Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
J Anim Breed Genet. 2011 Apr;128(2):87-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0388.2010.00913.x. Epub 2011 Jan 27.
Selection experiments in laboratory animals and livestock have provided a wealth of information on genetic parameters of quantitative traits and on the effectiveness of selection in the short and long term on both directly selected and correlated traits. They have stimulated developments in theory and tests of it, and extreme selected lines continue to be source material for biological study. Some of the main questions and findings are briefly reviewed. Yet much of successful animal breeding practice has been based essentially on statistical methods, assuming where necessary the infinitesimal model, and new developments such as genomic selection are similarly not based on selection experiments. Information on the genetic architecture of quantitative traits is provided by selection experiments, but new methods for deeper studies of the biology are available. I discuss the future role for selection experiments in view of changes in funding streams and technology and conclude that there is little case for starting new experiments, but retention of existing long-term lines is desirable and DNA should be collected from all lines on a continuing basis.
在实验动物和家畜中进行的选择实验为数量性状的遗传参数以及在短期和长期内对直接选择和相关性状的选择效果提供了丰富的信息。这些实验刺激了理论的发展和对其的检验，并且极端选择系仍然是生物学研究的材料来源。本文简要回顾了一些主要的问题和发现。然而，许多成功的动物育种实践基本上都是基于统计方法，必要时假设了无限小模型，而新的发展，如基因组选择，也同样不是基于选择实验。选择实验提供了关于数量性状遗传结构的信息，但也有新的方法可以更深入地研究生物学。鉴于资金来源和技术的变化，我讨论了选择实验的未来作用，并得出结论，几乎没有理由开展新的实验，但保留现有的长期系是可取的，并且应该从所有系上持续收集 DNA。
