Magnitude and distribution of linkage disequilibrium in population isolates and implications for genome-wide association studies.
The genome-wide distribution of linkage disequilibrium (LD) determines the strategy for selecting markers for association studies, but it varies between populations. We assayed LD in large samples (200 individuals) from each of 11 well-described population isolates and an outbred European-derived sample, using SNP markers spaced across chromosome 22. Most isolates show substantially higher levels of LD than the outbred sample and many fewer regions of very low LD (termed 'holes'). Young isolates known to have had relatively few founders show particularly extensive LD with very few holes; these populations offer substantial advantages for genome-wide association mapping.
Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Susan
S
Service
Joseph
J
DeYoung
Maria
M
Karayiorgou
J Louw
JL
Roos
Herman
H
Pretorious
Gabriel
G
Bedoya
Jorge
J
Ospina
Andres
A
Ruiz-Linares
António
A
Macedo
Joana Almeida
JA
Palha
Peter
P
Heutink
Yurii
Y
Aulchenko
Ben
B
Oostra
Cornelia
C
van Duijn
Marjo-Riitta
MR
Jarvelin
Teppo
T
Varilo
Lynette
L
Peddle
Proton
P
Rahman
Giovanna
G
Piras
Maria
M
Monne
Sarah
S
Murray
Luana
L
Galver
Leena
L
Peltonen
Chiara
C
Sabatti
Andrew
A
Collins
Nelson
N
Freimer
D002892:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22; D005828:Genetics, Population; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide