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A quantitative trait is a measurable phenotype that depends on the cumulative actions of many genes and the environment. These traits can vary among individuals, over a range, to produce a continuous distribution of phenotypes. Examples include height, weight and blood pressure.
Here the authors investigate the interactions between genetic perturbations and segregating loci on a genome scale in yeast using barcoded CRISPRi. Strains’ responses to perturbations are shaped by perturbation-locus interactions that cannot be measured by examining perturbations or natural variation alone.
A study suggests that rifleman – one of the two extant species of New Zealand wrens, the most basal Passeriformes in birds – has predispositions for vocal production learning, including group vocal signatures, vocal convergence, and phenotypic variance call ratios similar to vocal learners.
A paper in Nature Communications describes a framework for identifying seed traits in food crops that have health-promoting effects on the gut microbiome, with implications for crop improvement approaches.