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A Two-Locus Forensic Match Probability for Subdivided Populations

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Abstract

A two-locus match probability is presented that incorporates the effects of within-subpopulation inbreeding (consanguinity) in addition to population subdivision. The usual practice of calculating multi-locus match probabilities as the product of single-locus probabilities assumes independence between loci. There are a number of population genetics phenomena that can violate this assumption: in addition to consanguinity, which increases homozygosity at all loci simultaneously, gametic disequilibrium will introduce dependence into DNA profiles. However, in forensics the latter problem is usually addressed in part by the careful choice of unlinked loci. Hence, as is conventional, we assume gametic equilibrium here, and focus instead on between-locus dependence due to consanguinity. The resulting match probability formulae are an extension of existing methods in the literature, and are shown to be more conservative than these methods in the case of double homozygote matches. For two-locus profiles involving one or more heterozygous genotypes, results are similar to, or smaller than, the existing approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Statistics, University of Reading, P.O. Box 240, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6FN, UK

    Karen L. Ayres

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  1. Karen L. Ayres
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Ayres, K.L. A Two-Locus Forensic Match Probability for Subdivided Populations. Genetica 108, 137–143 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004152931349

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