Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Polygenic Traits01:18

Polygenic Traits

69.0K
When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
69.0K
Trait and State Self-Esteem02:08

Trait and State Self-Esteem

11.5K
The term self-esteem is often used generically, to refer to how people feel about themselves. However, according to research, there are three distinct constructs that should not be used interchangeably (Brown & Marshall, 2006). 
11.5K
Multiple Allele Traits01:49

Multiple Allele Traits

38.0K
The Concept of Multiple Allelism
38.0K
Traits and States01:17

Traits and States

542
Personality traits represent consistent patterns in behavior, thoughts, and emotions, reflecting an individual's tendencies across various situations. For example, extraversion, a well-known trait, manifests in individuals as talkative, energetic, and enthusiastic behaviors. These traits are stable over time, offering a reliable framework for predicting how people might act in different contexts. However, they do not define every moment of an individual's life. In contrast to traits,...
542
X-linked Traits01:19

X-linked Traits

58.3K
In most mammalian species, females have two X sex chromosomes and males have an X and Y. As a result, mutations on the X chromosome in females may be masked by the presence of a normal allele on the second X. In contrast, a mutation on the X chromosome in males more often causes observable biological defects, as there is no normal X to compensate. Trait variations arising from mutations on the X chromosome are called “X-linked”.
58.3K
Trait Centrality01:21

Trait Centrality

181
Trait centrality refers to the degree to which a particular characteristic influences the overall impression of an individual. Some traits exert a disproportionately strong impact on perception, shaping how people interpret other attributes of a person. Solomon Asch first systematically studied this phenomenon in 1946.Asch’s Experiment on Trait CentralityAsch's seminal study demonstrated the centrality of certain traits through a controlled experiment. Participants were presented with a...
181

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A uniform tissue-clearing framework and mesoSPIM-ultra enable cm-scale single-neuron tracing.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Mesenchymal-derived neural progenitors underlie local <i>insulin</i> production and neuronal transdifferentiation during retina regeneration.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Differential assembly of mouse and human tumor microenvironments.

Nature immunology·2026
Same author

Data-driven prioritization of mouse strains for improved preclinical modeling of rare and common disease.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Integration of a neuronal RNAseq dataset with the draft Gryllus bimaculatus transcriptome refines gene predictions and highlights potential systematic response to injury.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Simplifying Systems Genetics with QTLretrievR: An R Package for Molecular QTL Identification.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits
11:09

Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits

Published on: October 12, 2015

19.7K

Reference Trait Analysis Reveals Correlations Between Gene Expression and Quantitative Traits in Disjoint Samples.

Daniel A Skelly1, Narayanan Raghupathy1, Raymond F Robledo1

  • 1The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609.

Genetics
|May 23, 2019
PubMed
Summary

We developed a novel reference trait analysis to link complex traits with gene expression, even when data comes from separate studies. This method outperforms existing transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) in identifying gene expression correlates.

Keywords:
RNA-seqbehavioral geneticscomplex traitsfunctional genomicsstatistical geneticssystems geneticstranscriptome-wide association study

More Related Videos

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies
14:56

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies

Published on: May 6, 2022

5.1K
A Simple Protocol for Mapping the Plant Root System Architecture Traits
11:09

A Simple Protocol for Mapping the Plant Root System Architecture Traits

Published on: February 10, 2023

3.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits
11:09

Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits

Published on: October 12, 2015

19.7K
Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies
14:56

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies

Published on: May 6, 2022

5.1K
A Simple Protocol for Mapping the Plant Root System Architecture Traits
11:09

A Simple Protocol for Mapping the Plant Root System Architecture Traits

Published on: February 10, 2023

3.6K

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Systems Biology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Systems genetic analysis integrates genetic, genomic, and disease data, but separate collection across populations hinders direct correlation.
  • Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) use gene expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) to link gene expression to traits but rely heavily on strong eQTL.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel strategy for correlating complex traits with molecular features from independently collected datasets.
  • To develop a method that overcomes limitations of TWAS by using continuous phenotypes instead of genetic predictors.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a reference trait analysis correlating complex traits through a common set of continuous "reference" phenotypes.
  • Utilized canonical correlation analysis to relate reference traits and traits of interest to identify gene expression correlates.
  • Validated the approach through simulations and a mouse behavioral genetics experiment analyzing anxiety-related behaviors and hippocampal gene expression.

Main Results:

  • The reference trait analysis successfully identified transcripts correlated with anxiety-related traits in mice, achieving a high canonical correlation (R = 0.69).
  • The proposed method demonstrated superior performance compared to TWAS in identifying associated transcripts.
  • The study confirmed the validity, reliability, and power of reference trait analysis for molecular substrate discovery.

Conclusions:

  • Reference trait analysis provides a powerful and flexible alternative for linking complex traits to molecular features, especially when data is fragmented across studies.
  • This method enhances the ability to discover transcript-trait correlations, including those not driven by genetic regulation.
  • The findings support the broader application of reference trait analysis in systems genetics and complex trait research.