Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2005 / iii / Paper 45 / 2 / a / Solution

The kinship coefficient ${\varphi }_{XY}$ is the probability that a randomly selected allele copy from individual $X$ and an independently selected copy from individual $Y$ at the same genetic locus are identical by descent. The sampling is of gene copies, not of whole genotypes. For a noninbred individual $X$, sampling its two copies with replacement gives ${\varphi }_{XX}=1/2$; in general ${\varphi }_{XX}=(1+F_X)/2$, where $F_X$ is its inbreeding coefficient.

For two full siblings in an outbred pedigree, the two sampled copies are both paternal with probability $1/4$, both maternal with probability $1/4$, and of different parental origin with probability $1/2$. Given that both are paternal, their independent Mendelian segregation transmissions select the same paternal ancestral copy with probability $1/2$; likewise for both maternal. The different-parent case cannot be identical by descent when the parents are unrelated. ThereforeEquivalently, conditional on an IBD-sharing count $J$, the chance that the two random copies match is $J/4$, so ${\varphi }_{\mathrm{sib}}=E[J]/4=1/4$. The expected shared proportion $E[J/2]=1/2$ and the usual additive relationship coefficient $2\varphi =1/2$ are twice this kinship coefficient; confusing these conventions would double the subsequent inbreeding coefficient.