QTL Analysis in Livestock

In a recent issue ofScience , Lander and Weinberg (1 ) stated that “without doubt, the greatest achievement in biology over the past millennium has been the elucidation of the mechanism of heredity” .The genetic dissection of quantitative phenotypes into Mendelian-like components, or quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, has provided significant insight into how complex traits are regulated and controlled. In combination with the new tools of genomics, QTL analysis to maladies such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes and that contribute to behavioral phenotypes. This will not only yield informative diagnostics but may also lead to new therapies and potential cures in the future. In addition, we will begin to understand interactions between genes and the environment and between genes and other genes (epistasis), which, together, will play critical roles in implementing pharmacogenomic paradigms.