Family-based tests of linkage disequilibrium typically are based on nuclear-family data including affected individuals and their parents or their unaffected siblings. A limitation of such tests is that they generally are not valid tests of association when data from related nuclear families from larger pedigrees are used. Standard methods require selection of a single nuclear family from any ex...

Linkage disequilibrium between two linked loci was studied for a finite population with a subdivided population structure. Wright’s island model was used; extinction and replacement of colonies were also incorporated. Two alleles ( A , and A , at the first locus, and R , and B, at the second locus) with symmetric mutation rates were assumed, and equilibrium properties of linkage disequilibrium ...

The tiny volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited place on Earth. It lies in the South Atlantic, 1,700 miles and a week’s journey by boat from Cape Town, South Africa. The island’s population of 300 is descended from a handful of founders, mostly shipwreck survivors, who settled there in the 19th century. The small number of founders is reflected in the fact that only se...

Linkage disequilibrium is an important topic in evolutionary and population genetics. An issue yet to be settled is the theory required to extend the linkage disequilibrium analysis to complex traits. In this study, we present theoretical analysis and methods for detecting or estimating linkage disequilibrium (LD) between a polymorphic marker locus and any one of the loci affecting a complex di...

This brief review provides a summary of the biological causes of genetic association between tightly linked markers--termed linkage disequilibrium--and unlinked markers--termed population structure. We also review the utility of linkage disequilibrium data in gene mapping in isolated populations, in the estimation of recombination rates and in studying the history of particular alleles, includi...

Whereas the human linkage map appears on limited evidence to be constant over populations, maps of linkage disequilibrium (LD) vary among populations that differ in gene history. The greatest difference is between populations of sub-Saharan origin and populations remotely derived from Africa after a major bottleneck that reduced their heterozygosity and altered their Malecot parameters, increas...

Limits to the relationship among linkage disequilibrium, selection and recombination at equilibrium in three-locus, two-allele, deterministic, discrete generation models are determined using linear programming techniques. These results show that the commonly used measures of linkage disequilibrium are not appropriate for a multilocus setting. Additionally, interactions among three loci are impo...