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Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits

by Michael Lynch

Summary

With the emerging recognition that the expression of most characters is influenced by multiple genes and multiple environmental factors, quantitative genetics has become the central paradigm for the analysis of phenotypic variation and evolution.

Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits brings together the diverse array of theoretical and empirical applications of quantitative genetics under one cover, in a way that is both comprehensive and accessible to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of statistics and genetics. What was originally envisioned as a single text has now become two, with the focus of this first book being on the basic biology and methods of analysis of quantitative characters.

Three major features of Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits distinguish it from earlier work. First, it reflects the explosive influx over the past few years of quantitative-genetic thinking into evolutionary biology. Second, in animal breeding, enormous strides have been made in the development of new techniques for estimating breeding values (for the purposes of identifying elite individuals in selection programs) and for estimating variance components from samples of complex pedigrees. In this text's last two chapters, the authors outline the basic principles of complex pedigree analysis, without getting bogged down in technical details. Third, Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits provides a broad overview of the newly emerging array of techniques for quantitative-trait loci (QTL) analysis, currently one of the most active fields of quantitative-genetic research.

Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits contains numerous fully-worked examples and illustrations of theoretical concepts, as well as over 2,000 references with indices by subject, author, and organism. In addition, the authors maintain a World Wide Web site featuring up-to-date lists of computer programs and on-line resources, and added information on various topics presented in the text.