Genomic correlates for migratory direction in a free-ranging cervid.

Animal migrations are some of the most ubiquitous and one of the most threatened ecological processes globally. A wide range of migratory behaviours occur in nature, and this behaviour is not uniform among and within species, where even individuals in the same population can exhibit differences. While the environment largely drives migratory behaviour, it is necessary to understand the genetic mechanisms influencing migration to elucidate the potential of migratory species to cope with novel conditions and adapt to environmental change.

A Systematic Review of Polygenic Models for Predicting Drug Outcomes.

Polygenic models have emerged as promising prediction tools for the prediction of complex traits. Currently, the majority of polygenic models are developed in the context of predicting disease risk, but polygenic models may also prove useful in predicting drug outcomes. This study sought to understand how polygenic models incorporating pharmacogenetic variants are being used in the prediction of drug outcomes.

Heritability Estimates of Antler and Body Traits in White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) From Genomic-Relatedness Matrices.

Estimating heritability (h2) is required to predict the response to selection and is useful in species that are managed or farmed using trait information. Estimating h2 in free-ranging populations is challenging due to the need for pedigrees; genomic-relatedness matrices (GRMs) circumvent this need and can be implemented in nearly any system where phenotypic and genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data are available. We estimated the heritability of 5 body and 3 antler traits in a free-ranging population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Anticosti Island, Quebec, Canada.