Interval mapping of quantitative trait loci using a sib-pair linkage method

Fulker and Cardon's interval mapping extension of Haseman and Elston's sib-pair linkage method was used to map loci affecting the quantitative phenotypes presented as part of Problem 2, both adjusted and not adjusted for covariates: Q1 was adjusted for age and the environmental factor (EF); Q2 and Q3 for EF; and Q4 for age, sex, and EF. Adjusted Q2 and Q4 were also log-transformed. The effect of candidate locus C5 (D5G28) on Q1 was detected by a test of association--apparently, allele 1 of C5 is protective (leading to lower values of Q1), allele 2 has no effect, and allele 3 contributes to elevated levels of Q1. C5 accounted for 5.2% of the variation in Q1; it was included as an additional concomitant in the adjustment procedure. Analysis of the correlational structure among the variables revealed that Q4 was not associated with either affected status or Q1 after controlling for the effects of age, and we concluded that Q4 probably does not itself play a role in the etiology of the disease. Mapping studies using a significance level of 0.05 lead to the detection of all the genes, but also resulted in a high frequency of false positive results. On the other hand, using a 0.0005 significance level resulted in the detection of D2G10-11 for both Q1 and Q3, and D1G2 was detected for Q2. One false positive was detected using this significance level and the effects of D1G2 on Q1 and D5G22-23 on Q4 were missed. There was no systematic effect of adjustment for covariates on the detection of loci, although in general, analysis of adjusted phenotypes yielded substantially higher rates of false positives. Finally, this mapping approach correctly located D1G2 and D2G10-11 for Q1 using the nonadjusted phenotype, and D1G10-11 for Q3 using the adjusted phenotype. The maximum difference between the estimated map location from the true location was 1.5 cM. It would be important to estimate the error interval around these inferred locations in order to assess the utility of this method for fine mapping over small (e.g,. 2 cM) intervals.