Contribution of Inbred Singletons to Variance Component Estimation of Heritability and Linkage.

OBJECTIVES: An interesting consequence of consanguinity is that the inbred singleton becomes informative for genetic variance. We determine the contribution of an inbred singleton to variance component analysis of heritability and linkage.

METHODS: Statistical theory for the power of variance component analysis of quantitative traits is used to determine the expected contribution of an inbred singleton to likelihood-ratio tests of heritability and linkage.

RESULTS: In variance component models, an inbred singleton contributes relatively little to a test of heritability but can contribute substantively to a test of linkage. For small-to-moderate quantitative trait locus (QTL) effects and a level of inbreeding comparable to matings between first cousins (the preferred form of union in many human populations), an inbred singleton can carry nearly 25% of the information of a non-inbred sib pair. In more highly inbred contexts available with experimental animal populations, nonhuman primate colonies, and some human subpopulations, the contribution of an inbred singleton relative to a sib pair can exceed 50%.

CONCLUSIONS: Inbred individuals, even in isolation from other members of a sample, can contribute to variance component estimation and tests of heritability and linkage. Under certain conditions, the informativeness of the inbred singleton can approach that of a non-inbred sib pair.