ASPEX is a set of programs for performing multipoint exclusion mapping
of affected sibling pair data for discrete traits. There are five
main analysis programs: sib_ibd, sib_phase, sib_map,
sib_tdt, and sib_kin. The sib_ibd and sib_phase
programs are for exclusion mapping. The sib_ibd program is
faster, tailored for data sets where both parents are typed, and makes
no assumptions about missing information. The sib_phase program
is slower, uses allele frequencies to reconstruct missing information,
and is tailored for data sets where parents are missing, but
additional typed children may be used to reconstruct and phase the
parents. The sib_map program is for multipoint marker distance
estimation from sib pair data. The sib_tdt program is for
transmission disequilibrium testing. And the sib_kin program is
for verifying the degree of relatedness of individuals within a
family.
The programs are all written in ANSI C and should be easy to port to any platform with an ANSI standard C compiler. They have a UNIX ``feel'', and are designed to produce simple output that can be easily processed by other programs. In addition to the main programs, we include a few useful utilities for manipulating input and output files, and some sample data and command files.
Source code and documentation for the ASPEX package is available from http://aspex.sourceforge.net/. This site also provides a web-based discussion forum and bug tracking system. Papers using ASPEX should include a citation like: