[Power estimation for in silico mapping]

A fundamentally new approach to gene mapping of complex traits was suggested recently. It consists in computer analysis of existing databases on the phenotypes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in inbred mouse strains and was termed in silico mapping. The power of this method has been studied by simulating quantitative traits controlled by one, two, or three genes. The results have demonstrated that the power of in silico mapping is high in the case of a monogenic trait. The probability of mapping all genes determining a digenic or, especially, trigenic trait is low. If two or three genes make equal phenotypic contributions to a trait, the proportions of experiments where none of them is localized are 17 and 25%, respectively. In the case of a major gene effect, when the phenotypic contribution of one gene considerably exceeds those of the other genes, the probability to map the major gene is 0.95 and 0.80 for the digenic and trigenic models, respectively. This shows that, in the case of polygenic control, the new method could localize only the genes with major effects, while most genes involved in the control of the trait would not be mapped.