One of the fundamental applications of these data is for the detection of QTL and identification of QTL candidate genes. Several studies have successfully achieved this goal using the BXD RI strains as a starting point, for ethanol and addiction-related phenotypes. For example, Buck and Finn (2001) identified the causative polymorphism for the alcohol withdrawal seizure originally detected in RI lines. We have employed a systematic approach to identify candidate genes by examining genes which either reside in QTL regions or are genes that are genetically correlated to the phenotype. Further reduction of positional candidates occurs through the use of complementary populations and prospective experiments. With increased availability of tools and approaches for candidate gene validation, many more QTL are being successfully identified at an increasing pace (Dipetrillo et al. 2005, Flint et al. 2005).
