Functional mapping - how to map and study the genetic architecture of dynamic complex traits.
The development of any organism is a complex dynamic process that is controlled by a network of genes as well as by environmental factors. Traditional mapping approaches for analysing phenotypic data measured at a single time point are too simple to reveal the genetic control of developmental processes. A general statistical mapping framework, called functional mapping, has been proposed to characterize, in a single step, the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) or nucleotides (QTNs) that underlie a complex dynamic trait. Functional mapping estimates mathematical parameters that describe the developmental mechanisms of trait formation and expression for each QTL or QTN. The approach provides a useful quantitative and testable framework for assessing the interplay between gene actions or interactions and developmental changes.
School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Forestry University, Lin'an, Zhejiang 311300, People's Republic of China. rwu@stat.ufl.edu
Rongling
R
Wu
Min
M
Lin
D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*