Consanguinity Rates Predict Long Runs of Homozygosity in Jewish Populations

Conclusion: The high correlation between 1950s consanguinity levels and coverage by long ROH explains differences across populations in ROH patterns. The dissection of ROH into length classes and the comparison to consanguinity data assist in understanding a number of additional phenomena, including similarities of Jewish populations to Middle Eastern, European, and Central and South Asian non-Jewish populations in short ROH patterns, relative lengths of identity-by-descent tracts in different Jewish groups, and the “population isolate” status of the Ashkenazi Jews.Hum Hered 2016;82:87-102

Source: Human Heredity - October 25, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research