On the asymptotic robustness of the likelihood ratio test in quantitative trait locus detection

Abstract

We consider the likelihood ratio test (LRT) process related to the test of the absence of QTL (i.e. a gene with quantitative effect on a trait) on a chromosome. We consider two different recombination models. We prove that even if the LRT is constructed from the false recombination model (i.e. the model which does not correspond to the one of the data), the maximum of the LRT process converges asymptotically to the maximum of the LRT process constructed from the true recombination model. We also prove that under some conditions, the arg max of the LRT processes will be different.