac phenotypes, we utilize highly inbred Japanese rice fish models, Oryzias latipes, and Oryzias sakaizumii. Employing automated quantification of embryonic heart rates as core metric, we profiled phenotype variability across five inbred strains. We observed maximal phenotypic contrast between individuals of the HO5 and the HdrR strain. HO5 showed elevated heart rates associated with embryonic ventricular hypoplasia and impaired adult cardiac function. This contrast served as the basis for genome-wide mapping. In an F2 segregation population of 1192 HO5 x HdrR embryos, we mapped 59 loci (173 genes) associated with heart rate. Experimental validation of the top 12 candidate genes by gene editing revealed their causal and distinct impact on heart rate, development, ventricle size, and arrhythmia. Our study uncovers new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for developmental and electrophysiological cardiac diseases and provides a novel scalable approach to investigate the intricate genetic architecture of the vertebrate heart.
Volume 16(1)
Pages 4062
Published 2025-4-30
DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-59425-7
PII 10.1038/s41467-025-59425-7
PMID 40307248
PMC PMC12044080
MeSH Animals Chromosome Mapping Female Gene Editing Genetic Variation* Heart* / embryology Heart* / physiology Heart Rate* / genetics Heart Ventricles Male Oryzias* / embryology Oryzias* / genetics Phenotype Quantitative Trait Loci
IF 12.121
Resource
Medaka WS339 IB188