Investigating the Probability of Sign Inconsistency in the Regression Coefficients of Markers Flanking Quantitative Trait Loci

Estimates of the locations and effects of quantitative trait loci (QTL) can be obtained by regressing phenotype on marker genotype. Under certain basic conditions, the signs of regression coefficients flanking QTL must be the same. There is no guarantee, however, that the signs of the regression coe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics (Austin) 2002-04, Vol.160 (4), p.1697-1705
Main Authors: Hwang, J. T. Gene, Nettleton, Dan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Genetic Markers
Genetics
Models, Genetic
Quantitative Trait, Heritable
Regression Analysis
Statistical methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Estimates of the locations and effects of quantitative trait loci (QTL) can be obtained by regressing phenotype on marker genotype. Under certain basic conditions, the signs of regression coefficients flanking QTL must be the same. There is no guarantee, however, that the signs of the regression coefficient estimates will be the same. We use sign inconsistency to describe the situation in which there is disagreement between the signs of the estimated regression coefficients flanking QTL. The presence of sign inconsistency can undermine the effectiveness of QTL mapping strategies that presume intervals whose markers have regression coefficient estimates of differing sign to be devoid of QTL. This article investigates the likelihood of sign inconsistency under various conditions. We derive an analytic expression for the approximate probability of sign inconsistency in the single-QTL case. We also examine sign inconsistency probabilities when multiple QTL are present through simulation. We have discovered that the probability of sign inconsistency can be unacceptably high, even when the conditions for QTL detection are otherwise quite favorable.
ISSN:0016-6731
1943-2631
1943-2631
DOI:10.1093/genetics/160.4.1697