Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications

Talk abstract:

Effects of population structure on paternity calculations

Bruce Weir, North Carolina State University

When an alleged father is not excluded on genetic grounds from being the father of a child, it is customary to present a "paternity index." This is the ratio of the probability of the child's genotype if the alleged father is the father, divided by the probability of the child's genotype if some other man is the father. Although attention has been paid to the situation where the alleged father is related to the father, little attention has been given to the case when these two men, although different, have some evolutioanry relationship by virtue of belonging to the same subpopulation. Both family and evolutionary relationships can be accommodated by the same set of population structure parameters. The net result in either case is to lessen the weight of genetic evidence in paternity disputes.

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