Abstract

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.

Author affiliations

1. Rongling Wu is at the School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Forestry University, Lin'an, Zhejiang 311300, People's Republic of China and the Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
2. Min Lin is at the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA and the Department of Statistics, University of Florida.

Correspondence to: Rongling Wu¹ Email: rwu@stat.ufl.edu

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