title: A classical setting for associations between markers and loci affecting quantitative traits.
abstract: We examine the relationships between a genetic marker and a locus affecting a quantitative trait by decomposing the genetic effects of the marker locus into additive and dominance effects under a classical genetic model. We discuss the structure of the associations between the marker and the trait locus, paying attention to non-random union of gametes, multiple alleles at the marker and trait loci, and non-additivity of allelic effects at the trait locus. We consider that this greater-than-usual level of generality leads to additional insights, in a way reminiscent of Cockerham's decomposition of genetic variance into five terms: three terms in addition to the usual additive and dominance terms. Using our framework, we examine several common tests of association between a marker and a trait.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-8203, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Weir
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008957:Models, Genetic; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers