Browsing by Subject "Imprinting"

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Joint QTL analysis of three connected F2-crosses in pigs
(2012) Rückert, Christine; Bennewitz, Jörn
Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) has received considerable attention in livestock genetic research over the last two decades. Knowledge of the location, the mode of inheritance and the size of effects of QTL contribute to a deeper understanding of the genetic architecture of quantitative or complex traits. Furthermore, mapped QTL were envisaged for use in so-called marker assisted selection programs. Before the era of genomics started, microsatellites were usually used as genetic markers for QTL mapping. In pigs, F2-crosses were frequently established from divergently selected founder breeds. Usually, the sizes of these F2-experiments are in the range of 300 individuals, which is too small to obtain sufficient statistical power to map QTL precisely. One large F2-experiment was set up in the 90th of the last century at the University of Hohenheim. Three F2-crosses from three genetically different founder breeds (Meishan, Pietrain and European Wild Boar) with almost 1000 individuals were genotyped and phenotyped for around 50 quantitative traits. In further studies, each of the crosses were analysed separately and more complex modes of inheritance were ignored. However, several researchers showed that a combined analysis with several QTL experiments can boost statistical power. Additionally, the mode of inheritance is sometimes not restricted to additive and dominant gene action. The overall aim of this thesis was the joint analysis of these three F2-crosses with more appropriate statistical models and to draw more precise conclusions about the QTL segregating within these experimental designs.