What is genetic linkage?
Genetic linkage is the tendency of two allelic features to be inherited together as an intact unit. Linkage is based upon an analysis of families. When features are close together on a chromosome there is a higher likelihood that they will be inherited together and familial recombination events will not have interfered. The likelihood that features will be inherited together is measured as a log of odds ratio (LOD) e.g. 100:1 or a LOD of 2. The statistical robustness of measuring linkage depends on testing many families so that one can really determine whether features are inherited together because they are linked or whether they are inherited together by chance alone.
