UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Marker-based estimates of relatedness and inbreeding coefficients: an assessment of current methods

Wang, J; (2014) Marker-based estimates of relatedness and inbreeding coefficients: an assessment of current methods. Journal of Evolutionary Biology , 27 (3) pp. 518-530. 10.1111/jeb.12315. Green open access

[thumbnail of Wang Restimator_V4.pdf]
Preview
Text
Wang Restimator_V4.pdf

Download (714kB) | Preview

Abstract

Inbreeding (F) of and relatedness (r) between individuals are now routinely calculated from marker data in studies in the fields of quantitative genetics, conservation genetics, forensics, evolution and ecology. Although definable in terms of either correlation coefficient or probability of identity by descent (IBD) relative to a reference, they are better interpreted as correlations in marker‐based analyses because the reference in practice is frequently the current sample or population whose F and r are being estimated. In such situations, negative estimates have a biological meaning, a substantial proportion of the estimates are expected to be negative, and the average estimates are close to zero for r and equivalent to FIS for F. I show that although current r estimators were developed from the IBD‐based concept of relatedness, some of them conform to the correlation‐based concept of relatedness and some do not. The latter estimators can be modified, however, so that they estimate r as a correlation coefficient. I also show that F and r estimates can be misleading and become biased and marker dependent when a sample containing a high proportion of highly inbred and/or closely related individuals is used as reference. In analyses depending on the comparison between r (or F) estimates and a priori values expected under ideal conditions (e.g. for identifying genealogical relationship), the estimators should be used with caution.

Type: Article
Title: Marker-based estimates of relatedness and inbreeding coefficients: an assessment of current methods
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12315
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.12315
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Genetic markers; identical by descent; inbreeding coefficient; relatedness.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061200
Downloads since deposit
878Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item