title: Expression quantitative trait loci analysis in plants.
abstract: An expression Quantitative Trait Locus or eQTL is a chromosomal region that accounts for a proportion of the variation in abundance of a mRNA transcript observed between individuals in a genetic mapping population. A single gene can have one or multiple eQTLs. Large scale mRNA profiling technologies advanced genome-wide eQTL mapping in a diverse range of organisms allowing thousands of eQTLs to be detected in a single experiment. When combined with classical or trait QTLs, correlation analyses can directly suggest candidates for genes underlying these traits. Furthermore, eQTL mapping data enables genetic regulatory networks to be modelled and potentially provide a better understanding of the underlying phenotypic variation. The mRNA profiling data sets can also be used to infer the chromosomal positions of thousands of genes, an outcome that is particularly valuable for species with unsequenced genomes where the chromosomal location of the majority of genes remains unknown. In this review we focus on eQTL studies in plants, addressing conceptual and technical aspects that include experimental design, genetic polymorphism prediction and candidate gene identification.
authors.affiliation: Genetics, Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, UK.
authors.forename: Arnis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Druka
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Potokina
authors.forename: Zewei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Xinwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kearsey
authors.forename: Robbie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Waugh
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D008957:Models, Genetic; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant