randomPed: Random pedigree

In pedtools: Creating and Working with Pedigrees and Marker Data

Random pedigree

Description

Generate a random connected pedigree by applying random mating starting from a finite population.

Usage

randomPed(n, founders = 2, maxDirectGap = 1, selfing = FALSE, seed = NULL)

Arguments

n	A positive integer: the total number of individuals. Must be at least 3.
founders	A positive integer: the number of founders. Must be at least 2 unless selfing is allowed.
maxDirectGap	An integer; the maximum distance between direct descendants allowed to mate. For example, the default value of 1 allows parent-child mating, but not grandparent-grandchild. Use Inf or NULL for no restrictions.
selfing	A logical indicating if selfing is allowed. Default: FALSE.
seed	An integer seed for the random number generator (optional).

Details

Starting from an initial set of founders, a sequence of n - founders random matings is simulated. The sampling of parents in each mating is set up to ensure that the final result is connected.

Value

A connected pedigree returned as a ped object.

Examples

plot(randomPed(n = 7, seed = 12))

# Disallow mating between direct descendants
plot(randomPed(n = 7, seed = 12, maxDirectGap = 0))

# No restrictions on mating between direct descendants
plot(randomPed(n = 7, seed = 12, maxDirectGap = Inf))

# Allow selfing
y = randomPed(5, seed = 2, selfing = TRUE)
hasSelfing(y)
y
plot(y, arrows = TRUE)

pedtools documentation built on Aug. 8, 2025, 6:41 p.m.