This project uses pedigreed baboons to study the interaction of diet and genotype in determining lipoprotein and adiposity-related phenotypes as risk factors for atherosclerosis. The high degree of physiological similarity and the close phylogenetic relationship between baboons and humans makes the baboon well suited as an animal model for atherosclerosis. The baboon model enables controlled genetic and experimental manipulations designed to detect genetic effects and interactions that may be difficult to identify in humans. The mechanisms of action of genes identified in the baboon model can be established experimentally. The overall goal is to conduct a genome search to identify individual genes that contribute to variation in lipoprotein and adiposity-related phenotypes and to define genotype-diet interactions involved in determining lipoprotein and adiposity-related phenotypes.