Bioinformatics Advance Access published online on February 29, 2008
Bioinformatics, doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btn064
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Identifying Trait Clusters by Linkage Profiles: Application in Genetical Genomics
1Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention, Seattle, WA
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Dr. Joshua N. Sampson, E-mail: joshua.sampson{at}yale.edu
| Abstract |
|---|
Motivation: Genes often regulate multiple traits. Identifying clusters of traits influenced by a common group of genes helps elucidate regulatory networks and can improve linkage mapping.
Methods: We show that the Pearson Correlation Coefficient,
, between two LOD score profiles can, with high specificity and sensitivity, identify pairs of genes that have their transcription regulated by shared QTL. Furthermore, using theoretical and/or empirical methods, we can approximate the distribution of
under the null hypothesis of no common QTL. Therefore, it is possible to calculate p-values and false discovery rates for testing whether two traits share common QTL. We then examine the properties of
through simulation and use
to cluster genes in a genetical genomics experiment examining Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Results: Simulations show that
can have more power than the clustering methods currently used in genetical genomics. Combining experimental results with GO annotations show that genes within a purported cluster often share similar function.
Software: R-code included in on-line supplementary material
Contact: joshua.sampson{at}yale.edu
Associate Editor: Prof. John Quackenbush
Received on November 3, 2007; revised on February 11, 2008; accepted on February 17, 2008
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
Y. Al-Ghazi, S. Bourot, T. Arioli, E. S. Dennis, and D. J. Llewellyn Transcript Profiling During Fiber Development Identifies Pathways in Secondary Metabolism and Cell Wall Structure That May Contribute to Cotton Fiber Quality Plant Cell Physiol., July 1, 2009; 50(7): 1364 - 1381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
