Learning about quantitative genetics from Marla Sokolowski.

Abstract

Marla Sokolowski is a true pioneer in behavioral genetics, having made the first molecular delineation of a naturally occurring behavioral polymorphism in her work on the foraging locus in Drosophila melanogaster. The gene was subsequently found to be responsible for behavioral variants and types in many other species, both invertebrate and mammal (human). The path to get there is a paradigmatic example of how to use the power of genetic analysis, including some rather esoteric techniques, to zero in on a gene and delineate its molecular identity and its pleiotropic roles.