Gregor Gorjanc
@gregorgorjanc.bsky.social
Managing and improving populations using data science, genetics and breeding: @HighlanderLab, @RoslinInstitute, & @TheDickVet.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin/highlanderlab
https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin/highlanderlab
Meiosis creates a wonderfully broad distribution of genetic and phenotypic values between siblings of the same parents as shown in a simple example below. This is often referred to as recombination, segregation, Mendelian sampling, etc.
August 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Meiosis creates a wonderfully broad distribution of genetic and phenotypic values between siblings of the same parents as shown in a simple example below. This is often referred to as recombination, segregation, Mendelian sampling, etc.
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 3 opens with a discussion on genetic variation between relatives, with a focus on siblings. While mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation (by introducing new alleles), recombination shuffles the existing genetic variation through meiosis.
August 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 3 opens with a discussion on genetic variation between relatives, with a focus on siblings. While mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation (by introducing new alleles), recombination shuffles the existing genetic variation through meiosis.
Please share: Registration is now open for EUCARPIA Biometrics in Plant Breeding 2025 highlanderlab.github.io/EUCARPIA2025...
May 7, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Please share: Registration is now open for EUCARPIA Biometrics in Plant Breeding 2025 highlanderlab.github.io/EUCARPIA2025...
This week we hear from @SerapGonen from Mowi (at the time) on deriving animal protein from the oceans.
April 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
This week we hear from @SerapGonen from Mowi (at the time) on deriving animal protein from the oceans.
AlphaSimR has a host of functions to calculate quantitative genetic parameters.
March 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
AlphaSimR has a host of functions to calculate quantitative genetic parameters.
demonstrate quantitative genetic analysis based on true genetic and phenotypic values (in the context of simulation).
March 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
demonstrate quantitative genetic analysis based on true genetic and phenotypic values (in the context of simulation).
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 2: Following the genetic values for a trait, this time we look at how to simulate and analyse phenotypic values for a trait. We specify variances, access the phenotype values, compare them to genetic values, and ...
March 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 2: Following the genetic values for a trait, this time we look at how to simulate and analyse phenotypic values for a trait. We specify variances, access the phenotype values, compare them to genetic values, and ...
4 We demonstrate the power of this algorithm by developing a randomized principal components algorithm for tree sequences that easily scales to MILLIONS of genomes.
March 13, 2025 at 12:46 PM
4 We demonstrate the power of this algorithm by developing a randomized principal components algorithm for tree sequences that easily scales to MILLIONS of genomes.
2 Explore the relationship between branch relatedness and pedigree relatedness through a case study of French-Canadian individuals that have a known pedigree.
March 13, 2025 at 12:46 PM
2 Explore the relationship between branch relatedness and pedigree relatedness through a case study of French-Canadian individuals that have a known pedigree.
We had a great time at the Gordon Research Conference on Quantitative Genetics and Genomics in Lucca www.grc.org/quantitative... this week!
Daniel Tolhurst's abstract was selected for a talk: Disentangling Non-Crossover and Crossover Genotype by Environment Interaction for Selection
Daniel Tolhurst's abstract was selected for a talk: Disentangling Non-Crossover and Crossover Genotype by Environment Interaction for Selection
February 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
We had a great time at the Gordon Research Conference on Quantitative Genetics and Genomics in Lucca www.grc.org/quantitative... this week!
Daniel Tolhurst's abstract was selected for a talk: Disentangling Non-Crossover and Crossover Genotype by Environment Interaction for Selection
Daniel Tolhurst's abstract was selected for a talk: Disentangling Non-Crossover and Crossover Genotype by Environment Interaction for Selection
In cross-validation for yield prediction, the ARG-based branch relationship matrix (BRM) demonstrated higher predictive ability than the standard site-based relationship matrix (SRM) when combining both subspecies.
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
In cross-validation for yield prediction, the ARG-based branch relationship matrix (BRM) demonstrated higher predictive ability than the standard site-based relationship matrix (SRM) when combining both subspecies.
GWAS hits with SRM (A) and BRM (B) were similar
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
GWAS hits with SRM (A) and BRM (B) were similar
(A) The standard site-based relationship matrix (SRM, VanRaden’s) and (B) the ARG-based branch relationship matrix (BRM) revealed similar population structure, with highly correlated (C) diagonal and (D) off-diagonal elements, though on different scales.
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
(A) The standard site-based relationship matrix (SRM, VanRaden’s) and (B) the ARG-based branch relationship matrix (BRM) revealed similar population structure, with highly correlated (C) diagonal and (D) off-diagonal elements, though on different scales.
The age distributions for (A) nodes (ancestors), (B) mutations, and (C) SNP sites (i.e., first mutation at each site) were heavily right-skewed towards the present (as expected).
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
The age distributions for (A) nodes (ancestors), (B) mutations, and (C) SNP sites (i.e., first mutation at each site) were heavily right-skewed towards the present (as expected).
The ARG encoded genomic data more efficiently than the standard VCF: the tree sequence file for all chromosomes was 62 MB, compared to 228 MB for the VCF—nearly four times smaller!
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
The ARG encoded genomic data more efficiently than the standard VCF: the tree sequence file for all chromosomes was 62 MB, compared to 228 MB for the VCF—nearly four times smaller!
Local trees from two genomic regions showed distinct patterns: (A) revealed deep separation between indica and japonica, linked to the DST gene associated with panicle length in japonica. The (B) region segregated in both subspecies and was linked to panicle traits in both.
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Local trees from two genomic regions showed distinct patterns: (A) revealed deep separation between indica and japonica, linked to the DST gene associated with panicle length in japonica. The (B) region segregated in both subspecies and was linked to panicle traits in both.
After building the ARG, we demonstrated it captures biological signals using genealogical nearest neighbors (GNN) - it clearly distinguished indica and japonica rice subspecies and effectively represented population structure.
January 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
After building the ARG, we demonstrated it captures biological signals using genealogical nearest neighbors (GNN) - it clearly distinguished indica and japonica rice subspecies and effectively represented population structure.
... then the nuts and bolts of specifying a trait, how we access genetic values for a trait, and how we calculate with them.
December 16, 2024 at 11:43 AM
... then the nuts and bolts of specifying a trait, how we access genetic values for a trait, and how we calculate with them.
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 2:
It’s time for trait simulation - one of the key reasons we developed AlphaSimR - to study the principles of quantitative genetics and selective breeding. Here, we show the outline of such a simulation, ...
It’s time for trait simulation - one of the key reasons we developed AlphaSimR - to study the principles of quantitative genetics and selective breeding. Here, we show the outline of such a simulation, ...
December 16, 2024 at 11:43 AM
AlphaSimR course edin.ac/3wfGSEj Week 2:
It’s time for trait simulation - one of the key reasons we developed AlphaSimR - to study the principles of quantitative genetics and selective breeding. Here, we show the outline of such a simulation, ...
It’s time for trait simulation - one of the key reasons we developed AlphaSimR - to study the principles of quantitative genetics and selective breeding. Here, we show the outline of such a simulation, ...
Time for Bayesian stats! Emeritus Professor Daniel Sorensen visiting and giving seminar on “Bayesian Prediction of MSE Using Only Training Data”. It was a pleasure to meet him after many years since I took his course. I guess I learned something from that course - I could follow the entire seminar;)
September 25, 2024 at 2:17 PM
Time for Bayesian stats! Emeritus Professor Daniel Sorensen visiting and giving seminar on “Bayesian Prediction of MSE Using Only Training Data”. It was a pleasure to meet him after many years since I took his course. I guess I learned something from that course - I could follow the entire seminar;)
Wrote an R demo to plot sampling from a bivariate normal distribution gist.github.com/gregorgorjan...
July 26, 2024 at 7:35 AM
Wrote an R demo to plot sampling from a bivariate normal distribution gist.github.com/gregorgorjan...
Nice to have Dominic Waters (from UNE) over for a short visit and listen to his ICQG talk on modelling GxE interactions in livestock - Roslin Institute
July 18, 2024 at 9:29 AM
Nice to have Dominic Waters (from UNE) over for a short visit and listen to his ICQG talk on modelling GxE interactions in livestock - Roslin Institute
Interesting seminar by Luke Alphey on Engineering insects for novel food/feed and waste management at @roslininstitute @CGDG_Roslin
July 12, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Interesting seminar by Luke Alphey on Engineering insects for novel food/feed and waste management at @roslininstitute @CGDG_Roslin
Fantastic seminar by Chris Jiggins on Genetic diversity of the black soldier fly (natural diversity, selection results, and genotype-phenotype dissection) at @roslininstitute @CGDG_Roslin
July 12, 2024 at 12:16 PM
Fantastic seminar by Chris Jiggins on Genetic diversity of the black soldier fly (natural diversity, selection results, and genotype-phenotype dissection) at @roslininstitute @CGDG_Roslin
Today, Ben Haller concluded the SLiM workshop at @EdinburghUni. We are expressing thanks to donors, that helped us to pull off this workshop @GenSocUK @BASF @KWS_Group @embarkvet
June 14, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Today, Ben Haller concluded the SLiM workshop at @EdinburghUni. We are expressing thanks to donors, that helped us to pull off this workshop @GenSocUK @BASF @KWS_Group @embarkvet