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Comparison of an exact and a simulation method for calculating gene extinction probabilities in pedigrees
Author(s) -
Thomas Alun
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.1430090402
Subject(s) - pedigree chart , biology , loss of heterozygosity , locus (genetics) , genetics , allele , gene , evolutionary biology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , statistics , computational biology , mathematics , paleontology
A comparison is made between a much used simulation method, commonly called gene dropping , and the exact computational technique of peeling . These methods are illustrated using the problem of finding the distribution of the number of distinct ancestral genes surviving at an autosomal locus. Each method is used on several real zoo pedigrees, of varying size and complexity, and the results are compared. Gene dropping is found to be a good approximation to peeling, but for all but the most complex pedigrees surveyed, peeling is preferable. The relationship between heterozygosity and allelic variability is investigated.