WOMBAT: A tool for estimation of genetic parameters - highlights and updates

Abstract

<p>WOMBAT is a freely available software package for linear mixed model analyses in quantitative genetics, distributed since 2006. Its main focus is the estimation of covariance components and genetic parameters via restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and the prediction of individuals' genetic merit. It predominantly targets models and tasks common to animal breeding applications, but is well suited to and used in other areas of quantitative genetics. </p><p> We highlight its key characteristics and capabilities, some unique features and selected, recent extensions to better accommodate analyses utilising genomic information. Specific topics considered are parsimonious models for multivariate analyses, REML estimation subject to a penalty on the likelihood to reduce sampling variation, pooling of results from analyses by parts, construction of relationship matrices and their inverses, genome wide association screens and so-called single step analyses. In addition we outline computational strategies employed and the scope for large scale analyses with modern hardware.</p>