Measuring departures from Hardy-Weinberg: A Markov chain Monte Carlo method for estimating the inbreeding coefficient

Abstract

Many well-established statistical methods in genetics were developed in a climate of severe constraints on computational power. Recent advances in simulation methodology now bring modem, flexible statistical methods within the reach of scientists having access to a desktop workstation. We illustrate the potential advantages now available by considering the problem of assessing departures from Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium. Several hypothesis tests of HW have been established, as well as a variety of point estimation methods for the parameter f, which measures departures from HW under the inbreeding model. We propose a computational, Bayesian method for assessing departures from HW, which h..