I've heard that the rate of recombination for men is on average something like 2/3 the rate for women. Presumably this means that the direct male line downward from a given ancestor is more likely (but not guaranteed) to transmit large chunks of autosomal DNA than other lines? Given the large element of random chance in this process it probably doesn't pay to make too much of it, but I've noticed some simply enormous matches that I'm struggling to explain.
Practical application to the theory?
Collapse
X
-
The conclusion that human females have a higher frequency of recombination than human males is well documented, but remember that the figures cited are averages. There are almost certainly other sources of variation in the rate of recombination between individuals, families, and populations.
From the available data, it is reasonable that somewhat larger segments will be passed down in the patrilineal line as compared with the matrilineal line, for the same number of generations. However, recombination is basically a random process. While it would make sense to expect larger segments on average, I doubt you would be able to demonstrate that any particular segment in an individual is patrilineal based only on its size.
-
Comment