Patent ID: 8843356

Claim:
A method of identifying a molecular target for a second trait in a second species, the method comprising: (a) identifying a first gene in a segregating population that is causal for a first trait exhibited by all or a portion of said segregating population, wherein each member of said segregating population is a member of a first species and wherein said second trait in said second species corresponds to said first trait in said first species, comprising: (i) identifying a test gene in said first species that has at least one abundance quantitative trait locus (eQTL) coincident with a respective clinical quantitative trait locus (cQTL) for said first trait; and (ii) testing, for one or more respective eQTL in said at least one eQTL, whether the genetic variation of said eQTL across said segregating population and the variation of the first trait across said segregating population are correlated conditional on an abundance pattern of the test gene across said segregating population, wherein, when the genetic variation of (1) said one or more respective eQTL tested in step (ii) and (2) the variation of the first trait across said segregating population are correlated conditional on an abundance pattern of the test gene across said segregating population, said test gene is identified as said first gene; (b) obtaining a biological sample from members of said second species and mapping said first gene in said first species to a corresponding locus in the genome of the second species; and (c) determining whether a marker or a haplotype in said corresponding locus in the genome of the second species associates with said second trait, wherein, when said marker or said haplotype associates with said second trait in said second species, said locus is identified as said molecular target for said second trait, wherein steps (a) and (b) are performed by a suitably programmed computer having a computer program comprising a clustering module for clustering eQTL data from a plurality of eQTL analysis to form a eQTL locus interaction map and an analysis module for analyzing said eQTL interaction map to identify a locus in the genome of the second species that is associated with the second trait that corresponds to the first trait exhibited by the first species.