Family-based genome-wide association studies.
In the last 2 years, the effort to identify genes affecting common diseases and complex traits has been accelerated through the use of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The availability of existing large collections of linkage data paved the way for the use of family-based GWAS. Although most published GWAS used population-based designs, family-based designs have played an important role, particularly in replication stages. Family-based designs offer advantages in terms of quality control, the robustness to population stratification and the ability to perform genetic analyses that cannot be achieved using a sample of unrelated individuals, such as testing for the effect of imprinted genes on phenotypes, testing whether a genetic variant is inherited or de novo and combined linkage and association analysis.
Benyamin
Beben
B
Queensland Statistical Genetics Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 300 Herston Road, Brisbane, QLD 4029, Australia. bebenB@qimr.edu.au
Visscher
Peter M
PM
McRae
Allan F
AF
D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015894:Genome, Human; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study / Q000379:methods*; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree