Abstract
Most gerontological research is conducted using inbred strains of animals in an attempt to maximize phenotypic uniformity within experiments and thus increase the experimenter's statistical power to detect treatment effects. However, for a wide range of phenotypic traits, F1 hybrids between inbred strains are considerably less variable than the parental inbred strains themselves. Therefore, the use of F1 hybrids is preferable for many research applications. In this article, we discuss the sources of phenotypic variability and explain why F1 hybrids are often less variable than inbred strains; we review the empirical literature illustrating the large range of species and traits for which this is true; and finally we suggest how this finding suggests that F1 hybrids may often be superior animal models for studying the aging process and how to manipulate it.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journals of Gerontology |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 1994 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aging
Cite this
Selecting animal models of human aging : Inbred strains often exhibit less biological uniformity than F1 hybrids. / Phelan, J. P.; Austad, S. N.
In: Journals of Gerontology, Vol. 49, No. 1, 1994.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Selecting animal models of human aging
T2 - Inbred strains often exhibit less biological uniformity than F1 hybrids
AU - Phelan, J. P.
AU - Austad, S. N.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - Most gerontological research is conducted using inbred strains of animals in an attempt to maximize phenotypic uniformity within experiments and thus increase the experimenter's statistical power to detect treatment effects. However, for a wide range of phenotypic traits, F1 hybrids between inbred strains are considerably less variable than the parental inbred strains themselves. Therefore, the use of F1 hybrids is preferable for many research applications. In this article, we discuss the sources of phenotypic variability and explain why F1 hybrids are often less variable than inbred strains; we review the empirical literature illustrating the large range of species and traits for which this is true; and finally we suggest how this finding suggests that F1 hybrids may often be superior animal models for studying the aging process and how to manipulate it.
AB - Most gerontological research is conducted using inbred strains of animals in an attempt to maximize phenotypic uniformity within experiments and thus increase the experimenter's statistical power to detect treatment effects. However, for a wide range of phenotypic traits, F1 hybrids between inbred strains are considerably less variable than the parental inbred strains themselves. Therefore, the use of F1 hybrids is preferable for many research applications. In this article, we discuss the sources of phenotypic variability and explain why F1 hybrids are often less variable than inbred strains; we review the empirical literature illustrating the large range of species and traits for which this is true; and finally we suggest how this finding suggests that F1 hybrids may often be superior animal models for studying the aging process and how to manipulate it.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0028013595&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0028013595&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 8282970
AN - SCOPUS:0028013595
VL - 49
JO - Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences
JF - Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences
SN - 0022-1422
IS - 1
ER -