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Genomic Assortative Mating in Marriages in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Guang Guo
  • Lin Wang
  • Hexuan Liu
  • Thomas Randall

Abstract

Assortative mating in phenotype in human marriages has been widely observed. Using genome-wide genotype data from the Framingham Heart study (FHS; number of married couples = 989) and Health Retirement Survey (HRS; number of married couples = 3,474), this study investigates genomic assortative mating in human marriages. Two types of genomic marital correlations are calculated. The first is a correlation specific to a single married couple “averaged” over all available autosomal single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). In FHS, the average married-couple correlation is 0.0018 with p = 3×10−5; in HRS, it is 0.0017 with p = 7.13×10−13. The marital correlation among the positively assorting SNPs is 0.001 (p = .0043) in FHS and 0.015 (p = 1.66×10−24) in HRS. The sizes of these estimates in FHS and HRS are consistent with what are suggested by the distribution of the allelic combination. The study also estimated SNP-specific correlation “averaged” over all married couples. Suggestive evidence is reported. Future studies need to consider a more general form of genomic assortment, in which different allelic forms in homologous genes and non-homologous genes result in the same phenotype.

Suggested Citation

  • Guang Guo & Lin Wang & Hexuan Liu & Thomas Randall, 2014. "Genomic Assortative Mating in Marriages in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0112322
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112322
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