Summary
Using a sigmoid relationship between gene dosage and phenotype, a computer model is presented that accurately simulates the effects of epistasis for quantitative traits in three experimental designs; the basic generations (i.e. parents, F1’s, F2’s and backcrosses), inbred families produced by single seed descent, and the triple test cross. It is shown that the classical expectations for components of generation means and variances are fulfilled when the genetical control is additive or interactive. Furthermore departures from the classical situation found in practice were also exhibited by our model. It seems likely, therefore, that in future studies, this inherently more flexible model for predicting the effect of epistasis may replace other methods of simulating epistasis.
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Kearsey, M., Sturley, S. A model for the incorporation of epistasis into a computer simulation for three experimental designs. Heredity 52, 373–382 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1984.45
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1984.45
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