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Quantitative Traits and Quantitative Genetics

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Genetics of the Mouse

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Abstract

In contrast with qualitative or dichotomous traits, quantitative traits are measured using quantitative or semi-quantitative variables and their inheritance is controlled by multiple genes acting independently or in association. Quantitative traits are also influenced to varying degrees by the environment and this explains why they are often designated complex traits, with the adjective “complex” referring more to the determinism of the phenotypic expression than to the trait itself.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

    Jean-Louis Guénet

  2. Division of Basic Science Research, Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX, USA

    Fernando Benavides

  3. Mouse Functional Genetics Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

    Jean-Jacques Panthier & Xavier Montagutelli

  4. Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France

    Jean-Jacques Panthier

Authors
  1. Jean-Louis Guénet
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  2. Fernando Benavides
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  3. Jean-Jacques Panthier
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  4. Xavier Montagutelli
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Correspondence to Jean-Louis Guénet .

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Guénet, JL., Benavides, F., Panthier, JJ., Montagutelli, X. (2015). Quantitative Traits and Quantitative Genetics. In: Genetics of the Mouse. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44287-6_10

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