Calibrating the genome

J Appl Meas. 2004;5(2):129-41.

Abstract

Purpose: This project demonstrates how to calibrate different samples and scales of genomic information to a common scale of genomic measurement.

Materials and methods: 1,113 persons were genotyped at the 13 Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) short tandem repeat (STR) marker loci used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for human identity testing. A measurement model of form ln[(P(nik))/(1-P(nik))] = B(n)-D(i)-L(k) is used to construct person measures and locus calibrations from information contained in the CODIS database. Winsteps (Wright and Linacre, 2003) is employed to maximize initial estimates and to investigate the necessity and sufficiency of different rating classification schema.

Results: Model fit is satisfactory in all analyses. Study outcomes are found in Tables 1-6.

Conclusions: Additive, divisible, and interchangeable measures and calibrations can be created from raw genomic information that transcend sample- and scale-dependencies associated with racial and ethnic descent, chromosomal location, and locus-specific allele expansion structures.

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Calibration
  • Genomics / methods*
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Models, Genetic*
  • Tandem Repeat Sequences