Outdoors influences on CHD8 variant phenotypes, and extra
Myriad contributions: Two new papers describe secondary influences on the autism-like traits that arise from CHD8 gene variants in mice. In the first study, comparing mice with heterozygous versus homozygous CHD8 variants revealed a gene dosage effect on behavior, brain structure and neural activity. The investigators also saw less sex specificity in the homozygous mice. In the second study, researchers sought to understand the heterogeneity of CHD8 variant effects in mice with different genetic backgrounds. They documented a range of pup-dam interactions and linked those to autism-like traits in weaned pups. Thus, genetic background, gene dose and early life experiences all appear to contribute to phenotypic variability in mouse models of autism.
