Using the BXD panel of mouse strains also allowed for direct comparison of ethanol gene expression data with the wide variety of phenotypic traits previously profiled in the BXD strains. To detect high-level phenotypes regulated by ethanol-responsive gene networks, we tested associations between ErGeNs and over 2,000 phenotypes available from GeneNetwork. This analysis was conducted by measuring correlations between GeneNetwork phenotypes and synthetic traits generated by principal component analysis of ErGeN trans-bands (Figure 7). The first principal component of each trans-band was used for computational ease and clarity. Performing this analysis at the network and trans-band level made it possible to detect patterns of phenotypic associations with improved specificity. As expected, the analysis showed a striking clustering of trans-bands for individual ErGeNs and associated phenotypes.
