Gene mutation can cause excessive alcohol drinking

UK researchers have discovered a gene that regulates alcohol consumption and, when faulty, can cause excessive drinking in mice. The study found that normal mice drink little or no alcohol when offered a free choice between a bottle of water and a bottle of diluted alcohol. However, mice with a mutation in the gene Gabrb1 overwhelmingly preferred drinking alcohol over water, choosing to consume almost 85 per cent of their daily fluid as drinks containing alcohol. The research was done by a consortium of scientists from five UK universities - Imperial College London, Newcastle University , University of Sussex , UCL and University of Dundee - and the MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit at Harwell. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust and ERAB , and Dr Quentin Anstee, Consultant Hepatologist at Newcastle University and joint lead author, said: "It's amazing to think that a small change in the code for just one gene can have such profound effects on complex behaviours like alcohol consumption. "We are continuing our work to establish whether the gene has a similar influence in humans, though we know that in people, alcoholism is much more complicated as environmental factors come into play. But there is the real potential for this to guide development of better treatments for alcoholism in the future." Working at the MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit, a team led by Professor Howard Thomas from Imperial College London introduced subtle mutations into the genetic code at random throughout the genome and tested mice for alcohol preference.