PROSPECTS FOR QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCUS METHODOLOGY IN GERONTOLOGY

The remarkable advances in mapping of genomes have made it feasible to search among the hitherto anonymous polygenes of complex systems for loci of intermediate effect size (quantitative trait loci-QTL), Pursui ng the strategy of identifying these QTL in complex systems will open the possibility of exploring the genetic architecture arid the anatomi cal, physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms underlying t he phenotypes under investigation, One study (Gelman et al., 1988) has pioneered the exploration of QTL in the study of aging. Their engagin g results, dealing with age at death as the endpoint measure, portend the power of the search for quantitative trait loci in aging processes . Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.