The coevolution and divergence of socially-interacting genes may affect a broad range of traits, including those involved in mate recognition and compatibility, social dominance, and familial interactions [20] [26].
We then consider different approaches used to define the entities in a potential community, in particular the broad range of trait-based approaches that have recently been developed and applied in different settings.
These results support that sex does influence a broad range of traits in pigs.
We describe a program, the Sanger Institute Mouse Genetics Project, that provides a step toward the aim of knocking out all genes and screening each line for a broad range of traits.
One of the most compelling reasons for developing MAGIC populations is the ability to conduct research on a broad range of traits in genetically diversity populations.
The very broad range of traits describing carcass and body composition in cattle resulted in QTL being reported on all chromosomes.
Of the 213 traits examined, 102 differed significantly between the two sexes (q value <0.05), which indicates that sex is an important factor that influences a broad range of traits in pigs.
Indeed, for a broad range of traits and organisms, locus-by-locus studies have revealed that genomic polymorphisms associated with phenotypic variation of complex traits typically account for a small fraction of additive variance [ 6] while additive variance is known to be by far the greatest contributor of the total genetic variance [ 5, 7, 8].
While this approach was simplistic (and other botanists soon resorted to using a broader range of traits), it had the advantages of simplicity.
Extension of genomic predictions to the full range of traits that influence consumer satisfaction will further require a focus on the collection of reliable phenotypic information across the broad spectrum of traits.
