Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học quốc tế cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: A statistical model for mapping morphological shape. | Fu et al. Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling 2010 7 28 http content 7 1 28 THEORETICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICAL MODELLING RESEARCH Open Access A statistical model for mapping morphological shape z r I- 2 Guifang Fu Arthur Berg Kiranmoy Das Jiahan Li Runze Li Rongling Wu Correspondence rwu@. 3Center for Computational Biology Beijing Forestry University Beijing 100083 China 2 BioMed Central Abstract Background Living things come in all shapes and sizes from bacteria plants and animals to humans. Knowledge about the genetic mechanisms for biological shape has far-reaching implications for a range spectrum of scientific disciplines including anthropology agriculture developmental biology evolution and biomedicine. Results We derived a statistical model for mapping specific genes or quantitative trait loci QTLs that control morphological shape. The model was formulated within the mixture framework in which different types of shape are thought to result from genotypic discrepancies at a QTL. The EM algorithm was implemented to estimate QTL genotype-specific shapes based on a shape correspondence analysis. Computer simulation was used to investigate the statistical property of the model. Conclusion By identifying specific QTLs for morphological shape the model developed will help to ask disseminate and address many major integrative biological and genetic questions and challenges in the genetic control of biological shape and function. Background Morphological shape is one of the most conspicuous aspects of an organism s phenotype and provides an intricate link between biological structure and function in changing environments 1 2 . For this reason comparing the anatomical and shape feature of organisms has been a central element of biology for centuries. Nowadays attempts have been made to unlock the genetic secrets behind phenotypic differentiation in developmental shape 3 understand the origin and pattern of shape
