Nonparametric Linkage Analysis: II. Variance Components

R. A. Fisher combined Galtonian biometrics with Mendelian inheritance to establish what is known today as biometrical genetics. In his article “The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance” (1 ), Fisher demonstrated that the normal distribution observed for many biological and behavioral traits could result from the inheritance of many individualloci. This formed the polygenic biometrical model, however, it should be noted that none of the biometrical expectations depend on the number of genes involved.