An Analysis of the Genetic Architecture of Aggression in Drosophila melanogaster. John R. Shorter^1,3, Charlene Couch^2,3, Robert R. H. Anholt^2,3, Trudy F. C. Mackay^1,3. 1) Genetics, North Carolina State, Raleigh, NC; 2) Biology, North Carolina State, Raleigh, NC; 3) W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

   Aggression is a complex trait, with variation in populations due to both genetic and environmental factors. We investigated the natural genetic variation of aggression using the D. melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), a collection of 192 inbred lines with fully sequenced genomes, and identified 244 SNPs associated with aggression. Additionally, we performed an independent experiment to replicate causal candidate SNPs by creating an outbred population from these inbred lines, identified epistatically interacting loci, and confirmed candidates by using RNAi knockdown lines. These results provide insight into the genetic architecture of aggression and identify novel genetic variants responsible for naturally occurring variation in this complex trait. We identify potential gene targets that can be modified to reduce aggression.