数量遗传学和基因组学与未来的动物育种学

Quantitative Genetics, Genomics and the Future of Animal Breeding

数量遗传学经过近 1 0 0年的发展 ,形成了一整套理论体系 ,其基本原理和方法已经发展成为动物育种学、植物育种学、人类遗传学和进化遗传学等四个相对独立的分支领域 ,然而这些领域之间的信息交流相当薄弱。在基因组学时代 ,随着对数量性状基因型的识别 ,人们通过对经典数量遗传学模型的修改 ,数量遗传学为分析表型信息和基因型信息提供了合理框架 ,数量遗传学将会比过去发挥更大的作用。讨论了一些在数量遗传学的各个分支领域发展起来的研究方法 ,动物育种工作者亟需广泛了解这些方法 。

Quantitative genetics has been the intellectual cornerstone of breeding for close to 100 years. Likewise, the tools of modern quantitative genetics have been developed in four separate fields: animal breeding, plant breeding, human genetics, and evolutionary genetics. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, migration of information between these fields has not been what it should be. In the age of genomics, genomic information allows for an extended (neoclassical) framework that also incorporates genetic marker information. Straightforward modifications of classical quantitative genetic models provide the natural framework for handling both phenotypic and genotypic information. Quantitative genetics will continue to play important role in the genetic analysis of quantitative traits and breeding. Thus, it is also an appropriate time to inquire whether useful tools have been developed in these other fields that may be helpful to animal breeders of today and the genomics-based breeders of the near future. Equally important for breeders to consider are powerful tools developed in other fields of quantitative genetics, only a few of which have been discussed here. Animal breeders will make it possible to analyze quantitative traits using a more accurate but more complicate genetic model if interdisciplinary efforts are successful.