The utility of deviant sib pairs in the detection of linkage

A tripartite sampling design was used to help deduce the genetic structure of a complex biological system. Univariate and multivariate population parameters were estimated from an age/sex stratified sample of unrelated individuals. Estimates of familial resemblance between and within continuous variables were obtained from a sample of randomly ascertained nuclear families. Finally, a sample of highly deviant concordant and discordant independent sib pairs facilitated the discovery of major genes through multipoint linkage analysis. No false positive signals were inferred. The pleiotropic effects of major genes, however, became obscured when linkage analysis was performed on adjusted quantitative variables. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.