Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits
Bruce Walsh and Michael Lynch
Abstract
Quantitative traits—be they morphological or physiological characters, aspects of behavior, or genome-level features such as the amount of RNA or protein expression for a specific gene—usually show considerable variation within and among populations. Quantitative genetics, also referred to as the genetics of complex traits, is the study of such characters and is based on mathematical models of evolution in which many genes influence the trait and in which non-genetic factors may also be important. Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits presents a holistic treatment of the subject, show ... More
Quantitative traits—be they morphological or physiological characters, aspects of behavior, or genome-level features such as the amount of RNA or protein expression for a specific gene—usually show considerable variation within and among populations. Quantitative genetics, also referred to as the genetics of complex traits, is the study of such characters and is based on mathematical models of evolution in which many genes influence the trait and in which non-genetic factors may also be important. Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits presents a holistic treatment of the subject, showing the interplay between theory and data with extensive discussions on statistical issues relating to the estimation of the biologically relevant parameters for these models. Quantitative genetics is viewed as the bridge between complex mathematical models of trait evolution and real-world data, and the authors have clearly framed their treatment as such. This is the second volume in a planned trilogy that summarizes the modern field of quantitative genetics, informed by empirical observations from wide-ranging fields (agriculture, evolution, ecology, and human biology) as well as population genetics, statistical theory, mathematical modeling, genetics, and genomics. Whilst volume 1 (1998) dealt with the genetics of such traits, the main focus of volume 2 is on their evolution, with a special emphasis on detecting selection (ranging from the use of genomic and historical data through to ecological field data) and examining its consequences. This extensive work of reference is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers (both empiricists and theoreticians) in the fields of evolutionary biology, genetics, and genomics. It will also be of particular relevance and use to plant and animal breeders, human geneticists, and statisticians.
Keywords:
animal breeding,
Bayesian analysis,
behavioral genetics,
detecting selection with marker data,
ecological genetics,
evolution,
genomics,
human genetics,
mathematical modeling in biology,
molecular evolution,
natural selection,
plant breeding,
population genetics,
quantitative genetics,
statistical genetics
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2018 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198830870 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2018 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198830870.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Bruce Walsh, author
Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, USA
Michael Lynch, author
Professor and Director, Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, USA
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