Journal of Applied Genetics 41(4), 2000, pp. 275-283

Analysis of single gene multitrait effects in livestock by the use of Gibbs sampling

Anita DOBEK, Krzysztof MOLINSKI, Maciej SZYDLOWSKI, Tomasz SZWACZKOWSKI

Abstract: The paper presents a method of multivariate data analysis described by a model which involves fixed effects, additive polygenic individual effects and the effects of a major gene. To find the estimates of model parameters, the maximalisation of likelihood function method is applied. The maximum of likelihood function is computed by the use of the Gibbs sampling approach. In this approach, following the conditional posterior distributions, values of all unknown parameters are generated. On the basis of the obtained samples the marginal posterior densities as well as the estimates of fixed effects, gene frequency, genotypic values, major gene, polygenic and error (co)variances are calculated. A merical example, supplemented to theoretical considerations, deals with data simulated according to the considered model.

Key words: EM algorithm, major gene, Gibbs sampling, pleiotropic effects.

Correspondence: A. DOBEK, Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, August Cieszkowski Agricultural University, ul. Wojska Polskiego 28, 60637 Poznan, Poland.