Journal article
From RA Fisher's 1918 Paper to GWAS a Century Later
Peter M Visscher, Michael E Goddard
GENETICS | GENETICS SOCIETY AMERICA | Published : 2019
Abstract
The genetics and evolution of complex traits, including quantitative traits and disease, have been hotly debated ever since Darwin. A century ago, a paper from R.A. Fisher reconciled Mendelian and biometrical genetics in a landmark contribution that is now accepted as the main foundation stone of the field of quantitative genetics. Here, we give our perspective on Fisher’s 1918 paper in the context of how and why it is relevant in today’s genome era. We mostly focus on human trait variation, in part because Fisher did so too, but the conclusions are general and extend to other natural populations, and to populations undergoing artificial selection.
Grants
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Naomi Wray and Jian Yang for comments, and all three referees plus two editors for helpful suggestions. P.M.V. acknowledges that his wife's sister's mother-in-law was Margaret E. Wallace, who held the Assistant in Research post at the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge and obtained her Ph.D. there with R.A. Fisher as advisor. P.M.V. is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Australian Research Council.