A test for selection employing quantitative trait locus and mutation accumulation data.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary biologists attribute much of the phenotypic diversity observed in nature to the action of natural selection. However, for many phenotypic traits, especially quantitative phenotypic traits, it has been challenging to test for the historical action of selection. An important challenge for biologists studying quantitative traits, therefore, is to distinguish between traits that have evolved under the influence of strong selection and those that have evolved neutrally. Most existing tests for selection employ molecular data, but selection also leaves a mark on the genetic architecture underlying a trait. In particular, the distribution of quantitative trait locus (QTL) effect sizes and the distribution of mutational effects together provide information regarding the history of sel

SUBMITTER: Rice DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3316662 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature