"WOMBAT" - digging deep for quantitative genetic analysis by restricted maximum likelihood

Abstract

"WOMBAT" is a program for mixed model analysis and estimation of genetic parameters using restricted maximum likelihood. It is suitable for analyses of large data sets from animal breeding schemes, accommodating most models commonly fitted for such data. In addition to standard uni- and multivariate analyses, random regression models for different basis functions (including splines) are available. Reduced rank analyses fitting the leading principal components only are readily carried out. "WOMBAT" uses up-to-date techniques to order the mixed model equations, minimizing computational requirements per likelihood evaluation, and a combination of average information and parameter expanded expectation maximization algorithms to ensure fast and stable convergence. A Linux executable, manual and suite of worked examples can be downloaded from: http://agbu.une.edu.au/~kmeyer/wombat.html.