Model selection emphasises the importance of non-chromosomal information in genetic studies

PLoS One. 2015 Jan 27;10(1):e0117014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117014. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Ever since the case of the missing heritability was highlighted some years ago, scientists have been investigating various possible explanations for the issue. However, none of these explanations include non-chromosomal genetic information. Here we describe explicitly how chromosomal and non-chromosomal modifiers collectively influence the heritability of a trait, in this case, the growth rate of yeast. Our results show that the non-chromosomal contribution can be large, adding another dimension to the estimation of heritability. We also discovered, combining the strength of LASSO with model selection, that the interaction of chromosomal and non-chromosomal information is essential in describing phenotypes.

MeSH terms

  • Bayes Theorem
  • Chromosomes, Fungal / genetics*
  • Genetic Association Studies
  • Linear Models
  • Models, Genetic*
  • Mutation
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / growth & development

Grants and funding

The authors have no support or funding to report.