Uncertain paternity in primate quantitative genetic studies

Area of Science:

• Quantitative genetics
• Primate evolutionary biology
• Animal breeding

Background:

• Quantitative genetic studies in primates typically rely on varying levels of known genealogical information.
• Paternal relationships are often unknown or only partially inferred in wild or semi-wild primate populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of incorporating probabilistic paternal information on heritability estimates in primate quantitative genetics.
• To determine the conditions under which including incomplete paternal data significantly enhances the power to detect heritability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Henderson's average numerator relationship matrix method.
• Analyzed craniometric data from the Cayo Santiago macaque colony.
• Conducted simulation studies to assess the effect of varying numbers of potential sires on heritability detection power.

Main Results:

• Heritability estimates for craniometric traits were not substantially affected by the addition of incomplete paternal information.
• A significant increase in the power to detect heritability requires a very small number of equally likely sires per offspring.

Conclusions:

• The current practice of omitting probabilistic paternal relationships in primate quantitative genetics studies is likely adequate for many scenarios.
• Substantial improvements in the precision of heritability estimates would necessitate considerable effort in performing paternal exclusions.