Molecular dissection of complex traits: practice.

This chapter discusses the practice of using molecular markers to dissect complex traits and locate quantitative trait loci (QTL) in plants. Aspects related to the number of genes involved in genetic control of each quantitative trait in a segregating population, the separation of closely linked QTL into single units, the comparison of QTL across different genetic backgrounds and developmental stages, and the handling of multiple traits and expression QTL are discussed.