Replicate differences in lines of mice selected for body composition.

Replicate differences were studied in lines of mice selected at 12 weeks of age for high (HF1, HF2) or low (LF1, LF2) right epididymal fat pad weight as a percentage of body weight (%EFP); for high (HL1, HL2) or low (LL1, LL2) hind carcass weight as a percentage of body weight (%HC); and randomly (RC1, RC2). Correlated traits were subcutaneous fat pad weight as a percentage of body weight (%SFP), water weight in hind carcass as a percentage of hind carcass weight (%WAT), body weights at 3, 6, and 12 weeks of age, and 3- to 6-week weight gain. Individual and maternal effects contributed to significant genetic drift for selected and correlated traits. No evidence indicated that drift was greater in selection treatments than in controls. Significant heterosis in replicate crosses within selection treatments was found for %HC in HL, LL, and LF and for %EFP in HF. Heterosis was insignificant in crosses of control replicates. Divergence in parental lines and replicate crosses was similar, indicating that differences in heterosis between high and low lines were small relative to divergence. Asymmetry tended to be greater between replicate crosses and parental lines, because selected replicates have greater average heterosis than control replicates. Multivariate discriminant function and Mahalanobis distance analysis of selected traits showed that divergence between replicates within selection treatments was much less than among selection treatments.