title: SAGE programs: model-free linkage analysis for complex cardiovascular phenotypes.
abstract: A complex disease trait refers to a phenotype that does not follow simple Mendelian segregation attributable to a single gene locus, but instead may be caused by multiple disease loci, their interactions, polygenic inheritance, and environmental effects. Most cardiovascular disorders are thought to have a polygenic basis with complex interactions with environmental factors. A gene that increases or decreases the risk to a complex cardiovascular disease (susceptibility gene) can now be mapped to a specific chromosomal region by model-free linkage analysis, and follow-up molecular genetic studies can identify the specific gene at the locus. This chapter describes a protocol for model-free linkage analysis of a complex trait, as implemented in the popular genetic analysis software-SAGE. In particular, the Haseman-Elston sib-pair regression method is introduced and implemented with examples to demonstrate how to identify susceptibility loci for complex traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cardiology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Shaoqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Qing K
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010641:Phenotype; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012984:Software