Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “complex trait”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources

Analysing complex genetic traits with chromosome substitution strains.

Many valuable animal models of human disease are known and new models are continually being generated in existing inbred strains,. Some disease models are simple mendelian traits, but most have a polygenic basis. The current approach to identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that underlie such traits is to localize them in crosses, construct congenic strains carrying individual QTLs, and finally map and clone the genes. This process is time-consuming and expensive, requiring the genotyping of large crosses and many generations of breeding. Here we describe a different approach in which a panel of chromosome substitution strains (CSSs) is used for QTL mapping. Each of these strains has a single chromosome from the donor strain substituting for the corresponding chromosome in the host strain. We discuss the construction, applications and advantages of CSSs compared with conventional crosses for detecting and analysing QTLs, including those that have weak phenotypic effects.

Animals↗

An improved genetic model generates high-resolution mapping of QTL for protein quality in maize endosperm.

The genetic mapping of polymorphic markers in a cross between two inbred plant lines has proven to be a powerful method for detecting quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying complex traits. However, existing methods of QTL mapping were developed for disomic inheritance of both marker and QTL loci in a diploid population. To map QTL influencing traits expressed in the endosperm, a triploid embryo-nourishing tissue resulting from double fertilization, existing QTL mapping models require modification to consider the trisomic inheritance of the endosperm and the generation difference between the mapping population and the endosperm. Such a model requires simultaneous use of two successive generations, which theoretically can lead to an increase in resolution for QTL mapping compared with the use of a single backcross or F(2) generation. Using a newly developed model based on these considerations, we demonstrate the improved resolution of QTL, influencing protein quality traits in maize endosperm. The increased resolution made possible with this approach makes identified QTL accessible to positional cloning.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Stochastic search variable selection for identifying multiple quantitative trait loci.

In this article, we utilize stochastic search variable selection methodology to develop a Bayesian method for identifying multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) for complex traits in experimental designs. The proposed procedure entails embedding multiple regression in a hierarchical normal mixture model, where latent indicators for all markers are used to identify the multiple markers. The markers with significant effects can be identified as those with higher posterior probability included in the model. A simple and easy-to-use Gibbs sampler is employed to generate samples from the joint posterior distribution of all unknowns including the latent indicators, genetic effects for all markers, and other model parameters. The proposed method was evaluated using simulated data and illustrated using a real data set. The results demonstrate that the proposed method works well under typical situations of most QTL studies in terms of number of markers and marker density.

Bayes Theorem↗

The use of genomewide ENU mutagenesis screens to unravel complex mammalian traits: identifying genes that regulate organ-specific and systemic autoimmunity.

T-cell development is perhaps one of the best understood processes of mammalian cell differentiation, as many of the genes and pathways have been identified. By contrast, relatively little is known about the genes and pathways involved in immunological tolerance to self-antigens. Here, we describe the challenges associated with a genomewide screen designed at identifying new immune regulatory genes that uses a model of organ-specific autoimmunity leading to type 1 diabetes. The successful propagation and identification of the new gene variants will shed light on the various developmental checkpoints in lymphocyte development that are crucial for establishing tolerance to self-antigens.

Animals↗

The design of complex sexual traits in male barn swallows: associations between signal attributes.

Variation in the expression of sexually selected traits among individuals is widely investigated on the premise that these traits evolved to signal male quality. Significant repeatabilities of sexual signals and their associations with condition, mating success, survivorship and age may be the signatures of sexual selection. However, little is known about the relationship between these sexual attributes. Here we studied 28 acoustic and visual traits in the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, that may potentially function in sexual selection. Based on effect sizes calculated at the between-individual level, we assessed the relationship between repeatability, condition-dependence, attractiveness, age-dependence and viability indicator value of sexual traits using sexual signals as the units of analyses. Those traits that showed high within-year repeatability also showed high between-year repeatability, indicating that between-individual variation is consistent within and among seasons. In addition, age-dependence of traits, probably causing between-year variation, was negatively related to between-year repeatability. Condition-dependence was negatively correlated with effect sizes for the extent to which traits predicted viability. Therefore, traits that are positively related to immediate condition are those that are negatively related to survival, which may be the signature of a trade-off between current and future reproductive success ultimately reflecting signal reliability. No other significant relationship was found between trait attributes. We conclude that multiple sexual signals reflect different aspects of male quality in the barn swallow.

Animals↗

A simple genetic basis for a complex psychological trait in laboratory mice.

Psychological traits are commonly inferred from covariation in sets of behavioral measures that otherwise appear to have little in common. Emotionality in mice is such a trait, defined here by covariation in activity and defecation in a novel environment and emergence into the open arms of an elevated plus maze. Behavioral and quantitative trait analyses were conducted on four measures obtained from 879 mice from an F2 intercross. Three loci, on murine chromosomes 1, 12, and 15, were mapped that influence emotionality. This trait, inferred from studies of strain, sex, and individual differences in rodents, may be related to human susceptibility to anxiety or neuroticism.

Animals↗

A unified Markov chain Monte Carlo framework for mapping multiple quantitative trait loci.

In this article, a unified Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework is proposed to identify multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) for complex traits in experimental designs, based on a composite space representation of the problem that has fixed dimension. The proposed unified approach includes the existing Bayesian QTL mapping methods using reversible jump MCMC algorithm as special cases. We also show that a variety of Bayesian variable selection methods using Gibbs sampling can be applied to the composite model space for mapping multiple QTL. The unified framework not only results in some new algorithms, but also gives useful insight into some of the important factors governing the performance of Gibbs sampling and reversible jump for mapping multiple QTL. Finally, we develop strategies to improve the performance of MCMC algorithms.

Chromosome Mapping↗

An integrative approach for the identification of quantitative trait loci.

The genetic dissection of complex traits is one of the most difficult and most important challenges facing science today. We discuss here an integrative approach to quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping in mice. This approach makes use of the wealth of genetic tools available in mice, as well as the recent advances in genome sequence data already available for a number of inbred mouse strains. We have developed mapping strategies that allow a stepwise narrowing of a QTL mapping interval, prioritizing candidate genes for further analysis with the potential of identifying the most probable candidate gene for the given trait. This approach integrates traditional mapping tools, fine mapping tools, sequence-based analysis, bioinformatics and gene expression.

Animals↗