Summary of contributions to GAW Group 5: linkage mapping methods, Problem 2

Here I summarize the contributions to Group 5 of Genetic Analysis Workshop 14, held in Noordwijkerhout in The Netherlands. The theme of this group was linkage mapping methods applied to the simulated data (Problem 2). A variety of approaches were taken, and a number of questions were examined. In addition to testing for linkage in regions harboring known disease or modifying loci, or testing for linkage across the genome, the contributions addressed such issues as whether power/significance could be improved by making use of subphenotypes in addition to the primary disease phenotype, by modeling interactions between loci, or by using meta-analytic approaches to combine results from different populations. Most contributions were successful in identifying known disease loci D1 and D2, and for those contributions that examined the relevant regions, in identifying disease loci D3 and D4. The power to detect modifying loci D5 and D6 appeared to be lower. Some gain in power/significance was found from making use of subphenotypes and meta-analytic approaches.