Optimal sampling strategies for detecting linkage of a complex trait with known genetic heterogeneity
- Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton (United Kingdom)
- Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City (United States)
As genes underlying susceptibility to human disease are identified through linkage analysis, it is becoming increasingly clear that genetic heterogeneity is the rule rather than the exception. The focus of the present work is to examine the power and optimal sampling design for localizing a second disease gene when one disease gene has previously been identified. In particular, we examined the case when the unknown locus had lower penetrance, but higher frequency, than the known locus. Three scenarios regarding knowledge about locus 1 were examined: no linkage information (i.e. standard heterogeneity analysis), tight linkage with a known highly polymorphic marker locus, and mutation testing. Exact expected LOD scores (ELODs) were calculated for a number of two-locus genetic models under the 3 scenarios of heterogeneity for nuclear families containing 2, 3 or 4 affected children, with 0 or 1 affected parents. A cost function based upon the cost of ascertaining and genotyping sufficient samples to achieve an ELOD of 3.0 was used to evaluate the designs. As expected, the power and the optimal pedigree sampling strategy was dependent on the underlying model and the heterogeneity testing status. When the known locus had higher penetrance than the unknown locus, three affected siblings with unaffected parents proved to be optimal for all levels of heterogeneity. In general, mutation testing at the first locus provided substantially more power for detecting the second locus than linkage evidence alone. However, when both loci had relatively low penetrance, mutation testing provided little improvement in power since most families could be expected to be segregating the high risk allele at both loci.
- OSTI ID:
- 133362
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-0090
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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