title: The genome-wide distribution of background linkage disequilibrium in a population isolate.
abstract: Recent interest in using association studies to investigate complex traits has focused attention on understanding linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the human genome. We examined the genome-wide distribution and magnitude of such background LD (BLD) using 1036 densely spaced microsatellites, in a sample from the demographically well characterized population of the Central Valley of Costa Rica. High levels of BLD were found between linked markers several centiMorgans apart, and although BLD was significantly related to genetic distance between markers it was not spread uniformly throughout the genome. Understanding the forces governing the distribution of BLD in the genome will require similar investigations using a standard set of markers in other populations.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, UCLA, Gonda Center, Room 3506, 695 Charles E. Young Drive South, Box 951761, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1761, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Service
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ophoff
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Freimer
mesh_terms: D005819:Genetic Markers; D005828:Genetics, Population; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers