%0 Journal Article %J PLoS One %D 2014 %T Genomic assortative mating in marriages in the United States. %A Guo, Guang %A Wang, Lin %A Hexuan Liu %A Randall, Thomas %K Data collection %K Female %K Genome, Human %K Genomics %K Genotype %K Humans %K Male %K Marriage %K Middle Aged %K Phenotype %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Reproduction %K United States %X

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.

%B PLoS One %V 9 %P e112322 %8 2014 %G eng %N 11 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25384046?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0112322