We consider the problem of high-dimensional regression under non-constant error variances. Despite being a common phenomenon in biological applications, heteroscedasticity has, so far, been largely ignored in high-dimensional analysis of genomic data sets. We propose a new methodology that allows non-constant error variances for high-dimensional estimation and model selection. Our method incorp...

Identifying the genetic basis of complex traits remains an important and challenging problem with the potential to affect a broad range of biological endeavors. A number of statistical methods are available for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL), but their application to high-throughput phenotypes has been limited as most require user input and interaction. Recently, methods have been develo...

body weight (bw) and carcass traits are complex and important economic traits that may benefit from the implementation of mas. the objective of the current study was to identify qtl associated with bw and carcass traits in an experimental half-sib cross of japanese quails selected for bw at 4 weeks of age. body weight and carcass traits were measured in the f2 population. total f2 individuals a...

Understanding the sequence determinants that give rise to diversity among individuals and species is the central challenge of genetics. However, despite ever greater numbers of sequenced genomes, most genome-wide association studies cannot distinguish causal variants from linked passenger mutations spanning many genes. We report that this inherent challenge can be overcome in model organisms. B...

Background The identification of polymorphisms that underlie complex phenotypic traits presents new and exciting challenges to molecular genetics. Association mapping, which uses linkage disequilibrium (LD) to map trait variation with nucleotide polymorphisms, has proved suited for this purpose in outcrossed tree species. Association mapping can be undertaken either at a candidate gene level or...

In higher plants, RNA editing is a posttranscriptional process that converts C to U in organelle mRNAs. Although RNA editing in mitochondria occurs much more frequently than in chloroplasts, editing of exogenously supplied RNA substrates in vitro and in organello has shown that editing in the two organelles shares some common features. In particular, the 20 nucleotides upstream of the editing s...

Epistasis, i.e., the fact that gene effects depend on the genetic background, is a direct consequence of the complexity of genetic architectures. Despite this, most of the models used in evolutionary and quantitative genetics pay scant attention to genetic interactions. For instance, the traditional decomposition of genetic effects models epistasis as noise around the evolutionarily-relevant ad...