A major challenge in current biology is to understand the genetic basis of variation for
quantitative traits. We review the principles of quantitative trait locus mapping and …

Pleiotropy is defined as the phenomenon in which a single locus affects two or more distinct
phenotypic traits. The term was formally introduced into the literature by the German …

The rediscovery of Mendel's work showing that the heredity of phenotypes is controlled by
discrete genes was followed by the reconciliation of Mendelian genetics with evolution by …

The search for the alleles that matter, the quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) that underlie
heritable variation within populations and divergence among them, is a popular pursuit. But …

Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by
analyzing the ecological factors that shape age-specific schedules of growth, reproduction …

Life-history traits or “fitness components”—such as age and size at maturity, fecundity and
fertility, age-specific rates of survival, and life span—are the major phenotypic determinants …

Although many studies provide examples of evolutionary processes such as adaptive
evolution, balancing selection, deleterious variation and genetic drift, the relative importance …

We compare and contrast the genetic architecture of quantitative phenotypes in two
genetically well-characterized model organisms, the laboratory mouse, Mus musculus, and …

Insect pigmentation is a premier model system in evolutionary and developmental biology. It
has been at the heart of classical studies as well as recent breakthroughs. In insects …

Arousal is fundamental to many behaviors, but whether it is unitary or whether there are
different types of behavior-specific arousal has not been clear. In Drosophila, dopamine …