Stammbaummodell

StammbaumModell is a tree-like representation of relationships among individuals across generations, used in genetics, genealogy, and related fields to study inheritance and relatedness. In its simplest form, it comprises nodes that represent individuals and edges that denote parent–child relationships.

Typically, edges are directed from parents to offspring, and a founder is an individual with no known parents. A standard pedigree limits each person to two parents, while allowing multiple offspring. Nodes may carry attributes such as name, birth and death dates, sex, and genetic or phenotypic information. Edges can encode additional data, such as biological relatedness or generational order.

Applications of the StammbaumModell include tracing the inheritance of traits and diseases, performing linkage and heritability analyses, and aiding population genetics studies. In genealogy, pedigrees help reconstruct ancestry and verify family connections. In medical contexts, they support risk assessment and the interpretation of inheritance patterns, including autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked modes.

Variants of the model range from simple family trees to more complex graphs that incorporate adoptions, step-relations, and missing information. In computational settings, StammbaumModell can be implemented as trees or directed acyclic graphs and may be enriched with probabilistic or statistical annotations to reflect uncertainty in relationships or genotypes.

Limitations arise from incomplete or inaccurate data, pedigree collapse (repeated ancestors in a small population), non-paternity events, and non-genetic forms of inheritance. Despite these challenges, the StammbaumModell remains a fundamental tool for organizing genealogical and genetic information.