The utility of inbred strains for genetic correlational inferences (see “The Complexity of Preference Drinking: Multivariate Approaches” section) has taken great strides forward with the formation of a Mouse Phenome Database at The Jackson Laboratory (Grubb et al. 2004). This informatics project had 2081 phenotypes stored for 4 or more common inbred strains (average = 19 strains/phenotype) on June 3, 2009. In the alcohol field, strain mean correlations between preference drinking and two other phenotypes have prompted further studies. Inbred strains that have high alcohol preference also are genetically predisposed to have low withdrawal severity after being rendered physically dependent on alcohol (Metten et al. 1998), which supports the numerous studies reviewed above with lines of mice or rats selected for high vs low withdrawal severity or high vs low preference and tested on the alternate trait.
