diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepth.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepth.java
index aff38419c..7ebbd49dd 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepth.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepth.java
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.interfaces.ActiveRegionBa
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.interfaces.AnnotatorCompatible;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.interfaces.InfoFieldAnnotation;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.interfaces.StandardAnnotation;
+import org.broadinstitute.sting.utils.MathUtils;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.utils.genotyper.PerReadAlleleLikelihoodMap;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.utils.variant.GATKVariantContextUtils;
 import org.broadinstitute.variant.vcf.VCFHeaderLineType;
@@ -86,7 +87,8 @@ public class QualByDepth extends InfoFieldAnnotation implements StandardAnnotati
         if ( genotypes == null || genotypes.size() == 0 )
             return null;
 
-        int depth = 0;
+        int standardDepth = 0;
+        int ADrestrictedDepth = 0;
 
         for ( final Genotype genotype : genotypes ) {
 
@@ -101,39 +103,43 @@ public class QualByDepth extends InfoFieldAnnotation implements StandardAnnotati
             // TODO --  annotations must come afterwards (so that QD can use the AD).
             if ( genotype.hasAD() ) {
                 final int[] AD = genotype.getAD();
-                int variantDepth = 0;
-                for ( int i = 1; i < AD.length; i++ )
-                    variantDepth += AD[i];
-                if ( variantDepth <= 1 )
-                    continue;
+                final int totalADdepth = (int)MathUtils.sum(AD);
+                if ( totalADdepth - AD[0] > 1 )
+                    ADrestrictedDepth += totalADdepth;
+                standardDepth += totalADdepth;
+                continue;
             }
 
             if (stratifiedContexts!= null && !stratifiedContexts.isEmpty()) {
                 final AlignmentContext context = stratifiedContexts.get(genotype.getSampleName());
                 if ( context == null )
                     continue;
-                depth += context.getBasePileup().depthOfCoverage();
+                standardDepth += context.getBasePileup().depthOfCoverage();
 
             } else if (perReadAlleleLikelihoodMap != null) {
                 final PerReadAlleleLikelihoodMap perReadAlleleLikelihoods = perReadAlleleLikelihoodMap.get(genotype.getSampleName());
                 if (perReadAlleleLikelihoods == null || perReadAlleleLikelihoods.isEmpty())
                     continue;
 
-                depth += perReadAlleleLikelihoods.getNumberOfStoredElements();
+                standardDepth += perReadAlleleLikelihoods.getNumberOfStoredElements();
             } else if ( genotype.hasDP() ) {
-                depth += genotype.getDP();
+                standardDepth += genotype.getDP();
             }
         }
 
-        if ( depth == 0 )
+        // if the AD-restricted depth is a usable value (i.e. not zero), then we should use that one going forward
+        if ( ADrestrictedDepth > 0 )
+            standardDepth = ADrestrictedDepth;
+
+        if ( standardDepth == 0 )
             return null;
 
         final double altAlleleLength = GATKVariantContextUtils.getMeanAltAlleleLength(vc);
-	// Hack: when refContext == null then we know we are coming from the HaplotypeCaller and do not want to do a
-	//  full length-based normalization (because the indel length problem is present only in the UnifiedGenotyper)
-        double QD = -10.0 * vc.getLog10PError() / ((double)depth * indelNormalizationFactor(altAlleleLength, ref != null));
+        // Hack: when refContext == null then we know we are coming from the HaplotypeCaller and do not want to do a
+        //  full length-based normalization (because the indel length problem is present only in the UnifiedGenotyper)
+        double QD = -10.0 * vc.getLog10PError() / ((double)standardDepth * indelNormalizationFactor(altAlleleLength, ref != null));
 
-	// Hack: see note in the fixTooHighQD method below
+        // Hack: see note in the fixTooHighQD method below
         QD = fixTooHighQD(QD);
 
         final Map<String, Object> map = new HashMap<>();
@@ -149,7 +155,7 @@ public class QualByDepth extends InfoFieldAnnotation implements StandardAnnotati
      * @return a possitive double
      */
     private double indelNormalizationFactor(final double altAlleleLength, final boolean increaseNormalizationAsLengthIncreases) {
-	return ( increaseNormalizationAsLengthIncreases ? Math.max(altAlleleLength / 3.0, 1.0) : 1.0);
+        return ( increaseNormalizationAsLengthIncreases ? Math.max(altAlleleLength / 3.0, 1.0) : 1.0);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFs.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFs.java
index 314f6ae42..0f577cb23 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFs.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFs.java
@@ -205,12 +205,25 @@ public class CombineGVCFs extends RodWalker<CombineGVCFs.PositionalState, Combin
         if ( VCs == null ) throw new IllegalArgumentException("The list of VariantContexts cannot be null");
 
         for ( final VariantContext vc : VCs ) {
-            if ( vc.getEnd() == pos )
+            if ( isEndingContext(vc, pos) )
                 return true;
         }
         return false;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Does the given variant context end (in terms of reference blocks, not necessarily formally) at the given position.
+     * Note that for the purposes of this method/tool, deletions are considered to be single base events (as opposed to
+     * reference blocks), hence the check for the number of alleles (because we know there will always be a <NON_REF> allele).
+     *
+     * @param vc   the variant context
+     * @param pos  the position to query against
+     * @return true if this variant context "ends" at this position, false otherwise
+     */
+    private boolean isEndingContext(final VariantContext vc, final int pos) {
+        return vc.getNAlleles() > 2 || vc.getEnd() == pos;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Disrupt the VariantContexts so that they all stop at the given pos, write them out, and put the remainder back in the list.
      *
@@ -228,10 +241,8 @@ public class CombineGVCFs extends RodWalker<CombineGVCFs.PositionalState, Combin
 
                 stoppedVCs.add(vc);
 
-                // if it was ending anyways, then remove it from the future state;
-                // note that for the purposes of this method, deletions are considered to be single base events (as opposed
-                // to ref blocks), hence the check for the number of alleles (because we know there will always be a <NON_REF> allele)
-                if ( vc.getNAlleles() > 2 || vc.getEnd() == pos )
+                // if it was ending anyways, then remove it from the future state
+                if ( isEndingContext(vc, pos) )
                     state.VCs.remove(i);
             }
         }
diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFs.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFs.java
index afd657ea3..134ed0cd1 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFs.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/main/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFs.java
@@ -56,10 +56,8 @@ import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.Reference;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.RodWalker;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.TreeReducible;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.Window;
-import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.ChromosomeCountConstants;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.VariantAnnotatorEngine;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.annotator.interfaces.AnnotatorCompatible;
-import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.genotyper.GenotypeLikelihoodsCalculationModel;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.genotyper.UnifiedArgumentCollection;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.gatk.walkers.genotyper.UnifiedGenotyperEngine;
 import org.broadinstitute.sting.utils.GenomeLoc;
@@ -154,10 +152,14 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFs extends RodWalker<VariantContext, VariantContextWrite
 
 
     public void initialize() {
+        // create the annotation engine
+        annotationEngine = new VariantAnnotatorEngine(Arrays.asList("none"), annotationsToUse, Collections.<String>emptyList(), this, getToolkit());
+
         // take care of the VCF headers
         final Map<String, VCFHeader> vcfRods = GATKVCFUtils.getVCFHeadersFromRods(getToolkit());
         final Set<VCFHeaderLine> headerLines = VCFUtils.smartMergeHeaders(vcfRods.values(), true);
-        headerLines.addAll(Arrays.asList(ChromosomeCountConstants.descriptions));
+        headerLines.addAll(annotationEngine.getVCFAnnotationDescriptions());
+        VCFStandardHeaderLines.addStandardInfoLines(headerLines, true, VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_COUNT_KEY, VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_FREQUENCY_KEY);
         if ( dbsnp != null && dbsnp.dbsnp.isBound() )
             VCFStandardHeaderLines.addStandardInfoLines(headerLines, true, VCFConstants.DBSNP_KEY);
 
@@ -168,9 +170,6 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFs extends RodWalker<VariantContext, VariantContextWrite
         // create the genotyping engine
         genotypingEngine = new UnifiedGenotyperEngine(getToolkit(), new UnifiedArgumentCollection(), logger, null, null, samples, GATKVariantContextUtils.DEFAULT_PLOIDY);
 
-        // create the annotation engine
-        annotationEngine = new VariantAnnotatorEngine(Arrays.asList("none"), annotationsToUse, Collections.<String>emptyList(), this, getToolkit());
-
         // collect the actual rod bindings into a list for use later
         for ( final RodBindingCollection<VariantContext> variantCollection : variantCollections )
             variants.addAll(variantCollection.getRodBindings());
@@ -206,7 +205,13 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFs extends RodWalker<VariantContext, VariantContextWrite
             final VariantContext regenotypedVC = genotypingEngine.calculateGenotypes(result);
             if ( regenotypedVC == null )
                 return null;
-            result = new VariantContextBuilder(regenotypedVC).attributes(originalVC.getAttributes()).make();
+
+            // we want to carry forward the attributes from the original VC but make sure to add the MLE-based annotations
+            final Map<String, Object> attrs = new HashMap<>(originalVC.getAttributes());
+            attrs.put(VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_COUNT_KEY, regenotypedVC.getAttribute(VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_COUNT_KEY));
+            attrs.put(VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_FREQUENCY_KEY, regenotypedVC.getAttribute(VCFConstants.MLE_ALLELE_FREQUENCY_KEY));
+
+            result = new VariantContextBuilder(regenotypedVC).attributes(attrs).make();
         }
 
         // if it turned monomorphic and we don't want such sites, quit
diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepthUnitTest.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepthUnitTest.java
index 4494e16bf..a118a462d 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepthUnitTest.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/annotator/QualByDepthUnitTest.java
@@ -69,9 +69,6 @@ public class QualByDepthUnitTest extends WalkerTest {
 
         final List<Allele> AA = Arrays.asList(A,A);
         final List<Allele> AC = Arrays.asList(A,C);
-        final List<Allele> CC = Arrays.asList(C,C);
-        final List<Allele> AG = Arrays.asList(A,G);
-        final List<Allele> CG = Arrays.asList(C,G);
         final List<Allele> GG = Arrays.asList(G,G);
         final List<Allele> ACG = Arrays.asList(A,C,G);
 
@@ -81,6 +78,7 @@ public class QualByDepthUnitTest extends WalkerTest {
         final Genotype gGG = new GenotypeBuilder("4", GG).DP(10).AD(new int[]{1,9}).make();
 
         tests.add(new Object[]{new VariantContextBuilder("test", "20", 10, 10, AC).log10PError(-5).genotypes(Arrays.asList(gAC)).make(), 5.0});
+        tests.add(new Object[]{new VariantContextBuilder("test", "20", 10, 10, AC).log10PError(-5).genotypes(Arrays.asList(gACerror)).make(), 5.0});
         tests.add(new Object[]{new VariantContextBuilder("test", "20", 10, 10, AC).log10PError(-5).genotypes(Arrays.asList(gAA, gAC)).make(), 5.0});
         tests.add(new Object[]{new VariantContextBuilder("test", "20", 10, 10, AC).log10PError(-5).genotypes(Arrays.asList(gAC, gACerror)).make(), 5.0});
         tests.add(new Object[]{new VariantContextBuilder("test", "20", 10, 10, ACG).log10PError(-5).genotypes(Arrays.asList(gAA, gAC, gACerror, gGG)).make(), 2.5});
diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
index 17b9124aa..03d136290 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ public class CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
         final File gVCF = executeTest("testOneHasDeletionAndTwoHasRefBlock", spec).first.get(0);
         final List<VariantContext> allVCs = GATKVCFUtils.readVCF(gVCF).getSecond();
 
-        Assert.assertEquals(allVCs.size(), 2);
+        Assert.assertEquals(allVCs.size(), 3);
 
         final VariantContext first = allVCs.get(0);
         Assert.assertEquals(first.getStart(), 69772);
@@ -149,14 +149,19 @@ public class CombineGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
 
         final VariantContext second = allVCs.get(1);
         Assert.assertEquals(second.getStart(), 69773);
-        Assert.assertEquals(second.getEnd(), 69783);
+        Assert.assertEquals(second.getEnd(), 69774);
         Assert.assertEquals(second.getGenotypes().size(), 2);
+
+        final VariantContext third = allVCs.get(2);
+        Assert.assertEquals(third.getStart(), 69775);
+        Assert.assertEquals(third.getEnd(), 69783);
+        Assert.assertEquals(third.getGenotypes().size(), 2);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testMD5s() throws Exception {
         final String cmd = baseTestString(" -L 1:69485-69791");
-        final WalkerTestSpec spec = new WalkerTestSpec(cmd, 1, Arrays.asList("d2a5ca67a8ef6e27854e7a439883f05d"));
+        final WalkerTestSpec spec = new WalkerTestSpec(cmd, 1, Arrays.asList("aecdfa9eb32b802cd629e9f811ef15fd"));
         spec.disableShadowBCF();
         executeTest("testMD5s", spec);
     }
diff --git a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest.java b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
index da7ec3dd4..fff353c60 100644
--- a/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/protected/gatk-protected/src/test/java/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantutils/GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest.java
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
                         " -V:sample3 " + privateTestDir + "combine.single.sample.pipeline.3.vcf" +
                         " -L 20:10,000,000-20,000,000", b37KGReference),
                 1,
-                Arrays.asList("54487ea151c49d36a15eac8097a7e460"));
+                Arrays.asList("ebda39d3343b34d21490a78284ed88e8"));
         executeTest("combineSingleSamplePipelineGVCF", spec);
     }
 
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
                         " -V:sample3 " + privateTestDir + "combine.single.sample.pipeline.3.vcf" +
                         " -L 20:10,000,000-11,000,000 --dbsnp " + b37dbSNP132, b37KGReference),
                 1,
-                Arrays.asList("9e6ef126d5e872e5b2a68c3d73471566"));
+                Arrays.asList("8eeda24a07f66d67b7639a31fda5c903"));
         executeTest("combineSingleSamplePipelineGVCF_addDbsnp", spec);
     }
 
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
                 "-T GenotypeGVCFs --no_cmdline_in_header -L 1:69485-69791 -o %s -R " + b37KGReference +
                 " -V " + privateTestDir + "gvcfExample1.vcf",
                 1,
-                Arrays.asList("dd0e2846b3be9692ecb94f152b45c316"));
+                Arrays.asList("2541e164056d5632ad7de784a9af3880"));
         executeTest("testJustOneSample", spec);
     }
 
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ public class GenotypeGVCFsIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
                         " -V " + privateTestDir + "gvcfExample1.vcf" +
                         " -V " + privateTestDir + "gvcfExample2.vcf",
                 1,
-                Arrays.asList("a4f76a094af4708fc7f96a9b7a1b8726"));
+                Arrays.asList("9daf9602338db9d06c075c6e9a15ee2c"));
         executeTest("testSamplesWithDifferentLs", spec);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file