A general transmission probability model for pedigree data

Abstract

The three basic transmission probabilities of the two-allele autosomal genetic model proposed by Elston and Stewart in 1971 are made dependent on sex. It is shown that this more general model, comprising twelve transmission probabilities, subsumes the most important simple modes of genetically or environmentally determined transmission that may be responsible for the familial aggregation of traits. Although this does not necessarily solve the problem of testing alternative hypotheses, it provides a holistic parametrization of familial transmission.