title: The spectrum of mutations controlling complex traits and the genetics of fitness in plants.
abstract: Elucidating the molecular basis of natural variation in complex traits is the key for their effective management in crops or natural systems. This review focuses on plant variation. It will first, show that genetic modifications causing major alterations in polygenic phenotypes often hit targets within an array of 'candidate genes', second, present new methods that include mutations of all effect sizes, and help exhaustively describe the molecular systems underlying complex traits, and third, discuss recent findings regarding the role of epigenetic variants, which in plants are often maintained through both mitosis and meiosis. Exploring the whole spectrum of mutations controlling complex traits is made possible by the combination of genetic, genomic and epigenomic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: K Christin
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Falke
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glander
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jinyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Meaux
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D057890:Epigenomics / Q000379:methods; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D056726:Genetic Association Studies / Q000379:methods; D056084:Genetic Fitness / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009154:Mutation; D063245:Plant Development / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*