Simulation of population size and genome saturation level for genetic mapping of recombinant inbred lines (RILs)

ABSTRACT

Various population sizes and number of markers have been used to obtain genetic maps. However, the precise number of individuals and markers needed for obtaining reliable maps is not known. We used data simulation to determine the influence of population size, the effect of the degree of marker saturation of the genome, and the number of individuals required for mapping of recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Three genomes with 11 linkage groups were generated with saturation levels of 5, 10 and 20 cM. For each saturation level populations were generated with 50, 100, 154, 200, 300, 500 and 800 individuals with 100 replications for each population size. A total of 2100 populations was generated and mapped. Small marker numbers and small population sizes produced maps with more than 11 linkage groups. As population size and marker saturation increased, marker inversion and non-linked markers decreased, moreover, between-marker distance estimates were improved. In this study, a minimum size of 200, 300 and 500 individuals were necessary for obtaining reliable maps when they were evaluated over the saturation levels of 5, 10 and 20 cM, respectively.