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\begin{document}

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\huge
\textcolor{blue}{\sbf Statistics for the Australian\\
Grains Industry \\ Technical Report Series}\\[10mm]
{\sbf Efficient linkage map construction using R/ASMap
 }\\[10mm]


 \sf\normalsize
Julian Taylor\\
Research Scientist, SAGI\\
School of Food, Agriculture \& Wine\\
University of Adelaide, Waite Campus\\
PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064\\
email: julian.taylor@adelaide.edu.au\\[8mm]

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<<setup-lib, include=FALSE, cache=FALSE>>=
library(ASMap)
@

\chapter{Introduction}

\section{Background}

Genetic linkage maps are widely used in the biological research
community to explore the underlying DNA of populations. They generally
consist of a set of polymorphic
genetic markers spanning the entire genome of a population generated from a specific
cross of parental lines. This exploration may involve the dissection of the linkage map itself to
understand the genetic landscape of the population or, more
commonly, it is used to conduct gene-trait associations such as
quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis or genomic selection (GS).
For QTL analysis, the interpretation of significant genomic locations
is enhanced if the linkage map contains markers that have been assigned and optimally ordered
within chromosomal groups. This can be achieved algorithmically by
using linkage map construction techniques that utilise assumptions of
Mendelian genetics.

In the R statistical computing environment \citep{rsoft14} there is
only a handful of packages that can perform linkage map
construction. A popular package is the linkage map construction and
QTL analysis package R/qtl \citep{br14}. Since its inception in late
2001 it has grown considerably and incorporates functionality
for a wide set of populations. These include a simple Backcross (BC),
Doubled Haploid (DH), intercrossed F2 (F2) and 4-way crosses. More
recently, the authors have added functionality for additional
populations generated from advanced Recombinant Inbred Lines (RIL)
as well as populations generated from multiple backcrossing and
selfing processes. The package offers an almost complete
set of tools to construct, explore and manipulate genetic linkage maps
for each population. To complement the package the authors have also
publihed a comptrehensive book \citep{brosen09}. A more recent available addition to the contributed package
list in R is R/onemap \citep{one14}. This package provides a suite of
tools for genetic linkage map construction for BC, DH and RIL inbred populations and also has
functionality for outcrossing populations.

Both packages contain functions that perform moderately well at clustering markers into
homogeneous linkage groups. Unfortunately, the functions in R/qtl and
R/onemap used to perform optimal marker ordering within
linkage groups are tediously slow. In both
packages there are functions that compute initial orders using non-exhaustive methods
such as SERIATION \citep{ser87} and RECORD \citep{rec05}. As these
methods may not return an optimal order, a second stage antiquated brute force
approach is used that checks all order combinations within a marker
window. This is known throughout the linkage map construction community
as ``rippling''. For linkage groups with large numbers of markers
and a moderate sized window (eight markers), rippling can be very
computationally cumbersome and also may need to be performed several
times before an optimal order is reached.

In an attempt to circumvent these computational issues the R/ASMap
package was developed \citep{tb14}. The package contains linkage map
construction functions that utilise the MSTmap
algorithm derived in \cite{mst08} and computationally implemented as C++ source code
freely available at \url{http://alumni.cs.ucr.edu/~yonghui/mstmap.html}.
The algorithm uses the minimum spanning tree of a graph \citep{ct76} to cluster markers into linkage
groups as well as find the optimal marker order within each linkage group
in a very computationally efficient manner. In contrast to R/qtl and
R/onemap, genetic linkage maps are constructed using a one-stage approach.
The algorithm is restricted to linkage map construction with Backcross
(BC), Doubled Haploid (DH) and Recombinant Inbred (RIL)
populations. For RIL populations, the level of self pollination can
also be given and consequently the algorithm can handle selfed F2, F3,
$\ldots$, Fn populations where $n$ is the level of selfing. Advanced
RIL populations are also allowed as they are treated like a bi-parental for the
purpose of linkage map construction.

The R/ASMap package uses an R/qtl format for the structure of its
genetic objects. Once the class of the object is appropriately set, both
R/ASMap and R/qtl functions can be used synergistically to construct, explore and
manipulate the object. To complement the efficient MSTmap linkage map construction
functions the R/ASMap package also contains a function that ``pulls''
markers of different types from the linkage map and places them
aside. A complementary ``push'' function also exists to push the
markers back to linkage groups ready for construction or
reconstruction. There are also several numerical and graphical
diagnostic tools to efficiently check the quality of the constructed
map. This includes the ability to simultaneously graphically display multiple panel
profiles of linkage map statistics for the set of genotypes
used. Additionally, profile marker/interval statistics can be
simultaneously displayed for the entire genome or subsetted to
pre-defined linkage groups. In tandem, these fast graphical diagnostic
tools and efficient linkage map construction assist in
providing a rapid turnaround time in linkage map construction and
diagnosis.

The vignette is set out in chapters. The final section of the
introduction provides a brief technical explanation of the components
of the MSTmap algorithm. In the second chapter the functions of
R/ASMap are discussed in detail and examples are provided, where
appropriate, using a data set integrated into the package. Chapter
3 contains a completely worked example of a barley Backcross population
including pre-construction diagnostics, linkage map construction,
and post-construction diagnostics using the available R/ASMap
functions. The chapter also discusses how R/ASMap can be used for post
construction linkage map improvement through techniques such as fine
mapping or combining linkage maps. The last chapter presents some
additional useful information on aspects of the MSTmap algorithm
learnt through detailed exploration of the linkage map construction
functions in this package.

\section{MSTmap}
\label{sec:mst}

It is important to understand some of the technical features of the
MSTmap algorithm as they are contained in the two linkage map
construction functions that are available with the R/ASMap
package.

Following the notation of \cite{mst08} consider a Doubled
Haploid population of $n$ individuals genotyped across a set of $t$
markers where each $(i,j)$th entry of the $n \times t$ matrix $\vec{M}$
is either an $A$ or a $B$ representing the two parental
homozygotes in the population. Let $\vec{P}_{jk}$ be the probability
of a recombination event between the markers $(\vec{m}_j,
\vec{m}_k)$ where $0 \leq \vec{P}_{jk} < 0.5$. MSTmap uses two
possible weight objective functions based on recombination
probabilities between the markers
\begin{align}
  w_p(j,k) &= \vec{P}_{jk} \label{eq:weight1}\\
  w_{ml}(j, k) &= -\bigl(\vec{P}_{jk}\log\,\vec{P}_{jk} + (1 -
  \vec{P}_{jk})\log(\,1 - \vec{P}_{jk})\bigr) \label{eq:weight2}
\end{align}
In general $\vec{P}_{jk}$ is not known and so it is replaced by an
estimate, $d_{jk}/n$ where $d_{jk}$ corresponds to the hamming
distance between $\vec{m}_j$ and $\vec{m}_k$ (the number of
non-mathcing alleles between the two markers). This estimate, $d_{jk}/n$,
is also the maximum likelihood estimate for $\vec{P}_{jk}$ for the two
weight functions defined above.

\subsection{Clustering}
\label{sec:clust}

If markers $\vec{m}_j$ and $\vec{m}_k$ belong to two different linkage
groups then $\vec{P}_{jk} = 0.5$ and the hamming distance between them
has the property $E(d_{jk}) = n/2$. A simple thresholding mechanism to
determine whether markers belong to the same linkage group can be
calculated using Hoeffdings inequality,
\begin{align}
 P(d_{jk} < \delta) \leq \mbox{exp}(-2(n/2 - \delta)^2/n)
 \label{eq:hoff}
 \end{align}
for $\delta < 0.5$. For a given $P(d_{jk} < \delta) = \epsilon$ and
$n$, the equation $-2(n/2 - \delta)^2/n = \mbox{log}\,\epsilon$ is
solved to determine an appropriate hamming distance threshold,
$\hat{\delta}$. \cite{mst08} indicate that the choice of $\epsilon$ is not
crucial when attempting to form linkage groups. However, the equation
that requires solving is highly dependent on the number of individuals
in the population. For example, for a DH populationm, Figure
\ref{fig:threshold} shows the profiles of the
$-\log 10 \epsilon$ against the number of individuals in the
population for four threshold minimum cM distances $(25, 30, 35,
40)$. MSTmap uses a default of $\epsilon = 0.00001$ which would work
universally well for population sizes of $n \sim 150\, \mbox{to}\, 200$. For larger
numbers of individuals, for example 350, the plot indicates an
$\epsilon = 1.0e^{-12}$ to $1.0e^{-15}$ would use a conservative minimum threshold of 30-35
cM before linking markers between clusters. If the default $\epsilon =
0.00001$ is given in this instance this threshold is dropped to $\sim 45$
cM and consequently distinct clusters of markers will appear
linked. For this reason, Figure \ref{fig:threshold} should always initially
be checked before linkage map construction to ensure an appropriate p-value is
given to the MSTmap algorithm.

To cluster the markers MSTmap uses an edge-weighted undirected complete graph,
for $\vec{M}$ where the individual markers are
vertices and the edges between any two markers $\vec{m}_j$ and
$\vec{m}_k$ is the pairwise hamming distance $d_{jk}$. Edges
with weights greater than $\hat{\delta}$ are then removed. The remaining
connected components allow the marker set $\vec{M}$
to be partitioned into $r$ linkage groups, $\vec{M} =
[\vec{M}_1,\ldots,\vec{M}_r]$.

\begin{figure}
  \centering
\includegraphics[width = 13cm]{pval}
\caption{Negative log10 $\epsilon$ versus the number of genotypes in
  the population for four threshold cM distances.}
\label{fig:threshold}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Marker Ordering}
\label{sec:ord}

For simplicity, consider the $n \times t$ matrix of markers $\vec{M}$
belongs to the same linkage group. Preceding marker ordering, the
markers are ``binned'' into groups where, within each group,
the pairwise distance between any two markers is zero. The markers within
each group have no recombinations between them and are said to be
co-locating at the same genomic location for the $n$ genotypes used to
construct the linkage map. A representative marker is then chosen from each
of the bins and used to form the reduced $n \times t^*$ marker set
$\vec{M}^*$.

For the reduced matrix $\vec{M}^*$, consider the complete set of entries $(j, k)
\in (1, \ldots, t^*)$ for either weight function (\ref{eq:weight1}) or
(\ref{eq:weight2}). These complete set of entries can be viewed as the
upper triangle of a symmetric weight matrix $\vec{W}$. MSTmap views all
these entries as being connected edges in an undirected graph where
the individual markers are vertices. A marker order for the set $\vec{M}^*$,
also known as a travelling salesman path (TSP), can be
determined by visiting each marker once and summing the weights from
the connected edges. To find a minimum weight (TSP$_{min}$), MSTmap uses a minimum
spanning tree (MST) algorithm \citep{ct76}, such as Prims algorithm
\citep{prim57}. If the TSP$_{min}$ is unique then the MST is the
correct order for the markers. For cases where the data contains
genotyping errors or lower numbers of individuals the MST may not be a
complete path and contain markers or small sets of markers as
individual nodes connected to the path. In these cases, MSTmap uses the
longest path in the MST as the backbone and employs several efficient local
optimization techniques such as K-opt, node-relocation and
block-optimize \citep[see][]{mst08} to improve the current minimum
TSP. By integrating these local optimization techniques into the
algorithm, MSTmap provides users with a true one stage marker ordering
algorithm.

One excellent feature of the MSTmap algorithm is the utilisation of an
EM type algorithm for the imputation of missing allele scores that is
tightly integrated with the ordering algorithm for the markers. To
achieve this the marker matrix $\vec{M}^*$ is converted to a
matrix, $\vec{A}$, where the entries represent the
probabilistic certainty of the allele being A. For the $j$th marker and
$i$th individual then
\begin{align}
  \vec{A}(i,j) = \left\{\begin{array}{ll}
          1 & \quad \mbox{if $\vec{M}^*(i,j)$ is the A allele}\\
          0 & \quad \mbox{if $\vec{M}^*(i,j)$ is the B allele}\\
          \frac{(1 - \hat{\vec{P}}_{j - 1,j})(1 - \hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1})}
          {(1 - \hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1})(1 - \hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1})
           + \hat{\vec{P}}_{j-1,j} \hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1}} & \quad \mbox{if
           $\vec{M}^*(i,j)$ is missing} \end{array}\right.\label{eq:rf}
\end{align}
where $\hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j-1}$ and $\hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1}$ are
estimated recombination fractions between the $(j-1)$th and $j$th
marker and $j$th and $(j+1)$th marker respectively. The equation on
the right hand side is the posterior probability of the missing value in
marker $j$ being the A allele for genotype $i$ given the current
estimate. The ordering algorithm begins by initially calculating
pairwise normalized distances between all markers in
$\vec{M}^*$ and deriving an initial weight matrix, $\vec{W}$. An
undirected graph is formed using the markers as vertices and the upper triangular
entries of $\vec{W}$ as connected edges. An MST of the undirected
graph is then found to establish an initial order for the
markers of the linkage group. For the current order at the $(j - 1, j,
j + 1)$th markers the E-step of algorithm requires updating the
missing observation at marker $j$ by updating the estimates
$\hat{\vec{P}}_{j-1,j} = \hat{d}_{j-1,j}/n$ and $\hat{\vec{P}}_{j,j+1} =
    \hat{d}_{j,j+1}/n$ in (\ref{eq:rf}). The M-step then re-estimates the
    pairwise distances between all markers in $\vec{M}^*$ where, for
    the $j$th and $k$th marker, is
\begin{align}
\hat{d}_{jk} = \sum_{i = 1}^{t^*}\vec{A}(i,j)(1 - \vec{A}(i, k)) + \vec{A}(i,k)(1 - \vec{A}(i, j))
\label{eq:dist}
\end{align}
and the weight matrix $\vec{W}$ is recalculated. An undirected graph
is formed with the markers as vertices and the upper triangular
entries of $\vec{W}$ as connected edges. A new order of the markers is
derived by obtaining an MST of the undirected graph and the algorithm is repeated to
convergence. Although this requires several iterations to converge,
the computational time for the ordering algorithm remains
expedient. However, an increase in the number of
missing values will increase computation time.

If required, the MSTmap algorithm also detects and removes genotyping
errors as well as integrates this process into the ordering
algorithm. The technique involves using a weighted average of nearby
markers to determine the expected state of the allele. For individual
$i$ and marker $j$ the expected value of the allele is calculated
using
\begin{align}
\mbox{E}[\vec{A}(i, j)] = \sum_{j \neq
    k}d_{j,k}^{-2}\vec{A}(i,k)\bigg/\sum_{j \neq k}d_{j,k}^{-2}
\label{eq:err}
\end{align}
In this equation the weights are the inverse square of the distance from
marker $j$ to its nearby markers. MSTmap only uses a small set of
nearby markers during each iteration and the observed allele is
considered suspicious if $|\mbox{E}[\vec{A}(i, j)] - \vec{A}(i, j)| >
0.75$.  If an observation is detected as suspicious it is treated as
missing and imputed using the EM algorithm discussed previously. The
removal of the suspicious allele has the effect of reducing the number
of recombinations between the marker containing the suspicious observation and the
neighbouring markers. This has an influential effect on
the genetic distance between markers and the overall length of the
linkage group.

The complete algorithm used to initially cluster the markers into
linkage groups and optimally order markers within each linkage group,
including imputing missing alleles and error detection, is known as
the MSTmap algorithm.

\chapter{A closer look at R/ASMap functions}

This chapter explores the R/ASMap functions in greater depth and
shows how they can be used to efficiently explore, manipulate and
construct genetic linkage maps. It will also showcase the graphical
tools that will allow efficient diagnosis of linkage map problems post
construction.

The package contains multiple data sets listed as follows
\begin{description}
\item[\textbf{mapDH}]: A constructed genetic linkage map for
  a Doubled Haploid population in the form of an R/qtl object. The
  genetic linkage map contains a total of 599 markers spanning 23
  linkage groups genotyped across 218 individuals. The
  linkage map contains a small set of co-located markers and a
  small set of markers with excessive segregation distortion
\item[\textbf{mapDHf}]: An unconstructed version of \code{mapDH} in
  the form a data frame. The data frame has dimensions 599 $\times$
  218 and the rows (markers) have been randomized.
\item[\textbf{mapBCu}]: An unconstructed set of markers for a
  backcross population in the form of an R/qtl object. The marker set
  contains a total of 3023 markers genotyped on 326
  individuals. This marker set can be used in conjunction with the
  detailed process presented in chapter \ref{chap:work} to construct a
  genetic linkage map.
\item[\textbf{mapBC}]: A constructed linkage map of \code{mapBCu}
  in the form of an R/qtl object. The linkage map contains a total of
  3019 markers genotyped on 300 individuals.
\item[\textbf{mapF2}]: A simulated linkage map for a self-pollinated F2 population
  consisting of 700 markers spanning 7 linkage groups genotyped across
  250 individuals.
\end{description}
Each of these data sets is accessible using commands similar to
<<data0, eval = TRUE, echo = TRUE,prompt = TRUE>>=
data(mapDHf, package = "ASMap")
data(mapDH, package = "ASMap")
data(mapBCu, package = "ASMap")
@

\section{Map construction functions}

The R/ASMap package contains two linkage map construction functions
that allow users to fully utilize the MSTmap parameters listed at
\url{http://alumni.cs.ucr.edu/~yonghui/mstmap.html}. Some additional
information on aspects of the MSTmap algorithm and the
appropriate use of the arguments \code{mvest.bc} and
\code{detectBadData} is given in Chapter \ref{chap:asp}.

\subsection{\texttt{mstmap.data.frame()}}

The first of these functions allows users to input a data frame of genetic markers
ready for construction. For a more detailed explanation of
the arguments users should consult the help documentation found by typing
\code{?mstmap.data.frame} in R.

<<mst-df,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=FALSE>>=
mstmap.data.frame(object, pop.type = "DH", dist.fun = "kosambi",
      objective.fun = "COUNT", p.value = 1e-06, noMap.dist = 15,
      noMap.size = 0, miss.thresh = 1, mvest.bc = FALSE, detectBadData = FALSE,
      as.cross = TRUE, return.imputed = TRUE, trace = FALSE, ...)
@
The explicit form of the data frame \code{object} is borne from the
syntax of the marker file required for using the stand alone MSTmap
software. It must have markers in rows and genotypes in
columns. Marker names are required to be in the \code{rownames} component of
the object with genotype names residing in the \code{names}. Spaces in
any of the marker or genotype names should be avoided but will be
replaced with a ``-'' if found. Each of the columns of the data frame must be of class
\code{"character"} (not factors). If converting from a matrix, this can
easily be achieved by using the \code{stringAsFactors = FALSE} argument
for any \code{data.frame} method.

The available populations that can be passed to \code{pop.type} are \code{"BC"}
Backcross, \code{"DH"} Doubled Haploid, \code{"ARIL"} Advanced Recombinant Inbred and
\code{"RILn"} Recombinant Inbred with n levels of selfing. The allelic
content of the markers in the \code{object} must be explicitly adhered
to. For \code{pop.type} \code{"BC"}, \code{"DH"} or \code{"ARIL"} the two allele types should
be represented as (\code{"A"} or \code{"a"}) and (\code{"B"} or
\code{"b"}). Thus for \code{pop.type = "ARIL"} it is assumed the minimal number of
heterozygotes have been set to missing. For non-advanced RIL
populations (\code{pop.type = "RILn"}) phase unknown heterozygotes should be represented as
\code{"X"}. For all populations, missing marker scores should be represented
as (\code{"U"} or \code{"-"}).

Users need to be aware that the \code{p.value} argument plays an
important role in determining the clustering of markers to distinct
linkage groups. Section \ref{sec:clust} shows the separation of
marker groups is highly dependent on the the number of individuals in
the population. For this reason, some trial and error may be required
to determine an appropriate \code{p.value} for the linkage map being
constructed.

Although this function contains arguments that utilize the complete
set of available MSTmap parameters it is less flexible than its sister
function \code{mstmap.cross()} (see section \ref{sec:mstc}) that
uses the flexible structure of an R/qtl \code{"cross"}
object. For this reason, it is recommended that users set
\code{as.cross = TRUE} to ensure the constructed object is returned as a
R/qtl cross object with an appropriate class structure. For
population types \code{"BC"} and \code{"DH"} the class of the
constructed object is given \code{"bc"} and \code{"dh"} respectively. For \code{"RILn"}
the \pkg{qtl} package conversion function \code{convert2bcsft} is used
to ensure the class of the object is assigned \code{"bcsft"}
with arguments \code{F.gen = n} and \code{BC.gen =
  0}. For \code{"ARIL"} populations the constructed object is given the
class \code{"riself"}. The correct assignation of these classes
ensures the objects can be used synergistically with the suite of
functions available in the R/qtl package as well as other functions in
the R/ASMap package.

The R/ASMap package contains an unconstructed Doubled Haploid marker
set \code{mapDHf} with 599 markers genotyped across 218
individuals. The marker set is formatted correctly for input into the
\code{mstmap.data.frame()} function.
<<datadf,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
testd <- mstmap(mapDHf, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, as.cross = TRUE)
nmar(testd)
chrlen(testd)
@
As \code{as.cross = TRUE} the usual functions available in the R/qtl
package are available for use on the returned object.

\subsection{\texttt{mstmap.cross()}}
\label{sec:mstc}

The second linkage map construction function allows users to input an unconstructed or
constructed linkage map in the form of an R/qtl cross object. See \code{?mstmap.cross}
for a more detailed description.

<<mst-cr,eval = FALSE,echo=TRUE>>=
mstmap.cross(object, chr, id = "Genotype", bychr = TRUE,
       suffix = "numeric", anchor = FALSE, dist.fun = "kosambi",
       objective.fun = "COUNT", p.value = 1e-06, noMap.dist = 15,
       noMap.size = 0, miss.thresh = 1, mvest.bc = FALSE, detectBadData =
       FALSE, return.imputed = FALSE, trace = FALSE, ...)
@
The cross \code{object} needs to inherit
from one of the allowable classes available in the R/qtl package,
namely \code{"bc","dh","riself","bcsft"} where \code{"bc"} is a
Backcross \code{"dh"} is Doubled Haploid, \code{"riself"} is an advanced
Recombinant Inbred and \code{"bcsft"} is a Backcross/Self.

It is important to understand how these classes are encoded into the
object for the specific populations. If \code{read.cross()} is used to read in any bi-parental
populations it will be given the class \code{"bc"}. Doubled Haploid
populations can be changed to \code{"dh"} just by changing the class.
For the purpose of linkage map construction, both classes \code{"bc"}
and \code{"dh"} will produce equivalent results. For non-advanced
Recombinant Inbred populations markers are required to be fully informative (i.e. contain
3 distinct allele types such as AA, BB for parental homozygotes and AB
for phase unknown heterozygotes) and the use of \code{read.cross()}
will result in the cross object being given a class \code{"f2"}. The level of selfing
is required to be encoded into the object by applying one of the two conversion
functions available in the R/qtl package. For a
population that has been generated by selfing $n$ times, the conversion
function \code{convertbcsft} can be used by setting the arguments
\code{F.gen = n} and \code{BC.gen = 0}. This will attach a class
\code{"bcsft"} to the object. Populations that are genuine
advanced RILs can be converted using the \code{convert2riself}
function. This function will replace any remaining heterozygosity, if
it exists, with missing values and attach the class \code{"riself"} to
the object.

Similar to the \code{mstmap.data.frame()} function, users need to be aware
that the \code{p.value} argument is highly dependent on the number of
individuals in the population and may require some trial and error to
ascertain an appropriate value. After construction the cross object is
returned with an identical class structure as the inputted object. All
R/qtl and R/ASMap package functions can be used synergistically with
this object.

\subsubsection{Examples}

The constructed linkage map \code{mapDH} available in the
R/ASMap package will be used to showcase the flexibility of this
function. Before attempting re-construction, some preliminary output
of \code{mapDH} is presented.
<<data, eval = TRUE, echo = TRUE, prompt = TRUE>>=
nmar(mapDH)
pull.map(mapDH)[[4]]
@
The output shows that there are 23 groups that have been
appropriately been assigned linkage group or chromosome names. The
markers within each linkage group have been named according to the
order of the markers.

\textbf{\sffamily Example 1: Completely construct or reconstruct a linkage map.}

To completely re-construct this map set the argument \code{bychr =
  FALSE}. This will bulk the genetic data from all linkage groups,
re-cluster the markers into groups and then optimally order the
markers within each linkage group. This linkage map is small so these
two tasks happen almost instantaneously.
<<mst1,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHa <- mstmap(mapDH, bychr = FALSE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE)
nmar(mapDHa)
pull.map(mapDHa)[[4]]
@
The reconstructed map contains 24 linkage groups with the extra
linkage group coming from a minor split in 4A. As the linkage map is
constructed from scratch, it assumed that former linkage group names
are no longer required. A standard ``L.'' prefix is provided for the
new linkage group names. This example also indicates that MSTmap by
default does not respect the inputted marker order.

\textbf{\sffamily Example 2: Optimally order markers within linkage groups of an
  established map.}

It may be necessary to only perform marker ordering within already
established linkage groups. This can be achieved by setting
\code{bychr = TRUE}. In some cases it also be preferable to ensure the
marker orders of the linkage groups are
respected and this can be achieved by setting \code{anchor = TRUE.}
<<mst2,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHb <- mstmap(mapDH, bychr = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", anchor = TRUE, trace = TRUE)
nmar(mapDHb)
@
This map is identical to \code{mapDH} with the exception that
chromosome 4A has been split into two linkage groups. As \code{bychr =
  TRUE} the function understands the origin of the linkage
group was 4A and consequently uses it as a prefix in the naming of the
two new linkage groups.

\textbf{\sffamily Example 3: Optimally order markers within linkage groups of an
  established map without breaking linkage groups.}

The splitting of the linkage groups in the last example only occurred
due to choice of default \code{p.value = 1e-06} set in the function. A
slight change to this \code{p.value} will ensure that 4A remains
linked during the algorithm.
<<mst3,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHc <- mstmap(mapDH, bychr = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", anchor = TRUE, trace = TRUE, p.value = 1e-04)
nmar(mapDHc)
@
An identical result can be achieved by setting \code{p.value = 2} or
any number greater than 1. Doing this instructs the MSTmap algorithm
to not split linkage groups regardless of how weak the linkages
are between markers within any group. Users should be aware that if
this latter method is used then linkage groups that contain groups of
markers separated by a substantial distance (i.e. very weak linkages)
may suffer from local orientation problems.

\textbf{\sffamily Example 4: Reconstruct map within predefined linkage groups of
  an established map.}

There may only be a need to reconstruct a predefined set of linkage
groups. By setting the \code{chr} argument and \code{bychr = FALSE}
users can determine which linkage groups require the complete
reconstruction using MSTmap.
<<mst4,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHd <- mstmap(mapDH, chr = names(mapDH$geno)[1:3], bychr = FALSE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, p.value = 1e-04)
nmar(mapDHd)
@
Again, the algorithm assumes that the original linkage group names are
no longer necessary and defines new ones. An obvious extension of this
example is to set \code{bychr = TRUE} and then the algorithm will
order markers within the predefined linkage groups stipulated by
\code{chr}. Similar to the previous example, an appropriate choice of
\code{p.value} will ensure that linkage groups remain unbroken.

\section{Pulling and pushing markers}
\label{sec:pp}

Often in linkage map construction, some pruning of the markers occurs
before initial construction. This may be the removal of markers with a
proportion of missing values higher than some desired threshold as
well as markers that are significantly distorted from their expected
Mendelian segregation patterns. Often the removal is permanent and the
possible importance of some of these markers is overlooked. A
preferable system would be to identify and place the problematic markers aside with
the intention of checking their usefulness at a later stage of the
construction process.

The R/ASMap package contains two functions that allow you to do
this. The first is the function \code{pullCross()} which provide users
with a mechanism to ``pull'' markers of certain types from a linkage
map and place them aside. The complementary function
\code{pushCross()} then allows users to ``push'' markers back into the
linkage map at any stage of the construction process. These
can be seen as helper functions for more efficient construction of
linkage maps (see \code{?pullCross} and \code{?pushCross} for complete details).
<<pp1,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE>>=
pullCross(object, chr, type = c("co.located","seg.distortion","missing"),
               pars = NULL, replace = FALSE, ...)
pushCross(object, chr, type = c("co.located","seg.distortion","missing","unlinked"),
               unlinked.chr = NULL, pars = NULL, replace = FALSE, ...)
pp.init(seg.thresh = 0.05, seg.ratio = NULL, miss.thresh = 0.1, max.rf =
             0.25, min.lod = 3)
@
In the current version of the package, the helper functions share
three types of markers that can be ``pulled/pushed'' from linkage
maps. These include markers that are co-located with
other markers, markers that have some defined segregation distortion
and markers with a defined proportion of missing values. If the
argument \code{type} is \code{"seg.distortion"} or \code{"missing"}
then the initialization function \code{pp.init} is used to determine
the appropriate threshold parameter setting (\code{seg.thresh}, \code{seg.ratio},
\code{miss.thresh}) that will be used to pull/push markers from the
linkage map. Users can set their own parameters by setting the
\code{pars} argument (see examples below). For each of the
different types, \code{pullCross()} will pull markers from the map and
place them in separate elements of the cross object. Within the elements, vital
information is kept that can be accessed by \code{pushCross()} to push
the markers back at a later stage of linkage map construction.

The function \code{pushCross()} also contains another marker type
called \code{"unlinked"} which, in conjunction with the argument
\code{unlinked.chr}, allows users to push markers from an unlinked
linkage group in the \code{geno} element of the \code{object} into
established linkage groups. This mechanism becomes vital, for example,
when pushing new markers into an established linkage map. An example
of this is presented in section \ref{sec:pm}.

Again, the constructed linkage map \code{mapDH} will be used to
showcase the power of \code{pullCross()} and
\code{pushCross()}. Markers are pulled from the map that are
co-located with other markers, have significant segregation distortion
with a p-value less than 0.02 and have a missing value proportion
greater than 0.03.
<<pp2,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHs <- pullCross(mapDH, type = "co.located")
mapDHs <- pullCross(mapDHs, type = "seg.distortion", pars = list(seg.thresh = 0.02))
mapDHs <- pullCross(mapDHs, type = "missing", pars = list(miss.thresh = 0.03))
names(mapDHs)
names(mapDHs$co.located)
@
The cross object now contains three new elements named by the marker
types that are pulled from the map. In each of the elements there are
two elements, a table of information for the markers that are pulled
and the actual marker data in genotype by marker format (i.e. exactly
the same as the data contained in the linkage groups themselves).
<<pp3,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHs$seg.distortion$table
@
The table element of each of the marker types \code{"missing"} and
\code{"seg.distortion"} consists of a summary of positional information as
well as information from \code{geno.table()} in the R/qtl package.
<<pp4,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
head(mapDHs$co.located$table)
@
The table element for the marker type \code{"co.located"} contains information on
the markers that are co-located and the group or bin they belong
to. In each group the first marker is the reference marker that remains in the
linkage map and the remaining markers are pulled from the map and
placed aside.

Suppose now the map is undergone a construction or re-construction
process so that the linkage groups are artificially renamed. To do this we
will re-run MSTmap with \code{bychr = FALSE}.
<<pp5,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHs <- mstmap(mapDHs, bychr = FALSE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, anchor = TRUE)
nmar(mapDHs)
@

The markers can now be pushed back into the linkage map using
\code{pushCross()}. The complete set of co.located markers are pushed
back as well as markers that have significant segregation distortion
with p-values greater than 0.001 and markers that have a missing value
proportion less than 0.05.
<<pp6,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHs <- pushCross(mapDHs, type = "co.located")
mapDHs <- pushCross(mapDHs, type = "seg.distortion", pars = list(seg.thresh = 0.001))
mapDHs <- pushCross(mapDHs, type = "missing", pars = list(miss.thresh = 0.05))
names(mapDHs)
@
With the above parameter settings all markers from each marker type
are pushed back into the map and the marker type elements are removed
from the \code{object}.
<<pp7,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
pull.map(mapDHs)[[4]]
pull.map(mapDHs)[[21]]
@
For co-located markers the reference marker for each group is used as a guide to place
the set of co-locating markers back into the linkage map adjacent to
the reference marker. For example, the co-locating marker
\code{1D.m.4} on 1D appears adjacent to its reference marker
\code{1D.m.3}. Markers from the \code{"seg.distortion"} and
\code{"missing"} elements are pushed back to the end of the linkage
groups ready for the map to be re-constructed by chromosome. For
example the distorted marker \code{6D.m.12} is pushed to the end of
6D. A final run of MSTmap within each linkage group will
produce the desired map with all markers in their optimal position.
<<pp8,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHs <- mstmap(mapDHs, bychr = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, anchor = TRUE, p.value = 2)
@

\section{Improved heat map}
\label{sec:heat}

A visual diagnostic that is very useful for checking how well a
linkage map is constructed is a heat map that combines the estimates
of the pairwise recombination fraction (RF) between markers as well as
LOD scores reflecting the the strength of linkage between each
pair. Let the estimate of RF between marker $i$ and $j$ be $r_{ij}$
then the LOD score is a test of no linkage ($r_{ij} = 0.5$). Higher LOD
scores indicate that the hypothesis of no linkage is rejected and the
strength of the connection between the pair of markers is strong.

In R/qtl users can plot the heat map of pairwise linkage between
markers using \code{plot.rf()}. The \code{plot.rf()} version of \code{mapDH} is
given in Figure \ref{fig:heat1}. In this plot strong pairwise linkages
between markers are represented as ``hot'' or red areas
and weak pairwise linkages between markers are displayed as ``cold'' or
blue areas.

\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=16cm]{plotrfDH}
\caption{Heat map of the constructed linkage map mapDH using \texttt{plot.rf()}.}
\label{fig:heat1}
\end{figure}

Unfortunately the plot contains some inadequacies that are mostly
pointed out in the documentation (see \code{?plot.rf}). ``Recombination fractions are
transformed by -4(log2(r)+1) to make them on the same sort of scale as LOD scores.
Values of LOD or the transformed recombination fraction that are above
12 are set to 12.'' This transformation and the arbitrary threshold
induce multiple restrictions on the visualization of the heat
map. Firstly, the LOD score is highly dependent on the number of
individuals in the population and the upper limit of 12 may be a
vastly inadequate representation of the pairwise linkage between some
markers. In Figure \ref{fig:heat1} this latter inadequacy is displayed as
red or hot areas of linkage between markers that should otherwise be cooler
colours. Additionally, the actual estimated recombination fractions are
not displayed in the upper triangle of the heat map and colour legends
matching the numerical LOD and RF's are not present. From a visual
standpoint, it is well known the rainbow colour spectrum is perceptually inadequate for
representing diverging numerical data.

R/ASMap contains an improved version of the heat map called
\code{heatMap()} that rectifies the numerical and visual issues of the
\pkg{qtl} heat map.
<<heat1,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE>>=
heatMap(x, chr, mark, what = c("both", "lod", "rf"), lmax = 12,
             rmin = 0, markDiagonal = FALSE, color = rev(rainbow(256, start =
             0, end = 2/3)), ...)
@
The function independently plots the LOD score on the bottom triangle of the
heatmap as well as the actual estimated recombination fractions on the
upper triangle. The function also releases the arbitrary threshold on
the LOD score and recombination fractions by providing a user defined
\code{lmax} and \code{rmin} argument that is adjustable to suit the
population size and any requirements of the plot required. For
example, Figure \ref{fig:heat2} shows the \code{heatMap()} equivalent of
\code{plot.rf()} for the linkage map \code{mapDH} made with the call

<<heat2,echo=TRUE,eval=FALSE,prompt=TRUE>>=
heatMap(mapDH, lmax = 50)
@

The instantly visual difference between the figures is the chosen
colour palette. R/ASMap uses a diverging colour palette \code{"Spectral"}
from the default color palettes of \pkg{RColorBrewer}. The palette
softens the plot and provides a gentle dinstinction between strongly
linked and weakly linked markers. The plot also includes a legend for the LOD score
and recombination fractions on either side of Figure \ref{fig:heat2}. As the
estimated recombination fractions are being freely plotted without
transformation, the complete scale is included in the heat map. This
scale also includes estimated recombination fractions that are above
the theoretical threshold of 0.5. By increasing this scale beyond 0.5, potential
regions where markers out of phase with other markers can be
recognised. The key to obtaining an ``accurate'' heat map is to match
the heat of the LOD scores to the heat of the estimated recombination
fractions and setting \code{lmax = 50} achieves this goal. Similar to
\code{plot.rf()}, the \code{heatMap()} function allows subsetting of the linkage map by
\code{chr}. In addition, users can further subset
the linkage groups using the argument \code{mark} by indexing a set of
markers within linkage groups defined by \code{chr}.

\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=16cm]{heatmapDH}
\caption{Heat map of the constructed linkage map mapDH using \texttt{heatMap()}.}
\label{fig:heat2}
\end{figure}

\section{Genotype and marker/interval profiling}
\label{sec:prof}

To provide a complete system for efficient linkage map construction
and diagnosis the R/ASMap package contains functions that calculate
linkage map statistics across the markers for every genotype as
well as across the markers/intervals of the genome. These statistics can
then be profiled across simultaneous R/lattice panels for quick
diagnosis of linkage map attributes.
<<prof1, eval = FALSE>>=
statGen(cross, chr, bychr = TRUE, stat.type = c("xo", "dxo", "miss"), id = "Genotype")
profileGen(cross, chr, bychr = TRUE, stat.type = c("xo", "dxo", "miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = NULL, ...)
statMark(cross, chr, stat.type = c("marker", "interval"), map.function = "kosambi")
profileMark(cross, chr, stat.type = "marker", use.dist = TRUE, map.function = "kosambi", crit.val = NULL, display.markers = FALSE, mark.line = FALSE, ...)
@
The \code{statGen()} and \code{profileGen()} are
functions for calculation and profiling of the statistics for the
genotypes across the chosen marker set defined by
\code{chr}. Specifically, \code{profileGen()} actually calls \code{statGen()}
to obtain the statistics for profiling and also returns the
statistics invisibly after plotting. Setting \code{bychr = TRUE}
will also ensure that the genotype profiles are plotted individually
for each linkage groups given \code{chr}. The current statistics that
can be calculated for each genotype include
\begin{list}{$\bullet$}{\setlength{\itemsep}{1ex}\setlength{\parsep}{0ex}}
\item \texttt{"xo"} : number of crossovers
\item \texttt{"dxo"} : number of double crossovers
\item \texttt{"miss"} : number of missing values
\end{list}
The two statistics \code{"xo"} and \code{"dxo"} are obviously only useful for
constructed linkage maps. However, from my experience, they represent
the most vital two statistics for determining a linkage maps
quality. Inflated crossover or double crossover rates of any
genotypes indicate a lack of adherence to Mendelian genetics. For
example, it can be quickly calculated for a Doubled Haploid wheat
population of size 100, one recombination is approximately
1cM. Consequently, under Mendelian genetics, a chromosome of length 200 cM would expect
to have 200 random crossovers with each genotype having an expected
recombination rate of 2. Wheat is a hexaploid, so for excellent coverage over the whole genome
the expected recombination rate of any genotype is $\sim$42. This
number will obviously be reduced if the coverage of the genome is
incomplete. Significant recombination rates can be checked by manually
inputting a median recombination rate in the argument \code{xo.lambda}
of \code{profileGen()}. As an example, the genotype profiles of the
\code{mapDH} can be displayed using the command below and the resultant plot
is given in Figure \ref{fig:prof2}.

<<prof2,fig.width = 15,fig.height = 8,fig.pos = "t",fig.env="figure",fig.scap="NA",fig.cap = "Genotype profiles of missing values, double recombinations and recombinations for \\texttt{mapDH}.",prompt=TRUE>>=
profileGen(mapDH, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = c("xo", "dxo", "miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = 25, layout = c(1,3), lty = 2)
@

The plot neatly displays, the number of missing values, double
crossovers and crossovers for each genotype in the order represented
in \code{mapDH}. The plot was aesthetically enhanced by including
graphical arguments \code{layout = c(1,3)} and \code{lty = 2} which
are passed to the high level lattice function \code{xyplot()}. Plotting these statistics simultaneously allows the
users to quickly recognize genotypes that may be problematic and worth
further investigation. For example, in Figure \ref{fig:prof2} the line
DH218 was identified as having an inflated recombination rate and
removing it may improve the quality of the linkage map.

The \code{statMark()} and \code{profileMark()} functions are
commands for the calculation and profiling of statistics associated
with the markers or intervals of the linkage map. \code{profileMark()}
calls \code{statMark()} and graphically profiles user given statistics
and will also return them invisibly after plotting. The current
marker statistics that can be profiled are
\begin{list}{$\bullet$}{\setlength{\itemsep}{1ex}\setlength{\parsep}{0ex}}
 \item \texttt{"seg.dist"}: -log10 p-value from a test of segregation distortion
  \item \texttt{"miss"}: proportion of missing values
  \item \texttt{"prop"}: allele proportions
  \item \texttt{"dxo"}: number of double crossovers
\end{list}
The current interval statistics that can be profiled are
\begin{list}{$\bullet$}{\setlength{\itemsep}{1ex}\setlength{\parsep}{0ex}}
  \item \texttt{"erf"}: estimated recombination fractions
  \item \texttt{"lod"}: LOD score for the test of no linkage
  \item \texttt{"dist"}: interval map distance
  \item \texttt{"mrf"}: map recombination fraction
  \item \texttt{"recomb"}: number of recombinations.
\end{list}
The function allows any or all of the statistics to be plotted
simultaneously on a multi-panel lattice display. This includes
combinations of marker and interval statistics. There is a \code{chr}
argument to subset the linkage map to user defined linkage groups. If
\code{crit.val = "bonf"} then markers that have significant
segregation distortion greater than the family wide alpha level of
0.05/no.of.markers will be annotated in marker panels. Similarly, intervals
that have a significantly weak linkage from a test of the
recombination fraction of $r = 0.5$ will also be annotated in the
interval panels. Similar to \code{profileGen()}, graphical arguments
can be used in \code{profileMark()} and are passed to the high level
lattice function \code{xyplot()}. A plot of the segregation
distortion, double crossovers, estimated recombination fractions and
LOD scores for the whole genome of \code{mapDH} is given in Figure \ref{fig:prof3} and
created with the command
<<prof3,fig.width = 15,fig.height = 8,fig.pos = "t",fig.env="figure",fig.scap="NA",fig.cap = "Marker and interval profiles of segregation distortion, double crossovers, estimated recombination fractions and LOD scores for \\texttt{mapDH}.",prompt=TRUE, warning = FALSE>>=
profileMark(mapDH, stat.type = c("seg.dist", "dxo", "erf", "lod"), id = "Genotype", layout = c(1,4), type = "l")
@
All linkage groups are highlighted in a different colours to ensure
they can be identified clearly. The lattice panels ensure that marker
and interval statistics are seamlessly plotted together so problematic
regions or markers can be identified efficiently. In this command, the
\code{layout = c(1,4)} and \code{type = "l"} arguments are passed directly to the
high level \code{xyplot()} lattice function to ensure a more
aesthetically pleasing graphic.

\section{Miscellaneous additional R/qtl functions}

\subsection{Genetic clones}
\label{sec:genc}

In my experience, the assumptions of how the individuals of the
population are genetically related is rarely checked throughout the
construction process. Too often unconstructed or constructed
linkage maps contain individuals that are far too closely related beyond the simple
assumptions of the population. For example, in a DH population, the
assumption of independence would indicate that any two individuals
will, by chance, share half of their alleles. Any pairs of individuals
that significantly breach this assumption should be deemed suspicious and queried.

The R/ASMap package contains a function for the detection and
reporting of the relatedness between individuals as well as a
function for forming consensus genotypes if genuine clones are found.
<<clones01,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
genClones(object, chr, tol = 0.9, id = "Genotype")
fixClones(object, gc, id = "Genotype", consensus = TRUE)
@
The \code{genClones()} function uses the power of \code{comparegeno()}
from the R/qtl package to perform the relatedness
calculations. It then provides a numerical breakdown of the
relatedness between pairs of individuals that share a proportion of
alleles greater than \code{tol}. This breakdown also includes the
clonal group the pairs of individuals belong to. The complete set of
statistics allows users to make an informed decision about the
connectedness of the pairs of individuals. For example, using the
constructed map \code{mapDH} the list of clones can be found using

<<clones02,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
gc <- genClones(mapDH, tol = 0.9)
gc$cgd
@
The reported information shows five pairs of clones that are, with the
exception of missing values, identical.

If clones are found then \code{fixClones()} can be used to form
consensus genotypes for each of the clonal groups. By default it will
intelligently collapse the allelic information of the clones within
each group (see Table \ref{tab:cons}) to obtain a single
consensus genotype. Setting \code{consensus = FALSE} will choose a genotype with
the smallest proportion of missing values as the representative
genotype for the clonal group. In both cases genotypes names are given
an elongated name containing all genotype names of the clonal group
separated by an underscore.

<<clones03,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHg <- fixClones(mapDH, gc$cgd, consensus = TRUE)
levels(mapDHg$pheno[[1]])[grep("_", levels(mapDHg$pheno[[1]]))]
@

\begin{table}
\centering
\caption{Consensus genotype outcomes for 3 clones across 8 markers in a DH
  population.}
\begin{tabular}{lcccccccc}
\hline
\T Genotype  & M1 & M2 & M3 & M4 & M5 & M6 & M7 & M8 \\
\hline
\hline
G1    & AA & BB & AA & BB & AA & BB & NA & AA\\
G2    & AA & BB & NA & NA & NA & NA & NA & BB\\
G3    & AA & BB & AA & BB & NA & NA & NA & AA\\
\hline
Cons. & AA & BB & AA & BB & AA & BB & NA & NA\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\label{tab:cons}
\end{table}

\subsection{Breaking and merging linkage groups}

During the linkage map construction process there may be a requirement to
break or merge linkage groups. R/ASMap provides two functions to
achieve this.
<<mb1, eval = FALSE>>=
breakCross(cross, split = NULL, suffix = "numeric", sep = ".")
mergeCross(cross, merge = NULL, gap = 5)
@
The \code{breakCross()} function allows users to break linkage groups
in a variety ways. The \code{split} argument takes a list with
elements named by the linkage group names that require splitting and
containing the markers that immediately proceed where the splits are to be made. For example, a
split of the linkage group 3B and 6A linkage map \code{mapDH} after the seventh and fifteenth
marker respectively can be easily made using
<<mb2, eval = TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHb1 <- breakCross(mapDH, split = list("3B" = "3B.m.7","6A" = "6A.m.15"))
nmar(mapDHb1)
@
The \code{split} argument is flexible and can handle multiple linkage
groups as well as multiple markers within linkage groups. The default
use of the \code{suffix} argument produces a numerical suffix
attachment to the original linkage groups being split with a
separated by \code{sep}. Users can also provide their own complete names for the new
split linkage groups by explicitly naming them in the \code{suffix} argument.
<<mb3, eval = TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHb2 <- breakCross(mapDH, split = list("3B" = "3B.m.7"), suffix = list("3B" = c("3B1","3B2")))
nmar(mapDHb2)
@
The \code{mergeCross()} function provides a method for merging linkage
groups. Its argument \code{merge} requires a list with elements named
by the proposed linkage group names required and containing the
linkage groups to be merged. For the linkage map
\code{mapDHb1} containing split linkage groups 3B and 6A created by a
call to \code{breakCross()} the call to \code{mergeCross()} would be
<<mb4,eval=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDHm <- mergeCross(mapDHb1, merge = list("3B" = c("3B.1","3B.2"),"6A" = c("6A.1","6A.2")))
nmar(mapDHm)
@
It should be noted that this function places an artificial genetic distance gap
between the merged linkage groups set by the \code{gap}
argument. Accurate distance estimation would require a separate map
estimation procedure after the merging has taken place.

\subsection{Rapid genetic distance estimation}
\label{sec:est}

The linkage map estimation function in R/qtl called
\code{est.map()} can be invoked individually or can be applied
through \code{read.cross()} when setting the argument
\code{estimate.map = TRUE}. The function applies the multi-locus hidden Markov model
technology of \cite{lg87} to perform its calculations. Unfortunately
this technology is computationally cumbersome if there are many markers on a linkage group and
becomes more so if there are many missing allele calls and
genotyping errors present.

R/ASMap contains a small map estimation function that circumvents this
computational burden.
<<quick1,eval=FALSE>>=
quickEst(object, chr, map.function = "kosambi", ...)
@
The function makes use of another function in R/qtl called
\code{argmax.geno()}. This function is also a multi-locus hidden
Markov algorithm that uses the observed markers present in a linkage
group to impute pseudo-markers at any chosen cM genetic distance. In this
case, we only require a reconstruction or imputation at the
markers themselves. For the most accurate imputation to occur there
needs to be an estimate of genetic distance already in place. To
obtain an initial estimate of distance \code{est.rf()} is called
within each linkage group defined by \code{chr} and recombination
fractions are converted to genetic distances based on
\code{map.function}. Unlike \code{est.map()} the \code{quickEst()}
function lives up to its namesake by providing the quickest genetic
distance calculations for large linkage maps.

<<quick2,fig.width = 7,fig.height = 5,fig.pos = "t",fig.env="figure",fig.scap="NA",fig.cap = "Comparison of \\texttt{mapDH} using \\texttt{est.map} and \\texttt{quickEst}.",prompt=TRUE>>=
map1 <- est.map(mapDH, map.function = "kosambi")
map1 <- subset(map1, chr = names(nmar(map1))[6:15])
map2 <- quickEst(mapDH, map.function = "kosambi")
map2 <- subset(map2, chr = names(nmar(map2))[6:15])
plot.map(map1, map2)
@

The linkage map \code{mapDH} was re-estimated using \code{est.map()}
and \code{quickEst()} and a comparison of the resulting maps
are given in Figure \ref{fig:quick2}. The graphic indicates that there
negligible changes in marker placement and overall linkage group
distances between the two linkage maps.

\subsection{Subsetting in R/ASMap}

The functions \code{pullCross()} and \code{pushCross()} described in
  section \ref{sec:pp} are used to create and manipulate extra list
  elements \code{"co.located"}, \code{"seg.distortion"} and
\code{"missing"} associated with different marker types. Each element
contains a data element consisting of a marker matrix
equivalent in row dimension to the marker elements of the linkage
map they were pulled from. Unfortunately, these
list elements are not recognized by the native R/qtl functions. If the
R/qtl function \code{subset.cross()} is used to subset the object to a
reduced number of individuals then the data component of each of these
elements will not be subsetted accordingly. In addition, the
statistics in the table component of the elements
\code{"seg.distortion"} and \code{"missing"} will be incorrect for the
newly subsetted linkage map.

The \code{subsetCross()} function available
in the R/ASMap package contains identical functionality to
\code{subset.cross} but also ensures the data components
of the extra list elements \code{"co.located"}, \code{"seg.distortion"} and
\code{"missing"} are subsetted to match the linkage map. In addition,
for elements \code{"seg.distortion"} and \code{"missing"} it also
updates the table components to reflect the newly subsetted
map. This update ensures that \code{pushCross()} uses the most
accurate information when deciding which markers to push back into
the linkage map.

Using the default \code{seg.thresh = 0.05} for the linkage map \code{mapDH},
distorted markers are pulled from the map
<<sc,eval=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDH.s <- pullCross(mapDH, type = "seg.distortion")
mapDH.s <- subsetCross(mapDH.s, ind = 3:218)
dim(mapDH.s$seg.distortion$data)[1]
@
In this example the use of \code{subsetCross()} ensures that the data
component of the \code{"seg.distortion"} element is the same dimension
as the map. The table element is also updated to ensure the statistics
are correct for the reduced subset of lines.

\subsection{Combining maps}
\label{sec:comb}

Over the period of time that I have been involved in linkage map
construction there has been many occasions where I have required a
function that could merge R/qtl cross objects together in an
intelligent manner. For example, the merging of two linkage maps from
the same population that were independently built with markers from
two different platforms. This idea was the motivation behind the \code{combineMap()}
function in the R/ASMap package. The aim of the function was to
merge linkage maps based on map information, readying the combined
linkage groups for reconstruction through an efficient linkage map
construction process such as \code{mstmap.cross()}.
<<comb1, eval = FALSE>>=
combineMap(..., id = "Genotype", keep.all = TRUE)
@
The function takes an unlimited number of maps through the \code{...}
argument. The linkage maps must all have the same cross class
structure and contain the same genotype identifier \code{id}. At the
current stage of writing this vignette the function required unique
maker names across all linkage maps. This is expected to be relaxed at
a later date so linkage maps that share markers, such as nested
association mapping populations, can be merged effectively.

The merging of the maps happens intelligently using several
components of the map. Firstly the linkage maps are merged based on
commonality between the genotypes. If \code{keep.all = TRUE} the new
combined linkage map is ``padded out'' with missing values where
genotypes are not shared. If \code{keep.all= FALSE} the combined
map is reduced to genotypes that are shared among all linkage
maps. Secondly, if linkage group names are shared between maps then
the markers from the shared linkage groups are merged. To exemplify
its use a duplicate of \code{mapDH} is made and 10 linkage group names
have been altered, with the marker names inside each of the linkage
groups also altered to ensure they are unique.

<<comb2,eval=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapDH1 <- mapDH
names(mapDH1$geno)[5:14] <- paste("L",1:10, sep = "")
mapDH1$geno <- lapply(mapDH1$geno, function(el){
  names(el$map) <- dimnames(el$data)[[2]] <- paste(names(el$map), "A", sep = "")
  el})
mapDHc <- combineMap(mapDH, mapDH1)
nmar(mapDHc)
@
The resulting combined map includes a combined marker set for the
linkage groups that shared the same name and distinct linkage groups
for unshared names. Again, note the function only merges the linkage
maps and does not reconstruct the final combined linkage map.

The advantages of this function may not be obvious at a first
glance. If an attempt is made to completely reconstruct the
super set of linkage maps, rather than combine them first, the identification of linkage groups
is lost. This function serves to preserve the important identity
of linkage groups. More examples of its use in common map construction
procedures will be explored in section chapter \ref{sec:aui} of the
next chapter.

\chapter{Worked example}
\label{chap:work}

This chapter involves the complete linkage map construction process
for a barley Backcross population that contains 3024 markers genotyped
on 326 individuals in an unconstructed marker set formatted as an R/qtl object with class
\code{"bc"}. The data is available from the R/ASMap package by typing
<<ex1, eval = FALSE>>=
data(mapBCu, package = "ASMap")
@

\section{Pre-construction}

The construction of a linkage map does not usually just involve
applying a construction algorithm to a supplied set of genetic marker
data. It is always prudent to go through a pre-construction checklist
to ensure that the best quality genotypes/markers are being used to
construct the linkage map.

A non-exhaustive ordered checklist for an unconstructed marker set could be
\begin{enumerate}
 \item Check missing allele scores across markers for each genotype
   as well as across genotypes for each marker. Markers or genotypes
   with a high proportion of missing information could indicate
   problems with the physical genotyping.
 \item Check for genetic clones or individuals that have
   a high proportion of matching allelic information between them.
\item Check markers for excessive segregation distortion. Highly
   distorted markers may not map to unique locations.
 \item Check markers for switched alleles. These markers will not
  cluster or link well with other markers during the construction
  process and it is therefore preferred to repair their alignment before
  proceeding.
 \item Check for co-locating markers. For large linkage maps it would
   be more computationally efficient from a construction standpoint to
   temporarily omit markers that are co-located with other markers.
\end{enumerate}

\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width = 16cm]{missBCu}
\caption{Plot of the missing allele scores for the unconstructed map mapBCu}
\label{fig:miss1}
\end{figure}

R/qtl provides a very simple graphical tool for checking the structure of
missing allele score across the genotypes and the markers.

<<ex3,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
plot.missing(mapBCu)
@

Figure \ref{fig:miss1} shows the resulting plot for this command. The
darkest lines on the plot indicate there are some genotypes with large
amounts of missing data. This could indicate poor physical genotyping
of these lines and they should be removed before proceeding. The plot
also reveals the markers have a large number of typed allele
values across the range of genotypes. The R/ASMap function
\code{statGen()} can be used to identify the genotypes with a
certain number of missing values. These genotypes are then omitted using
the usual functions available in R/qtl.

<<ex4,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
sg <- statGen(mapBCu, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = "miss")
mapBC1 <- subset(mapBCu, ind = sg$miss < 1600)
@

From a map construction point of view, highly related individuals can enhance segregation
distortion of markers. It is therefore wise to determine a course of
action such as removal of individuals or the creation of consensus genotypes before proceeding
with any further pre-construction diagnostics. The R/ASMap function
\code{genClones()} discussed in section \ref{sec:genc} can be used to identify and report genetic clones.
<<ex5,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
gc <- genClones(mapBC1, tol = 0.95)
gc$cgd
@
The table shows 13 groups of genotypes that share a proportion of their
alleles greater than 0.95. The supplied additional statistics show that
the first group contains three pairs of genotypes that had matched
pairs of alleles from 1620 markers or less. These pairs also ~ 1400
markers where an allele was present for one genotype and missing for
another. Based on this, there is not enough evidence to suspect these
pairs may be clones and they are removed from the table. The
\code{fixClones()} function can then be used to form consensus
genotypes for the remaining groups of clones in the table.

<<ex6,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
cgd <- gc$cgd[-c(1,4,5),]
mapBC2 <- fixClones(mapBC1, cgd, consensus = TRUE)
levels(mapBC2$pheno[[1]])[grep("_", levels(mapBC2$pheno[[1]]))]
@

<<ex7,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
profileMark(mapBC2, stat.type = c("seg.dist", "prop", "miss"), crit.val = "bonf", layout = c(1,4), type = "l", cex = 0.5)
@

At this juncture it is wise to check the segregation distortion
statistics of the markers. Segregation distortion is phenomenon where the observed allelic
frequencies at a specific locus deviate from expected allelic
frequencies due to Mendelian genetics. It is well known that this
distortion can occur from physical laboratorial processes or it may
also occur in local genomic regions from underlying biological and
genetic mechanisms \citep{lytt91}.

The level of segregation distortion, the allelic proportions and the
missing value proportion across the genome can be graphically
represented using the marker profiling function
\code{profileMark()} and the result is displayed in Figure \ref{fig:seg1}.

Setting \code{crit.val = "bonf"} annotates the markers that have a p-value for the test of
segregation distortion lower than the family wide bonferroni adjusted
alpha level of 0.05/no.of.markers on each of the
figures in each panel. Additional plotting parameters \code{layout =
  c(1,4)}, \code{type="p"} and \code{cex = 0.5} are passed to the high
level lattice plotting function \code{xyplot()} to provide a more
aesthetically pleasing plot. The plot indicates there are numerous markers that are
considered to be significantly distorted with three highly distorted
markers. The plot also indicates that
the missing value proportion of the markers does not exceed 20\%.

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex8,echo=FALSE,fig.width=17,fig.height=10,warning=FALSE>>=
profileMark(mapBC2, stat.type = c("seg.dist", "prop", "miss"), crit.val = "bonf", layout = c(1,4), type = "l", cex = 0.5)
@
\caption{For individual markers, the negative log10 p-value for the test of
  segregation distortion, the proportion of each contributing allele
  and the proportion of missing values.}
\label{fig:seg1}
\end{figure}

The highly distorted markers can easily be dropped using
<<ex9,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mm <- statMark(mapBC2, stat.type = "marker")$marker$AB
mapBC3 <- drop.markers(mapBC2, c(markernames(mapBC2)[mm > 0.98],markernames(mapBC2)[mm < 0.2]))
@

Without a constructed map it is impossible to determine the origin of
the segregation distortion. However, the blind use of distorted markers may also
create linkage map construction problems. It may
be more sensible to place the distorted markers aside and construct
the map with less problematic markers. Once the linkage map is constructed the
more problematic markers can be introduced to determine whether they
have a useful or deleterious effect on the map. The R/ASMap functions
\code{pullCross()} and \code{pushCross()} are designed to take
advantage of this scenario. To showcase their use in this example,
they are also used to pull markers with 10-20\% missing values as well
as co-located markers.

<<ex10,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC3 <- pullCross(mapBC3, type = "missing", pars = list(miss.thresh = 0.1))
mapBC3 <- pullCross(mapBC3, type = "seg.distortion", pars = list(seg.thresh = "bonf"))
mapBC3 <- pullCross(mapBC3, type = "co.located")
names(mapBC3)
sum(ncol(mapBC3$missing$data),ncol(mapBC3$seg.dist$data),ncol(mapBC3$co.located$data))
@
A total of 847 markers are removed and placed aside in their
respective elements and the map is now constructed with the remaining 2173 markers.

\section{MSTmap construction}

The curated genetic marker data in \code{mapBC3} can now be constructed using the
\code{mstmap.cross} function available in R/ASMap.

<<ex11,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
mapBC4 <- mstmap(mapBC3, bychr = FALSE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 1e-12)
chrlen(mapBC4)
@
By setting \code{bychr = FALSE} the complete set of marker data from
\code{mapBC3} is bulked and constructed from scratch. This
construction involves the clustering of markers to linkage groups and
then the optimal ordering of markers within each linkage group. An
initial check of Figure \ref{fig:threshold}, indicates for
a population size of 309 the \code{p.value} should be set to \code{1e-12}
to ensure a 30cM threshold when clustering markers to linkage groups.
The newly constructed linkage map contains 9 linkage groups each
containing markers that are optimally ordered. The performance of the
MSTmap construction can be checked by plotting the heat map of
pairwise recombination fractions between markers and their pairwise
LOD score of linkage using the R/ASMap function \code{heatMap()}
<<ex12,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
heatMap(mapBC4, lmax = 70)
@
As discussed in section \ref{sec:heat}, an aesthetic heat map is
attained when the heat on the upper triangle of the plot used for
the pairwise estimated recombination fractions matches the heat of the
pairwise LOD scores. Figure \ref{fig:heat3} displays the heat map and
shows this was achieved by setting \code{lmax = 70}.
The heat map also shows consistent heat across the markers within linkage
groups indicating strong linkage between nearby markers. The linkage
groups appear to be very distinctly clustered.

\begin{figure}[t]
 \centering
\includegraphics[width = 16cm]{heatmap}
\caption{Heat map of the constructed linkage map mapBC4.}
\label{fig:heat3}
\end{figure}

Although the heat map is indicating the construction process was
successful it does not highlight subtle problems that may be existing
in the constructed linkage map. As stated in section \ref{sec:prof}
one of the key quality characteristics of a well constructed linkage
map is an appropriate recombination rate of the the genotypes. For
this barley Backcross population each line is considered to be
independent with an expected recombination rate of ~ 14 across the
genome. The current linkage map contains linkage groups that exceed the
theoretical cutoff of 200cM indicating there may be genotypes with
inflated recombination rates. This can easily be ascertained from the
\code{profileGen()} function available in R/ASMap.

<<ex14,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
pg <- profileGen(mapBC4, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = c("xo","dxo","miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = 14, layout = c(1,3), lty = 2, cex = 0.7)
@

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex15,echo=FALSE,fig.width=17,fig.height=10,warning=FALSE>>=
pg <- profileGen(mapBC4, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = c("xo","dxo","miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = 14, layout = c(1,3), lty = 2, cex = 0.7)
@
\caption{For individual genotypes, the number of recombinations,
  double recombinations and missing values for mapBC4}
\label{fig:genex1}
\end{figure}

Figure \ref{fig:genex1} show the number of recombinations, double recombination
and missing values for each of 309 genotypes. The plot also annotates
the genotypes that have recombination rates significantly above the expected
recombination rate of 14. A total of seven lines have recombination
rates above 20 and the plots also show that these lines have
excessive missing values. To ensure the extra list elements
\code{"co.located"}, \code{"seg.distortion"} and
\code{"missing"} of the object are subsetted and updated appropriately, the offending
genotypes are removed using the R/ASMap function
\code{subsetCross()}. The linkage map is then be reconstructed.

<<ex16,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,cache = TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC5 <- subsetCross(mapBC4, ind = !pg$xo.lambda)
mapBC6 <- mstmap(mapBC5, bychr = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, p.value = 1e-12)
chrlen(mapBC6)
@

Users can check the recombination rates of the remaining genotypes
in the re-constructed map are now within respectable limits. As a
result the lengths of the linkage groups have dropped
dramatically.

It is also useful to graphically display statistics of
the markers and intervals of the current constructed linkage map. For
example, Figure \ref{fig:pm1} shows the marker profiles of the -log10 p-value
for the test of segregation distortion, the allele proportions and the
number of double crossovers. It also displays the interval profile of
the number of recombinations occurring between adjacent markers. This
plot reveals many things that are useful for the next phase of the
construction process.
<<ex17,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
profileMark(mapBC6, stat.type = c("seg.dist","prop","dxo","recomb"), layout = c(1,5), type = "l")
@

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex18,echo=FALSE,fig.width=17,fig.height=12,warning=FALSE>>=
profileMark(mapBC6, stat.type = c("seg.dist","prop","dxo","recomb"), layout = c(1,5), type = "l")
@
\caption{Marker profiles of the -log10 p-value for the test of
  segregation distortion, allele proportions and the number of double
  of crossovers as well as the interval profile of the number of
  recombinations between adjacent markers in mapBC6.}
\label{fig:pm1}
\end{figure}

The plot instantly reveals the success of the map construction process
with no more than one double crossover being found at any marker and
very few being found in total. The plot also reveals the extent of the
biological distortion that can occur within a linkage group. A close look at the segregation
distortion and allele proportion plots shows the linkage group
L.3 and the short linkage group L.5 have profiles that could be joined
if the linkage groups were merged. In addition, L.8 and L.9 also have
profiles that could be joined if the linkage groups were
combined. This will be discussed in more detail in the next section.

\section{Pushing back markers}

In this section the markers that were originally placed aside in the
pre-construction of the linkage map will be pushed back into the
constructed linkage map and the map carefully re-diagnosed. To begin
the 515 external markers that have between 10\% and 20\% missing
values residing in the list element \code{"missing"} are pushed
back in using \code{pushCross()}
<<ex19,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC6 <- pushCross(mapBC6, type = "missing", pars = list(miss.thresh = 0.22, max.rf = 0.3))
@
The parameter \code{miss.thresh = 0.22} is used to ensure that all
markers with a threshold less 0.22 are pushed back into the linkage
map. Note, this pushing mechanism is not re-constructing the map and
only assigns the markers to the most suitable linkage group. At this
point it is worth re-plotting the heatmap to check whether the push
has been successful. In this vignette we will confine the graphic to
linkage groups L.3, L.5, L.8 and L.9 to determine whether the extra
markers have provided useful additional information about the possible
merging of the groups. The resulting heat map is given in Figure \ref{fig:heat4}.
<<ex20,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
heatMap(mapBC6, chr = c("L.3","L.5","L.8","L.9"), lmax = 70)
@

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex21,echo=FALSE,fig.width=14,fig.height=8,warning=FALSE,cache=TRUE>>=
heatMap(mapBC6, chr = c("L.3","L.5","L.8","L.9"), lmax = 70)
@
\caption{Heat map of the constructed linkage map mapBC6.}
\label{fig:heat4}
\end{figure}
It is clear from the heat map that there are genuine linkages between
L.3 and L.5 as well as L.8 and L.9. These two sets of linkage groups
can be merged using \code{mergeCross()} and the linkage group names
are renamed to form the optimal 7 linkage groups that are required for
the barley genome.

<<ex22,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
mapBC6 <- mergeCross(mapBC6, merge = list("L.3" = c("L.3","L.5"), "L.8" = c("L.8","L.9")))
names(mapBC6$geno) <- paste("L.", 1:7, sep = "")
mapBC7 <- mstmap(mapBC6, bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 2)
chrlen(mapBC7)
@

As the optimal number of linkage groups have been identified the
re-construction of the map is performed by linkage group only
through setting the \code{p.value = 2}. At this point there is no need to
anchor the map during construction as orientation of linkage groups
has not been formally identified. The linkage group lengths of L.1,
L.2 and L.4 are slightly elevated indicating excessive recombination
across these groups. The reason for this inflation is quickly understood by checking the
profile of the genotypes again using \code{profileGen()}
<<ex23,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
pg1 <- profileGen(mapBC7, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = c("xo","dxo","miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = 14, layout = c(1,3), lty = 2, cex = 0.7)
@

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex24,echo=FALSE,fig.width=17,fig.height=10,warning=FALSE>>=
pg1 <- profileGen(mapBC7, bychr = FALSE, stat.type = c("xo","dxo","miss"), id = "Genotype", xo.lambda = 14, layout = c(1,3), lty = 2, cex = 0.7)
@
\caption{For individual genotypes, the number of recombinations,
  double recombinations and missing values for mapBC7.}
\label{fig:genex2}
\end{figure}

Figure \ref{fig:genex2} shows the genotype profiles for the 302 barley
lines. The introduction of the markers with missing value proportions between
10\% and 20\% into the linkage map has highlighted two more
problematic lines that have a high proportion of missing values across
the genome. Again, these should be removed using
\code{subsetCross()} and the map reconstructed.
<<ex25,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,cache = TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC8 <- subsetCross(mapBC7, ind = !pg1$xo.lambda)
mapBC9 <- mstmap(mapBC8, bychr = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", trace = TRUE, p.value = 2)
chrlen(mapBC9)
@
The removal of these two lines will not have a deleterious effect on the number
of linkage groups and therefore the linkage map should be
reconstructed by linkage group only. The length of most linkage groups
has now been appreciably reduced. Figure \ref{fig:pm2} displays the segregation distortion
and allele proportion profiles for the markers from using
\code{profileMark()} again.
<<ex26,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
profileMark(mapBC9, stat.type = c("seg.dist","prop","dxo","recomb"), layout = c(1,5), type = "l")
@

\begin{figure}[t]
<<ex27,echo=FALSE,fig.width=17,fig.height=10,warning=FALSE>>=
profileMark(mapBC9, stat.type = c("seg.dist","prop"), layout = c(1,3), type = "l")
@
\caption{Marker profiles of the -log10 p-value for the test of
  segregation distortion, allele proportions for mapBC9}
\label{fig:pm2}
\end{figure}

The plot indicates a spike of segregation distortion on L.2 that does
not appear to be biological and should be removed. The plot also
indicates the significant distortion regions on L.3, L.6 and
L.7 indicating some of the markers with missing value proportions
between 10\% and 20\% pushed back into the linkage map also had some
degree of segregation distortion. The marker positions on the x-axis of the
plot suggests these regions are sparse. The 295 external markers in the
list element \code{"seg.distortion"} may hold the key to this
sparsity and are pushed back to determine their effect on the linkage
map.
<<ex28,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
dm <- markernames(mapBC9, "L.2")[statMark(mapBC9, chr = "L.2", stat.type = "marker")$marker$neglog10P > 6]
mapBC10 <- drop.markers(mapBC9, dm)
mapBC11 <- pushCross(mapBC10, type = "seg.distortion", pars = list(seg.ratio = "70:30"))
mapBC12 <- mstmap(mapBC11, bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 2)
round(chrlen(mapBC12) - chrlen(mapBC9), 5)
nmar(mapBC12) - nmar(mapBC10)
@
After checking the table element of the \code{"seg.distortion"}
element, a 70:30 distortion ratio was chosen to ensure all the
markers were pushed back into the linkage map. After the pushing was
complete, the linkage map was reconstructed and linkage group lengths
only changed negligibly from the previous version of the map with distorted markers
removed. This suggests the extra markers have been inserted
successfully with nearly all distorted markers being pushed into
L.3, L.6 and L.7.

To finalise the map the 39 co-locating markers residing in the
\code{"co.located"} list element of the object are pushed back into
the linkage map and placed adjacent to the markers they were co-located
with. Note that all external co-located markers have an immediate linkage group assignation.
<<ex29,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC <- pushCross(mapBC12, type = "co.located")
names(mapBC)
@
A check of the final structure of the object shows the extra
list elements have been removed and only the \code{"pheno"}
and \code{"geno"} list elements remain. Users can graphically plot the
genotypes and marker/interval profiles to diagnostically assess the
final linkage map. These plots have been omitted from this report for
brevity. The final linkage map has statistics given in Table \ref{tab:stats}.

\small{
\begin{table}[t]
\centering
\caption{Table of statistics for the final linkage map, mapBC}
\begin{tabular}{lrrrrrrrrr}
  \hline
 & L.1 & L.2 & L.3 & L.4 & L.5 & L.6 & L.7 & Total & Ave. \\
  \hline
  \hline
No. of markers & 681 & 593 & 335 & 679 & 233 & 279 & 219 & 3019 & 431 \\
Lengths & 225.9 & 224.4 & 157.6 & 205.5 & 195.1 & 145.5 & 142.9 & 1297.2 & 185.3 \\
Ave. interval & 0.33 & 0.39 & 0.48 & 0.31 & 0.84 & 0.53 & 0.66 &  & 0.51 \\
   \hline
\end{tabular}
\label{tab:stats}
\end{table}}

\section{Post-construction linkage map development}
\label{sec:aui}

After a linkage map is constructed it is very common to attempt
linkage map development through the insertion of additional
markers. This may be a simple fine mapping exercise
where the linkage group is known in advance for an additional set of markers or
it may be a more complex tasks such as the insertion of markers
from an older linkage map into a newly constructed map. The procedure
to successfully achieve either of these can be problematic. For
example, there may need to be external manipulation, such as removal of
non-concurrent genotypes, before the additional set of markers
is inserted into the map. Additionally, in some cases, the
linkage map may need to be partially or completely reconstructed. An
unfortunate result of this reconstruction process is the possible loss of known
linkage group identities.

R/ASMap provides functionality to insert additional markers
into an established linkage map without losing important
linkage group identification. The methods applied in this section
assume the additional markers, as well as the constructed linkage
map, are R/qtl cross objects of the same class. The methods are best described by
presenting several examples that mimic common post-construction
linkage map development tasks. In these examples
additional markers will be obtained by randomly selecting markers
from the final linkage map, \code{mapBC}.
<<add1,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
set.seed(123)
add1 <- drop.markers(mapBC, markernames(mapBC)[sample(1:3019, 2700, replace = FALSE)])
mapBCs <- drop.markers(mapBC, markernames(add1))
add3 <- add2 <- add1
add2 <- subset(add2, chr = "L.1")
add3$geno[[1]]$data <- pull.geno(add1)
add3$geno[[1]]$map <- 1:ncol(add3$geno[[1]]$data)
names(add3$geno[[1]]$map) <- markernames(add1)
names(add3$geno)[1] <- "ALL"
add3 <- subset(add3, chr = "ALL")
@

\subsection{Combining two linkage maps of the same population}

Many populations that are currently being researched have been
genotyped on multiple platforms and separate maps constructed for one
or both of the populations. For example, a linkage map may have been
constructed from markers genotyped on the new Illumina 90K SNP (Single
Nucleotide Polymorphism) array but the population may also have a
legacy linkage map constructed from markers stemming from SSRs (Single Sequence Repeats) or DaRTs
(Diversity Array Technology). The \code{add1} R/qtl object mimics an
older map of \code{mapBC} with 319 markers spanning the seven linkage
groups. As the linkage groups are known between maps there is only a
requirement to combine the maps in a sensible manner and
reconstruct. This can be done efficiently in R/ASMap without external
manipulation and loss of linkage group information.
<<add2,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
add1 <- subset(add1, ind = 2:300)
full1 <- combineMap(mapBCs, add1, keep.all = TRUE)
full1 <- mstmap(full1, bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, anchor = TRUE, p.value = 2)
@
This example is a classic use of the R/ASMap function \code{combineMap()} described in section
\ref{sec:comb}. The two maps are first
merged on their matching genotypes and, as the first genotype in
\code{add1} has been removed, there are missing cells placed in
the first genotype of \code{mapBCs} for the markers in
\code{add1}. The \code{combineMap()} function also understands that
both linkage maps share common linkage group names and places the
markers from shared linkage groups together. The map is then
reconstructed by linkage group using \code{p.value = 2} in
the \code{mstmap.cross()} call, ensuring the important
identity of linkage groups are retained. In addition, setting \code{anchor = TRUE}
will ensure that the orientation of the larger linkage map
\code{mapBCs} is preserved.

\subsection{Fine mapping}

In marker assisted selection breeding programmes it is common to
increase the density of markers in a specific genomic region of a
linkage group for the purpose of more accurately identifying the
position of quantitative trait loci (QTL). This is known as fine
mapping. For example, the \code{add2} object contains only
markers from the L.1 linkage group of \code{mapBCs}. When the linkage
group for the additional markers is known in advance and matches a
linkage group in the constructed map, the insertion of
the new markers is very similar to the previous section.
<<add3,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
add2 <- subset(add2, ind = 2:300)
full2 <- combineMap(mapBCs, add2, keep.all = TRUE)
full2 <- mstmap(full2, chr = "L.1", bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, anchor = TRUE, p.value = 2)
@
Again, the removal of the first genotype of \code{add2} will cause
missing values to be added in the first genotype of \code{full2} for
the markers that were in \code{add2}. The \code{mstmap.cross()} call
is also similar to the previous section with the exception that only
the first linkage group L.1 needs optimal ordering.

\subsection{Unknown linkage groups}
\label{sec:pm}

There may be occasions when the linkage group identification of the
additional markers is not known in advance. For example, an incomplete
set of markers was used to construct the map or a secondary set of
markers is available that come from an unconstructed linkage map.
These additional markers can be pushed into a constructed linkage
map efficiently using the functions available in R/ASMap. In this
example the \code{add3} R/qtl object consists of one linkage group
called \code{ALL} that contains all the markers that spanned the seven
linkage groups in \code{add1}.
<<add4,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
add3 <- subset(add3, ind = 2:300)
full3 <- combineMap(mapBCs, add3, keep.all = TRUE)
full3 <- pushCross(full3, type = "unlinked", unlinked.chr = "ALL")
full3 <- mstmap(full3, bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, anchor = TRUE, p.value = 2)
@
Again, \code{combineMap()} is used to merge the linkage maps to avoid the
hassle of having to manually match the dimensions of the marker sets.
The R/ASMap function \code{pushCross()} can then be used to
push the additional markers into the constructed linkage map. By
choosing the marker type argument \code{type = "unlinked"} and
providing the \code{unlinked.chr = "ALL"} the function recognises that
the markers require pushing back into the remaining linkage groups of
\code{full3}. Again, the \code{mstmap.cross()} call only requires
optimal ordering of the markers within linkage groups.

\chapter{Aspects of the MSTmap algorithm}
\label{chap:asp}

This chapter presents miscellaneous additional information associated
within the MSTmap algorithm and the arguments supplied to the R/ASMap
functions \code{mstmap.data.frame()} and \code{mstmap.cross()}.

\section{MSTmap and distance calculations}

After close scrutiny and experience with the MSTmap algorithm it
appears there may be circumstances where the algorithm produces
inflated genetic distances. This is especially prevalent when the
linkage map being constructed contains genotypes with many missing
values. In these cases the constructed linkage map is likely to contain
runs of missing values for these genotypes. For example, this phenomenon
can be seen in Figure \ref{fig:dist1} (the dark lines) for the initial
constructed linkage map \code{mapBC4} of the previous chapter. Seven
of these genotypes were eventually removed for having excess
recombinations across the genome but their missing value structure has
also contributed substantially to the inflated distances of the
linkage groups.
<<dist1,eval=FALSE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
plot.missing(mapBC4)
@

\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width = 16cm]{missBC4}
\caption{Plot of the missing allele scores for the constructed map mapBC4}
\label{fig:dist1}
\end{figure}

This problem is easier to explain by presenting various outputs of the
linkage map \code{mapBC4}. Firstly, the map is reconstructed but with
\code{return.imputed = TRUE} added to the call to ensure the imputed
marker probability matrix for the linkage groups is added to the
returned cross object.
<<dist3,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
mapBC4i <- mstmap(mapBC3, bychr = FALSE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 1e-12, return.imputed = TRUE)
mapBC4i$geno[[1]]$map[1:14]
mapBC4i$imputed.geno[[1]]$map[1:5]
@
To exemplify the problem the markers on L.1 are used. The first 14
markers of L.1 contain the first two co-locating sets of
markers and have been calculated to be 0.76 cM apart. The imputed map
for L.1 is a reduced version of the linkage map from L.1 that contains all
unique markers and one member from each co-locating set. Markers
mark246 and mark391 have been chosen as the members for the first two
co-locating sets. It can be quickly calculated how many pairs of
alleles are observed between the two markers and how many observed
recombinations there were across these pairs.
<<dist4,echo = TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
len <- apply(mapBC4$geno[[1]]$data[,c(1,5)], 1, function(el)
             length(el[!is.na(el)]))
length(len[len > 1])
bca <- apply(mapBC4i$geno[[1]]$data[,c(1,5)], 1, function(el){
    el <- el[!is.na(el)]
    sum(abs(diff(el)))})
bca[bca > 0]
@
One genuine recombination from 281 observed pairs creates a 0.35
cM distance between the markers, falling short of 0.76 cM. The reason
behind this shortfall becomes clear when the imputed marker
probability data is printed for the first five markers of the seven
genotypes with excessive missing values
<<dist5,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC4i$imputed.geno[[1]]$data[pg$xo.lambda,1:5]
@
Genotype BC061 has an extended set of missing values across the first
four co-located sets of markers. Using the distance formula in the
M-step of the EM algorithm given in (\ref{eq:dist}), the estimates of
probability for the two missing allele scores in the first two markers
for BC061 adds another 1/2 a recombination or $~$0.15 cM distance between
the markers. Genotype BC061 will add a similar distance
between the second and third marker set and the third and fourth
marker sets due the imputed probabilities being close to 0.5 for the run of missing
values across the four co-located sets. If there are multiple runs of
missing values for genotypes, these small distances accumulate quickly
and linkage group lengths appear inflated.

There are two solutions to this problem. The obvious first solution is
to remove the genotypes regardless off their usefulness in the genetic
map. The second less obvious solution is to use the R/ASMap function
\code{quickEst()} to re-estimate the genetic distances (see section
\ref{sec:est}). As the function imputes the missing values in the
linkage map with actual allele calls it circumvents the uncertain probabilities
that MSTmap uses to form its genetic distances.
<<dist6,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC4e <- quickEst(mapBC4)
chrlen(mapBC4)
chrlen(mapBC4e)
@
The difference in the lengths of the linkage groups for the two
linkage maps is dramatic with an 80+ cM reduction in L.1 and 60+ cM
reductions in L.2 and L.4.

In summary, if a linkage map is constructed with genotypes containing
many missing values then the missing value structure of the
constructed object should be checked. If runs of missing values are
detected then the lengths of linkage groups are most likely
inflated and estimation of genetic distances should be checked using \code{quickEst()}.

\section{Use of the argument \texttt{mvest.bc}}

The inflated distances caused by excessive missing values across the
marker set for a subset of genotypes can be further exacerbated by an injudicious use of the
argument \code{mvest.bc} in the R/ASMap construction functions
\code{mstmap.data.frame()} and \code{mstmap.cross()}.

To understand how this is possible, there is
a requirement to understand how the MSTmap algorithm determines
co-segregating or co-locating markers. In the initial stages of the
algorithm two markers are deemed co-located if the pairwise
distance is zero with this calculation occurring only from
pairs of alleles that are observed in both markers. For each
co-locating set a marker is chosen as the representative marker and
the remaining markers in the set are placed aside with a knowledge of
their direct link to the representative marker. The linkage map is
then constructed with only the representative markers. This scenario
is equivalent to setting \code{mvest.bc = FALSE}.

If \code{mvest.bc = TRUE} then missing
allele calls contained in each marker are estimated to have probability 0.5 of being an A
allele \textit{before} clustering of the markers has occurred. This has an
obvious advantage of involving the complete set of genotypes when
calculating pairwise information between markers. However, for
any two markers where there is some proportion of unobserved allele pairs,
the pairwise distance between the markers becomes non-zero and they are deemed
to be not co-located. This results in a larger set of markers being
involved in the linkage map construction with the original
missing allele calls being continually imputed as part of the marker
ordering algorithm (see section \ref{sec:ord}). For situations where there is an
increased number of missing values across a set of markers for a
subset of genotypes, the cumulative distances between adjacent markers
quickly increases.

To illustrate this problem, the barley backcross marker set
\code{mapBC3} is constructed using the function \code{mstmap.cross()} with the
argument \code{mvest.bc = TRUE}.
<<mvest1,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
mapBC4a <- mstmap(mapBC3, bychr = FALSE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 1e-12, mvest.bc = TRUE)
nmar(mapBC4)
@
The clustering algorithm produces an identical number of linkage
groups with the same markers within each linkage group. However, the
number of uniquely located markers within each linkage group increases
dramatically between \code{mapBC4} and \code{mapBC4a}. This increase
in the number of uniquely located markers also increases the length of each
linkage group.
<<mvest2,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
sapply(mapBC4a$geno, function(el) length(unique(round(el$map, 4)))) - sapply(mapBC4$geno, function(el) length(unique(round(el$map, 4))))
chrlen(mapBC4a)
@
Again, the solution to this problem is to use the efficient distance estimation
function \code{quickEst()} to provide an estimate of the genetic
distances of the markers in each of the linkage groups.
<<mvest3,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBC4b <- quickEst(mapBC4a)
chrlen(mapBC4b)
@

\section{Use of the argument \texttt{detectBadData}}

The last two sections discussed constructed linkage map scenarios
where the genetic distance calculations became inflated due to an
excessive number of missing values being present for a subset of
genotypes in the marker set. If this situation is not present and the
linkage group distances are inflated then it is most likely caused by
an increased recombination rate in some or all of the genotypes. This
is easily checked using the appropriate call to \code{statGen()} or
\code{profileGen()} after an initial linkage map is constructed. If
there is an increased recombination rate in a small subset of genotypes they
can be removed before further linkage map construction. If there
appears to be a general inflation in the recombination rate across a
large set or all of the genotypes then there may be genotyping errors
that have occurred in the physical process used to obtain the allele
calls for the markers. Consequently, reduction of the linkage group
lengths becomes more problematic.

To circumvent this issue, the construction functions \code{mstmap.data.frame()} and
\code{mstmap.cross()} in the R/ASMap package contain an argument
called \code{detectBadData} that, if set to \code{TRUE}, instructs
MSTmap to detect suspiciously called alleles (see equation \ref{eq:err} of section
\ref{sec:ord} for more details). If suspicious allele calls are found they are set to missing
and imputed using the EM algorithm detailed in section
\ref{sec:ord}. This creates a reduction in the number
of recombinations between adjacent markers. The consequence of this is
a possibly dramatic reduction in the distances between adjacent
markers and overall linkage group lengths.

To exemplify the use of \code{detectBadData}, simulated genotyping
errors are added to the final barley backcross linkage map
\code{mapBC} by randomly switching singular allele calls in the data
for each linkage group.
<<dbd1,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE>>=
mapBCd <- mapBC
mapBCd$geno <- lapply(mapBCd$geno, function(el){
    ns <- sample(1:ncol(el$data), ncol(el$data)/2, replace = TRUE)
    ns <- cbind(sample(1:nrow(el$data), ncol(el$data)/2, replace = TRUE), ns)
    el$data[ns] <- abs(1 - el$data[ns])
    el$data[el$data == 0] <- 2
    el})
mapBCd <- quickEst(mapBCd)
chrlen(mapBCd)
@
The function \code{quickEst()} will not ignore the genotyping errors
that have been added to the data and linkage groups will appear
inflated.
<<dbd2,eval=TRUE,echo=TRUE,prompt=TRUE,cache=TRUE>>=
mapBCda <- mstmap(mapBCd, bychr = TRUE, trace = TRUE, dist.fun = "kosambi", p.value = 1e-12, detectBadData = TRUE)
chrlen(mapBCda)
@
A judicious use of the \code{detectBadData = TRUE} in the
\code{mstmap.cross()} call instructs the algorithm to detect and
ignore these errors during the marker ordering algorithm of
MSTmap. This deflates the linkage group distances to similar lengths
as the linkage groups lengths of the final linkage map \code{mapBC}.

\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Bibliography}
\bibliographystyle{biometrika}
\bibliography{ref}

%% insert bib file

\end{document}

