Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits
Book details
Summary
Description
With the emerging recognition that the expression of most characters is influenced by multiple genes and multiple environmental factors, quantitative genetics has become the central paradigm for the analysis of phenotypic variation and evolution.
Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits brings together the diverse array of theoretical and empirical applications of quantitative genetics under one cover, in a way that is both comprehensive and accessible to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of statistics and genetics. What was originally envisioned as a single text has now become two, with the focus of this first book being on the basic biology and methods of analysis of quantitative characters.
Three major features of Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits distinguish it from earlier work. First, it reflects the explosive influx over the past few years of quantitative-genetic thinking into evolutionary biology. Second, in animal breeding, enormous strides have been made in the development of new techniques for estimating breeding values (for the purposes of identifying elite individuals in selection programs) and for estimating variance components from samples of complex pedigrees. In this text's last two chapters, the authors outline the basic principles of complex pedigree analysis, without getting bogged down in technical details. Third, Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits provides a broad overview of the newly emerging array of techniques for quantitative-trait loci (QTL) analysis, currently one of the most active fields of quantitative-genetic research.
Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits contains numerous fully-worked examples and illustrations of theoretical concepts, as well as over 2,000 references with indices by subject, author, and organism. In addition, the authors maintain a World Wide Web site featuring up-to-date lists of computer programs and on-line resources, and added information on various topics presented in the text.
Reader reviews
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General Impressions
Readers of the book say Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits is overall a decent treatment of what its title claims it to be. It's one of the most popular intro textbooks to quantitative genetics. And in general, this book is great when you want to understand quantitative genetics.
Main Uses
Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits may be a really good resource for major theses in dairy cattle breeding, it's very useful.
Content
The book goes into both animal breeding, plant breeding and natural selection in ecological context.
Readers say: the treatment is both historical, discussing the effects of entire chromosomes, and modern, discussing topics such as using markers or the construction of nearly isogenic lines and cloning individual qtls. They also add, this is the most comprehensive book on the subject of quantitative trait design and analysis they have seen.
Features
Among nice features of Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits, some readers mention it is a bit too long , and it contains more historical background than what i need, but it gives a very thorough overview of the theory of the field, which is what is most important in the end.
Style
When it comes to the writing style, readers say that since a chromosomal segment may contain a large position of the total genome, the authors take what could be called a 'coarse-grained' approach that utilizes genetic factors rather than a 'microscopic' one emphasizing individual genes. They also say that the mathematical level might be slightly difficult for not so mathematic orientated people, but most is very well explained and some chapters might actually not be misplaced in a mathematics teaching book as well.
