affects ethanol withdrawal, but not pentobarbital or zolpidem withdrawal (Kozell et al., 2008), while the more distal QTL affects ethanol, pentobarbital, and zolpidem withdrawal (Kozell et al., 2009). Both of these QTLs are syntenic to human chromosome 1q23.2-1q23.3 (Figure 2). The narrowed mouse QTLs can inform the human QTLs and suggest prioritization of a much smaller number of QTG candidates. High priority candidates include Kcnj9, which encodes GIRK3 (Kir3.3), a subunit member of a family of G-protein-dependent inwardly-rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels that mediate inhibitory effects of Gi/o-coupled receptors (see Kozell et al., 2009), and a gene network crucially involved in oxidative/cellular stress (Denmark and Buck, 2008), indicating both established and novel aspects of the neurobiological response to ethanol.
