Methods and Techniques for Variance Component Estimation in Animal Breeding - Review -

In the class of models which include random effects, the variance component estimates are important to obtain accurate predictors and estimators. Variance component estimation is straightforward for balanced data but not for unbalanced data. Since orthogonality among factors is absent in unbalanced data, various methods for variance component estimation are available. REML estimation is the most widely used method in animal breeding because of its attractive statistical properties. Recently, Bayesian approach became feasible through Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods with increasingly powerful computers. Furthermore, advances in variance component estimation with complicated models such as generalized linear mixed models enabled animal breeders to analyze non-normal data.