Evaluation of Cofactor Markers for Controlling Genetic Background Noise in QTL Mapping

In order to control the genetic background noise in QTL mapping, cofactor markers were incorporated in single marker analysis (SMACO) and interval mapping (CIM). A simulation was performed to see how effective the cofactors were by the number of QTL, the number and the type of markers, and the marker spacing. The results of QTL mapping for the simulated data showed that the use of cofactors was slightly effective when detecting a single QTL. On the other hand, a considerable improvement was observed when dealing with more than one QTL. Genetic background noise was efficiently absorbed with linked markers rather than unlinked markers. Furthermore, the efficiency was different in QTL mapping depending on the type of linked markers. Well-chosen markers in both SMACO and CIM made the range of linkage position for a significant QTL narrow and the estimates of QTL effects accurate. Generally, 3 to 5 cofactors offered accurate results. Over-fitting was a problem with many regressor variables when the heritability was small. Various marker spacing from 4 to 20 cM did not change greatly the detection of multiple QTLs, but they were less efficient when the marker spacing exceeded 30 cM. Likelihood ratio increased with a large heritability, and the threshold heritability for QTL detection was between 0.30 and 0.05.