Recombinant inbred C. elegans mutation accumulation (MA) lines
Replicate mutation accumulation (MA) lines derived from a nearly homozygous N2 strain progenitor were propagated by transferring a single immature hermaphrodite at 4-day intervals under standard laboratory conditions (20 C, NGM agar plates, fed on E. coli OP50) for 250 transfers (approximately equivalent to generations). Two MA lines (MA530, n=76 unique mutations; MA563, n=93 unique mutations) were reciprocally crossed to generate F1 hybrids, which were reciprocally crossed to generate F2s. One set of lines (Recombinant Inbred Advanced Intercross Lines, RIAILs) was crossed for ten generations (F3-F10) by reciprocally crossing random pairs of lines, at which point each line was propagated by self-fertilization for an additional ten generations (F11-F20). For the second set of lines (Recombinant Inbred Lines, RILs) we bypassed the intercrossing stage, beginning the ten generations of self-fertilization (F3-F12) with the F2s.