Genome Scan for Parent-of-Origin Effects in Alcoholism
Author Information
Author(s): Liu Xiao-Qing, Greenwood Celia MT, Wang Ke-Sheng, Paterson Andrew D
Primary Institution: The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto
Hypothesis
To conduct a genome-wide search for loci that may have strong parent-of-origin linkage effects in alcoholism.
Conclusion
The study found evidence of excess maternal sharing on chromosome 12 and possible paternal linkage effects on chromosome 7 and maternal linkage effects on chromosome 10.
Supporting Evidence
- Significant maternal linkage effects were observed on chromosome 12.
- The two SNP sets did not improve linkage signals compared to microsatellite markers.
- Possible paternal linkage effects were found on chromosome 7.
- Maternal linkage effects were found on chromosome 10 using SNP panels.
Takeaway
Researchers looked for genetic clues in families to see if alcoholism is influenced by which parent a gene comes from, and they found some interesting patterns.
Methodology
Nonparametric linkage analyses were performed using ALLEGRO with microsatellite markers and SNPs.
Potential Biases
Some significant parental effects could occur by chance due to the large number of tests conducted.
Limitations
The test for parental effect assumes independence of paternal and maternal allele sharing, which may not hold true under non-additive genetic models.
Participant Demographics
112 Caucasian families were included in the study.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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