The power of methods for the detection of major genes affecting quantitative characters

Abstract

Current methods for the detection of loci affecting quantitative characters in Drosophila may be in error in two ways, (i) The detection of loci which do not exist. (ii) The magnification of the estimated effect of those major loci which do exist by accumulating to their effect those of undetected loci close to them on the chromosome. This paper considers the magnitude of the second type of error and shows that the estimates of the effect of major loci may be too high by up to five times the standard error of measurement of each cross-over chromosome examined. © 1974 The Genetical Society of Great Britain.