Relative abundance data can misrepresent heritability of the microbiome.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Host genetics can shape microbiome composition, but to what extent it does, remains unclear. Like any other complex trait, this important question can be addressed by estimating the heritability (h²) of the microbiome-the proportion of variance in the abundance in each taxon that is attributable to host genetic variation. However, unlike most complex traits, microbiome heritability is typically based on relative abundance data, where taxon-specific abundances are expressed as the proportion of the total microbial abundance in a sample.

Results

We derived an analytical approximation for the heritability that one obtains when using such relative, and not absolute, abundances, based on an underlying quantitative genetic model for absolute abundances. Based

SUBMITTER: Bruijning M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10561453 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature