Abstract
In a commentary in Frontiers, Van Rooijen (2014) states: “Today the developments in genetics are exciting. Perhaps this explains why geneticists sometimes seem to overlook common sense solutions. One example of this is the selection experiment done by Bijma et al. (2007a,b). ……As a result their selection seemed not very efficient.” In those two papers, however, we do not report a selection experiment. The first paper presents general quantitative genetic theory, showing how interactions among individuals alter heritable variation in traits, and how this can affect response to selection. The second paper presents general methodology to estimate the quantitative genetic parameters for such traits, and illustrates this methodology using a population of laying hens showing high mortality due to pecking behavior. Neither of those papers report results of a selection experiment.
Highlights
A commentary on Examples of overlooking common sense solutions: the domestication gene and selection against mortality by Van Rooijen, J. (2014)
For the specific case of feather pecking, Van Rooijen suggests that the methodology would rest on the assumption that feather pecking results from aggression
The strength of the methodology is that it captures the full heritable variance in the trait, irrespective of the underlying mechanism
Summary
A commentary on Examples of overlooking common sense solutions: the domestication gene and selection against mortality by Van Rooijen, J. (2014). A commentary on Examples of overlooking common sense solutions: the domestication gene and selection against mortality by Van Rooijen, J.
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