A conceptual framework for mapping quantitative trait Loci regulating ontogenetic allometry.

ABSTRACT: Although ontogenetic changes in body shape and its associated allometry has been studied for over a century, essentially nothing is known about their underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms. One of the reasons for this ignorance is the unavailability of a conceptual framework to formulate the experimental design for data collection and statistical models for data analyses. We developed a framework model for unraveling the genetic machinery for ontogenetic changes of allometry. The model incorporates the mathematical aspects of ontogenetic growth and allometry into a maximum likelihood framework for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. As a quantitative platform, the model allows for the testing of a number of biologically meaningful hypotheses to explore the pleiotropic basis of

SUBMITTER: Li H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2080758 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature