Software QTLRel: an R Package for Genome-wide Association Studies in which Relatedness is a Concern
2011

QTLRel: An R Package for Genome-wide Association Studies

Sample size: 688 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Cheng Riyan, Abney Mark, Palmer Abraham A, Skol Andrew D

Primary Institution: The University of Chicago

Hypothesis

Can we develop a software package that accurately models genetic relatedness and variance components in genome-wide association studies?

Conclusion

QTLRel is a comprehensive toolkit for genome-wide association studies that effectively models genetic relatedness and variance components.

Supporting Evidence

  • QTLRel has been used to analyze datasets including F34 body weight data.
  • The package identified 11 QTL in the analysis of body weight.
  • It took 295 seconds to estimate variance components and 70 seconds to perform the genome scan.

Takeaway

QTLRel is a tool that helps scientists find genes related to traits by considering how closely related the subjects are.

Methodology

The package estimates variance components and performs genome scans using maximum likelihood methods.

Limitations

There is room to improve QTLRel's speed as it relies on many intermediate R functions.

Participant Demographics

The study involved 688 individuals genotyped at 3105 SNP markers.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2156-12-66

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