Data from: Loci contributing to boric acid toxicity in two reference populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Populations maintain considerable segregating variation in the response to toxic, xenobiotic compounds. To identify variants associated with resistance to boric acid, a commonly-used household insecticide with a poorly understood mechanism of action, we assayed thousands of individuals from hundreds of strains. Using the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource (DSPR), a multi-parental population (MPP) of inbred genotypes, we mapped six QTL to short genomic regions containing few protein-coding genes (3–188), allowing us to identify plausible candidate genes underlying resistance to boric acid toxicity. One interval contains multiple genes from the cytochrome P450 family, and we show that ubiquitous RNAi of one of these genes, Cyp9b2, markedly reduces resistance to the toxin. Resistance to boric acid is positively correlated with caffeine resistance. The two phenotypes additionally share a pair of QTL, potentially suggesting a degree of pleiotropy in the genetic control of resistance to these two distinct xenobiotics. Finally, we screened the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) in an attempt to identify sequence variants within mapped QTL that are associated with boric acid resistance. The approach was largely unsuccessful, with only one QTL showing any associations at QTL-specific 20% False Discovery Rate (FDR) thresholds. Nonetheless, these associations point to a potential candidate gene that can be targeted in future validation efforts. Although the mapping data resulting from the two reference populations do not clearly overlap, our work provides a starting point for further genetic dissection of the processes underlying boric acid toxicity in insects.Boric acid resistance R analysis scriptR script that, in conjuction with the files resulting from unpacking the "BoricAcidDSPR.tar" data package tarball, will allow the generation of boric acid resistance strain means. These were used in the associated study to map QTL for boric acid resistance. Script requires only R core commands. Instructions on how to run provided within file.DAM-BoricAcid_DSPR_AnalysisCode.txtDirectory of datafiles allowing measurement of boric acid resistanceThis is a tarball of a defined directory structure containing raw datafiles, that together with R scripts from "DAM-BoricAcid_DSPR_AnalysisCode.txt", can be used to generate boric acid resistance strain means used in the associated study for QTL mapping. We additionally give the actual analyzed datafiles generated by the authors so potential users can assure the code works correctly in their hands. Details of the directory structure and the various file types contained within can be found in the ReadMe.BoricAcidDSPR.ta