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Assessing the significance of quantitative trait loci in replicable mapping populations.

Replicable populations, such as panels of recombinant inbred or doubled haploid lines, are convenient resources for the mapping of QTL. To increase mapping power, replications are often collected within each RI line and a common way to analyze such data is to include in the QTL model only a single measurement from each line that represents the average among the replicates (a line means model). An obvious, but seldom explored, alternative, is to include every replicate in the model (a full data model). Here, we use simulations to compare these two approaches. Further, we propose an extension of the standard permutation procedure that is required to correctly control the type I error in mapping populations with nested structure.

Animals↗

DGAT1 K232A quantitative trait nucleotide polymorphism in Polish Black-and-White cattle.

The diacylglycerol o-acyltransferase 1 gene (DGAT1) was investigated in Polish Black-and-White cattle. The frequency of the K allele was 0.60, 0.68 and 0.48 for AI sires (n=150), young bulls (n=139) and cows (n=213), respectively. The method of selective genotyping for identification of the quantitative trait nucleotide was verified through identification of DGAT1 effect on milk production traits. Daughters of six heterozygous bulls were selectively genotyped based on their milk traits. The genotypic frequencies differed between high and low yield groups representing milk and fat contents. The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a highly significant effect of DGAT1 K232A in cows with extremely low fat content and a significant effect in cows with extremely high protein content of milk. No significant effect of AI sires' genotypes on their breeding value was found.

Acyltransferases↗

Towards the quantitative traits regulation: fountain theory implications in comparative and developmental biology.

A fountain mechanism of quantitative regulation of gene expression level during development is proposed. The mechanism is based on postulated ability of a special class of RNA molecules, so called fountain RNAs (fRNAs), to induce passive and selective ionic channels in the internal nuclear membrane. Ions diffuse via channel from the nuclear lumen into the chromatin compartment. An RNA-dependent battery of ion channels is assumed to produce < > of ions in close vicinity to the corresponding genes. An ion atmosphere, in its turn, locally changes the chromatin configuration and effectiveness of transcription and processing of transcripts. Hence this mechanism can be used to change genes productivity. It is a basic mechanism of quantitative traits regulation. A passive selective ion flux periodically stops after a threshold ion concentration induces local chromatin compactization and arrests the activity of ion channels in a given chromatin compartment. This process serves as a basis for many cellular biorhythms that are relatively temperature-independent because of the passive nature of ion channel. It is postulated that eukaryotes became eukaryotes just to obtain this fountain mechanism that allows them to perform gradual quantitative modulation of corresponding genes expression levels. The fountain mechanism is partly responsible for dominance and heterosis, X-chromosome inactivation, gene position effects, and some other epigenetic events. It plays an important role in embryonic and post-embryonic development. A significant portion of the former < > DNA can be referred to as fDNA involved in the proposed mechanism functioning. Genomic rearrangements of fDNA could lead to micro- and macroevolutionary changes in the animal and plant kingdoms. The pivotal evolutionary function of transposons could reside in their ability to contain and relocate fDNA along the chromosomes.

Animals↗

DNA marker mining of ILSTS035 microsatellite locus on chromosome 6 of Hanwoo cattle.

We describe tests for detecting and locating quantitative trait loci (QTL) for traits in Hanwoo cattle. From results of a permutation test to detect QTL for marbling, we selected the microsatellite locus ILSTS035 on chromosome 6 for further analysis. K-means clustering analysis applied to five traits and nine DNA markers in ILSTS035 resulted in three cluster groups. Finally we employed the bootstrap test method to calculate confidence intervals using the resampling method to find major DNA markers. We conclude that the major markers of ILSTS035 locus on chromosome 6 of Hanwoo cattle are markers 235 bp and 266 bp.

Animals↗

Mapping of rat chromosome 2 markers generated from chromosome-sorted DNA.

A quantitative trait locus (QTL) for blood pressure has recently been mapped to a region of roughly 30 cM on rat Chromosome (Chr) 2 by linkage and by the use of congenic strains. For further fine mapping of the QTL, however, closely linked chromosome markers residing in this 30-cM region are required. In the current work, 36 new markers were generated by screening rat Chr 2-sorted DNA libraries and subsequently mapped using five F2 populations. Combining new and existing markers, the marker density for the 30-cM region approaches, on average, one marker per 1.1 cM.

Animals↗

Dependence of epistasis on environment and mutation severity as revealed by in silico mutagenesis of phage t7.

Understanding how interactions among deleterious mutations affect fitness may shed light on a variety of fundamental biological phenomena, including the evolution of sex, the buffering of genetic variations, and the topography of fitness landscapes. It remains an open question under what conditions and to what extent such interactions may be synergistic or antagonistic. To address this question, we employed a computer model for the intracellular growth of bacteriophage T7. We created in silico 90,000 mutants of phage T7, each carrying from 1 to 30 mutations, and evaluated the fitness of each by simulating its growth cycle. The simulations sought to account for the severity of single deleterious mutations on T7 growth, as well as the effect of the resource environment on our fitness measures. We found that mildly deleterious mutations interacted synergistically in poor-resource environments but antagonistically in rich-resource environments. However, severely deleterious mutations always interacted antagonistically, irrespective of environment. These results suggest that synergistic epistasis may be difficult to experimentally distinguish from nonepistasis because its effects appear to be most pronounced when the effects of mutations on fitness are most challenging to measure. Our approach demonstrates how computer simulations of developmental processes can be used to quantitatively study genetic interactions at the population level.

Bacteriophage T7↗

Detection of quantitative trait loci in outbred populations with incomplete marker data.

Augmentation of marker genotypes for ungenotyped individuals is implemented in a Bayesian approach via the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Marker data on relatives and phenotypes are combined to compute conditional posterior probabilities for marker genotypes of ungenotyped individuals. The presented procedure allows the analysis of complex pedigrees with ungenotyped individuals to detect segregating quantitative trait loci (QTL). Allelic effects at the QTL were assumed to follow a normal distribution with a covariance matrix based on known QTL position and identity by descent probabilities derived from flanking markers. The Bayesian approach estimates variance due to the single QTL, together with polygenic and residual variance. The method was empirically tested through analyzing simulated data from a complex granddaughter design. Ungenotyped dams were related to one or more sons or grandsires in the design. Heterozygosity of the marker loci and size of QTL were varied. Simulation results indicated a significant increase in power when ungenotyped dams were included in the analysis.

Animals↗

[Construction of linkage map of chromosomes 1 and 3 in large white x Meishan reference family].

A three-generation family of pigs has been constructed by using three Large White boars and seven sows of Meishan pigs as parents. In this family, five F1 males and twenty-three F1 females were intercrossed to generate 147 F2 offspring. According to the pig linkage map of USDA-MARC, eight and nine microsatellite markers selected on chromosomes 1 and 3 were chosen to span the entire chromosomes. The members of this family were genotyped. The characterization of these microsatellites was shown that they were polymorphic and could be used to construct linkage map and detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Linkage analyses were performed using the CRI-MAP software package. The lengths of the sex-averaged linkage map were 182.3 cM and 180.2 cM on chromosomes 1 and 3, respectively. There were some differences between the linkage maps in this study and of USDA-MARC. The linkage map of chromosome 1 in female was found to be shorter than in male, and the contrary was on chromosome 3.

Animals↗

The gene controlling the quantitative trait locus EPITHIOSPECIFIER MODIFIER1 alters glucosinolate hydrolysis and insect resistance in Arabidopsis.

Glucosinolates are sulfur-rich plant secondary metabolites whose breakdown products have a wide range of biological activities in plant-herbivore and plant-pathogen interactions and anticarcinogenic properties. In Arabidopsis thaliana, hydrolysis by the enzyme, myrosinase, produces bioactive nitriles, epithionitriles, or isothiocyanates depending upon the plant's genotype and the glucosinolate's structure. A major determinant of this structural specificity is the epithiospecifier locus (ESP), whose protein causes the formation of epithionitriles and nitriles. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 3 epistatically affects nitrile formation in combination with ESP; this QTL has been termed EPITHIOSPECIFIER MODIFIER1 (ESM1). We identified a myrosinase-associated protein as the ESM1 QTL in Arabidopsis using map-based cloning with recombinant inbred lines, natural variation transcriptomic analysis, and metabolic profiling. In planta and in vitro analyses with natural ESM1 alleles, ESM1 knockouts, and overexpression lines show that ESM1 represses nitrile formation and favors isothiocyanate production. The glucosinolate hydrolysis profile change influenced by ESM1 is associated with the ability to deter herbivory by Trichoplusia ni. This gene could provide unique approaches toward improving human nutrition.

Animals↗

A statistically robust variance-components approach for quantitative trait linkage analysis.

Previously we showed (Wang, Guerra & Cohen 1998) that a statistically robust version of the Haseman & Elston (1972) sib-pair method greatly increased power to detect linkage in the presence of outliers. In this paper we report on M-estimation to accommodate outliers in the variance-components approach to linkage analysis developed by Amos (1994). Simulations show that in the presence of outliers the robust variance-components approach provides substantially greater power, more precise estimation of heritabilities, and better false-positive rates than the original Gaussian based approach. In the absence of outliers the performance of the robust variance-components approach is similar to that of the Gaussian based approach. For illustration we apply the method to two well characterized lipoprotein systems.

Alleles↗

The contribution of epistasis to species differences in annual sunflowers.

The contribution of epistasis to 15 morphological traits differentiating two annual sunflowers (Helianthus annuus and H. debilis ssp. cucumerifolius) and to hybrid pollen sterility was estimated in a first generation backcross (BC1) mapping population. Analysis of digenic interactions among quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with significant main effects revealed significant interaction effects for six of the 15 morphological traits and for pollen sterility. Likewise, a genome-wide scan of all possible two-locus combinations detected additional significant interactions for three of the traits with significant epistasis in the original analysis: stem pigmentation, phyllary pubescence, and pollen viability. However, these were the only traits of the 16 examined in which detected interactions explained more than 5% of phenotypic variance. The implications of these findings for adaptive evolution and for the introgression of advantageous morphological QTLs across a natural hybrid zone between these taxa are discussed.

Adaptation, Biological↗

Sample size calculations for classical association and TDT-type methods using family data.

Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT)-based methods have been advocated by several authors for testing that a marker-phenotype association is actually due to linkage and not to uncontrolled stratification. As a pre-requisite of TDT-type methods is the presence of an association between marker and phenotype, one may wish to first investigate the association using a classical association study, and then to check by a TDT approach whether this association is actually due to linkage. We propose an estimating equation (EE) procedure, to compute analytically the minimum sample size of sibship data required to detect the association between a marker and a quantitative phenotype, and that required to confirm it by two TDT methods. We show that, when the marker allele frequency is low or high, the number of informative sibs needed in TDT-type methods can be lower than the number required in an association analysis, and even more so when the familial clustering is strong. However, in all cases, the number of sibs that need to be sampled to get the appropriate number of informative sibs for analysis is always larger for TDT methods than for an association study. In a phenotype-first strategy, this number may be critical when investigating costly phenotypes.

Alleles↗

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and quantitative trait analyses across a major phylogeographical break in the Mediterranean ragwort Senecio gallicus Vill. (Asteraceae).

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and quantitative trait variation of the widespread and ephemeral Senecio gallicus were surveyed in 11 populations sampled from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. The aim of the study was to compare population relationships and levels of geographical differentiation with chloroplast (cp) DNA and allozyme variation assessed previously in the same populations. Employing multivariate statistics, a moderate level of intraspecific differentiation was observed among populations from Iberian coastal and inland regions for both RAPDs and quantitative traits. However, RAPDs provided greater resolution in identifying additional population structure within the hypothesized, Pleistocene refugial source area of the species in coastal Iberia. A major part of the geographical subdivision in RAPD and quantitative traits was concordant with the coastal vs. inland divergence as previously inferred from cpDNA haplotype frequencies, but strongly contrasted with the geographical uniformity of the species for allozymes. This concordance across various nuclear and cytoplasmic markers (RAPDs/quantitative traits, cpDNA) suggests that geographical uniformity for allozymes is more attributable to low rates of evolution and/or small genome sampling rather than high rates of pollen dispersal, slow rates of nuclear lineage sorting, or indirect balancing selection. The present study underscores the value of using additional classes of nuclear markers for narrowing the numbers of competing causal hypotheses about intraspecific cpDNA-allozyme discrepancies and their underlying evolutionary processes.

Alleles↗

A haplotypic approach to founder-origin probabilities and outbred QTL analysis.

Founder-origin probability methods are used to trace specific chromosomal segments in individual offspring. A haplotypic method was developed for calculating founder-origin probabilities in three-generation outbred pedigrees suited to quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Estimators for expected founder-origin proportions were derived for a linkage group segment, an entire linkage group and a complete haplotype. If the founders are truly outbred, the haplotypic method gives a close approximation when compared with the Haley et al. (1994) method that simultaneously uses all marker information for QTL analysis, and it is less computationally demanding. The chief limitation of the haplotypic method is that some information in two-allele intercross marker-type configurations is ignored. Informativeness of marker arrays is discussed in the framework of founder-origin probabilities and proportions. The haplotypic method can be extended to more complex pedigrees with additional generations.

Founder Effect↗

IGF2 antisense transcript expression in porcine postnatal muscle is affected by a quantitative trait nucleotide in intron 3.

A paternally expressed quantitative trait locus (QTL) for muscle mass was mapped to the insulin-like growth factor II (IGF2) locus at the distal end of pig chromosome 2p. It was recently demonstrated that a G to A transition at position intron 3-nt 3072 is the quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN) underlying this QTL. In this study we report for the first time the existence of imprinted porcine IGF2 antisense transcripts (IGF2-AS) and demonstrate that their expression in postnatal muscle is also affected by the QTN. A coregulated expression of IGF2 and IGF2-AS RNAs in muscle and liver with decreasing transcription from fetal to adult age was demonstrated. Further, the significant difference found in expression of IGF2-AS in postnatal muscle between individuals with different QTL genotypes and the lack of significant differences in fetal muscle and liver reflect completely what has been found for IGF2 sense transcripts.

Animals↗

Haplotype combinations of calpain 10 gene polymorphisms associate with increased risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes in South Indians.

Haplotype combination 112/121 and its intrinsic variants (UCSNP43, -19, and -63) identified within the calpain 10 gene are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in Mexican-Americans. We evaluated whether this haplotype combination and its constituent haplotypes and variants contribute to increased susceptibility to impaired fasting glucose (IFG)/impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes in a South Indian population. Two study groups were used: 95 families ascertained through a proband with type 2 diabetes and 468 subjects recruited as part of an urban survey (69.1% with normal glucose tolerance, 12.8% with IFG/IGT, and 18.2% with type 2 diabetes). The four-locus haplotype combination 1112/1121 (UCSNP44, -43, -19, and -63) in South Indians conferred both a 10.7-fold increased risk for IFG/IGT (P = 0.001) and a 5.78- to 6.52-fold increased risk for type 2 diabetes in the two study groups (families P = 0.025, urban survey P = 0.015). A combination of the 1112 haplotype with the 1221 haplotype also appeared to increase risk for both IFG/IGT and type 2 diabetes. Contrary to what might be expected, quantitative trait analysis in the families found that transmission of the disease-related 1121 and 1112 haplotypes was associated with a reduced hip size and lower waist-to-hip ratio, respectively. This study supports the paradigm that specific haplotype combinations of calpain 10 variants increase risk of both IFG/IGT and type 2 diabetes. However, the relative infrequency of the "at-risk" combinations in the South Indian population suggests that calpain 10 is not a common determinant of susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.

Adult↗

The porcine gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor gene (GNRHR): genomic organization, polymorphisms, and association with the number of corpora lutea.

The interaction of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH) and its receptor (GNRHR) is critical in the endocrine regulation of reproduction. The gene (GNRHR) encoding the receptor has been mapped to porcine chromosome 8. There is evidence for three quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing ovulation rate on this chromosome. We obtained an almost complete sequence (3993 bp, excluding intron 1) of the porcine GNRHR gene using PCR-based comparative genomic walking and inverse genomic walking approaches. Twelve polymorphisms were detected by sequencing of pooled DNA of Chinese Taihu and European Large White pigs, including 7 base substitutions and 5 insertions-deletions (indels). A F2 population of Meishan x European Large White pigs was genotyped for a TG indel in the promoter region, and a C/G substitution in the 3' UTR (untranslated region). A significant association of the C/G substitution with number of corpora lutea at first parity was observed.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Dopamine markers and general cognitive ability.

Because general cognitive ability (g) is among the most heritable behavioural traits, it is a reasonable target for a search for quantitative trait loci (QTLs). We used a selected-extremes design to test candidate genes for allelic association with g. Polymorphisms in four genes in the dopamine system (DRD2, DRD3, DRD4, DAT1) were genotyped for 51 high g children with IQ scores > 130 and for 51 average g control children. No significant allelic or genotypic differences were found between the high g and average g groups for these markers of the dopamine system, even though the selected-extremes design provides power to detect QTL associations that involve a relative risk of about 1.5.

Adolescent↗