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Microsatellite null alleles in parentage analysis.

E E Dakin¹, J C Avise

¹Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. elmccoy@uga.edu

|August 5, 2004

Summary

Microsatellite null alleles can cause errors in parentage analysis. While often having minor effects on average, they can lead to false exclusions in specific mating events, impacting population genetics studies.

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Area of Science:

Population genetics
Molecular ecology
Genetics

Background:

Microsatellite markers are crucial for population genetic analyses, including parentage and mating system studies.
A significant challenge with microsatellites is the occurrence of null alleles, which fail to amplify during PCR, potentially affecting data accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the detection and handling of microsatellite null alleles in published literature.
To assess the impact of null alleles on molecular parentage analyses using simulations and analytical methods.

Main Methods:

Systematic review of 233 scientific articles reporting suspected microsatellite null alleles.
Computer simulations and analytical treatments to model the effects of null alleles on parentage exclusion probabilities.

Main Results:

Null alleles, at typical reported frequencies, introduce minor biases in average exclusion probabilities.
However, these null alleles can cause substantial errors in specific parentage assessments, leading to frequent false exclusions.

Conclusions:

The presence of microsatellite null alleles requires careful consideration in population genetic studies.
While average exclusion probabilities may be only slightly affected, specific parentage assignments can be significantly compromised by null alleles.

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