Sample records for allele frequencies varied

  1. Robust Identification of Local Adaptation from Allele Frequencies

    PubMed Central

    Günther, Torsten; Coop, Graham

    2013-01-01

    Comparing allele frequencies among populations that differ in environment has long been a tool for detecting loci involved in local adaptation. However, such analyses are complicated by an imperfect knowledge of population allele frequencies and neutral correlations of allele frequencies among populations due to shared population history and gene flow. Here we develop a set of methods to robustly test for unusual allele frequency patterns and correlations between environmental variables and allele frequencies while accounting for these complications based on a Bayesian model previously implemented in the software Bayenv. Using this model, we calculate a set of “standardized allele frequencies” that allows investigators to apply tests of their choice to multiple populations while accounting for sampling and covariance due to population history. We illustrate this first by showing that these standardized frequencies can be used to detect nonparametric correlations with environmental variables; these correlations are also less prone to spurious results due to outlier populations. We then demonstrate how these standardized allele frequencies can be used to construct a test to detect SNPs that deviate strongly from neutral population structure. This test is conceptually related to FST and is shown to be more powerful, as we account for population history. We also extend the model to next-generation sequencing of population pools—a cost-efficient way to estimate population allele frequencies, but one that introduces an additional level of sampling noise. The utility of these methods is demonstrated in simulations and by reanalyzing human SNP data from the Human Genome Diversity Panel populations and pooled next-generation sequencing data from Atlantic herring. An implementation of our method is available from http://gcbias.org. PMID:23821598

  2. Intracellular population genetics: evidence for random drift of mitochondrial allele frequencies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

    PubMed

    Thrailkill, K M; Birky, C W

    1980-09-01

    We report evidence for random drift of mitochondrial allele frequencies in zygote clones of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Monofactorial and bifactorial crosses were done, using strains resistant or sensitive to erythromycin (alleles Er, Es), oligomycin (Or, Os), or diuron (Dr, Ds). The frequencies of resistant and sensitive cells (and thus the frequencies of the resistant and sensitive alleles) were determined for each of a number of clones of diploid cells arising from individual zygotes. Allele frequencies were extremely variable among these zygote clones; some clones were "uniparental," with mitochondrial alleles from only one parent present. These observations suggest random drift of the allele frequencies in the population of mitochondrial genes within an individual zygote and its diploid progeny. Drift would cease when all the cells in a clone become homoplasmic, due to segregation of the mitochondrial genomes during vegetative cell divisions. To test this, we delayed cell division (and hence segregation) for varying times by starving zygotes in order to give drift more time to operate. As predicted, delaying cell division resulted in an increase in the variance of allele frequencies among the zygote clones and an increase in the proportion of uniparental zygote clones. The changes in form of the allele frequency distributions resembled those seen during random drift in finite Mendelian populations. In bifactorial crosses, genotypes as well as individual alleles were fixed or lost in some zygote clones. However, the mean recombination frequency for a large number of clones did not increase when cell division was delayed. Several possible molecular mechanisms for intracellular random drift are discussed.

  3. Does Narcolepsy Symptom Severity Vary According to HLA-DQB1*0602 Allele Status?

    PubMed Central

    Watson, Nathaniel F.; Ton, Thanh G.N.; Koepsell, Thomas D.; Gersuk, Vivian H.; Longstreth, W.T.

    2010-01-01

    Study Objectives: To investigate associations between HLA-DQB1*0602 allele status and measures of narcolepsy symptom severity. Design: Cross-sectional study of population-based narcolepsy patients. Setting: King County, Washington. Participants: All prevalent cases (n = 279) of physician-diagnosed narcolepsy ascertained from 2001-2005. Interventions: N/A Measurements: Narcolepsy diagnosis was based on cataplexy status, diagnostic sleep study results, and chart review. The number of HLA-DQB1 alleles was determined from buccal genomic DNA. Symptom severity instruments included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Ullanlinna Narcolepsy Scale (UNS), age of symptom onset, subjective sleep latency and duration, and various clinical sleep parameters. We used linear regression adjusted for African American race and an extended chi-square test of trend to assess relationships across ordered groups defined by allele number (0, 1, or 2). Results: Narcolepsy patients were 63% female and 82% Caucasian, with a mean age of 47.6 years (SD = 17.1). One hundred forty-one (51%) patients had no DQB1*0602 alleles; 117 (42%) had one; and 21 (7%) had two. In the complete narcolepsy sample after adjustment for African American race, we observed a linear relationship between HLA-DQB1*0602 frequency and sleepiness as defined by the ESS (P < 0.01), narcolepsy severity as defined by UNS (P < 0.001), age of symptom onset (P < 0.05), and sleep latency (P < 0.001). In univariate analyses, HLA-DQB1*0602 frequency was also associated with napping (P < 0.05) and increased car and work accidents or near accidents (both P < 0.01). Habitual sleep duration was not associated with HLA status. These race-adjusted associations remained for the ESS (P < 0.05), UNS (P < 0.01), and sleep latency (P < 0.001) when restricting to narcolepsy with cataplexy. Conclusions: Narcolepsy symptom severity varies in a linear manner according to HLA-DQB1*0602 allele status. These findings support the notion that HLA

  4. Global distribution of malaria-resistant MHC-HLA alleles: the number and frequencies of alleles and malaria risk.

    PubMed

    Garamszegi, László Zsolt

    2014-09-03

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the most polymorphic genetic region in vertebrates, but the origin of such genetic diversity remains unresolved. Several studies have demonstrated at the within-population level that individuals harbouring particular alleles can be less or more susceptible to malaria, but these do not allow strong generalization. Here worldwide data on the frequencies of several hundred MHC alleles of the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system in relation to malaria risk at the between-population level were analysed in a phylogenetic framework, and results for different alleles were quantitatively summarized in a meta-analysis. There was an overall positive relationship between malaria pressure and the frequency of several HLA alleles indicating that allele frequencies increase in countries with strong malaria pressure. Nevertheless, considerable heterogeneity was observed across alleles, and some alleles showed a remarkable negative relationship with malaria risk. When heterogeneities were partitioned into different organization groups of the MHC, the strongest positive relationships were detected for alleles of the HLA-A and HLA-B loci, but there were also differences between MHC supertypes that constitute functionally distinct nucleotide sequences. Finally, the number of MHC alleles that are maintained within countries was also related to malaria risk. Therefore, malaria represents a key selection pressure for the human MHC and has left clear evolutionary footprints on both the frequencies and the number of alleles observed in different countries.

  5. Frequency of Cry1F resistance alleles in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Farias, Juliano R; Andow, David A; Horikoshi, Renato J; Bernardi, Daniel; Ribeiro, Rebeca da S; Nascimento, Antonio Rb do; Santos, Antonio C Dos; Omoto, Celso

    2016-12-01

    The frequency of resistance alleles is a major factor influencing the rate of resistance evolution. Here, we adapted the F 2 screen procedure for Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) with a discriminating concentration assay, and extended associated statistical methods to estimate the frequency of resistance to Cry1F protein in S. frugiperda in Brazil when resistance was not rare. We show that F 2 screen is efficient even when the resistance frequency is 0.250. It was possible to screen 517 isoparental lines from 12 populations sampled in five states of Brazil during the first half of 2012. Western Bahia had the highest allele frequency of Cry1F resistance, 0.192, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) between 0.163 and 0.220. All other states had a similar and lower frequency varying from 0.042 in Paraná to 0.080 in Mato Grosso do Sul. The high frequency in western Bahia may be related to year-round availability of maize, the high population density of S. frugiperda, the lack of refuges and the high adoption rate of Cry1F maize. Cry1F resistance alleles were not rare and occurred at frequencies that have already compromised the useful life of TC1507 maize in western Bahia. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. HLA class II and TNF genes in African Americans from the Southeastern United States: regional differences in allele frequencies.

    PubMed

    Kuffner, Tamara; Whitworth, William; Jairam, Maya; McNicholl, Janet

    2003-06-01

    Knowledge of population major histocompatibility complex gene frequencies is important for construction of organ donor pools and for studies of disease association. Human leukocyte antigen DRB1 (HLA-DRB1), HLA-DQB1, and TNFalpha -308 (G-A) promoter genetic typing was performed in 112 healthy, unrelated African Americans (AAs) from the southeastern United States. Allele frequencies were compared with published frequency data from other AA populations. Our AA population had the highest frequency of HLA- DRB1*09 (6.7%) reported in any AA population. The frequency of the TNF alpha -308A polymorphism was also high (14.4%), when compared with published frequencies in AAs. Significant regional differences in the distribution of most HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles were observed in all AA populations examined. The AA HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 frequencies also differed from published Caucasian frequencies. This is the first report describing the distribution of TNF alpha promoter alleles in the Southeastern United States. The high DRB1*09 and TNF alpha -308A allele frequencies of our population most resemble the frequencies of these alleles in certain West African populations. These varying major histocompatibility complex gene frequencies may reflect different regional population structures among AAs in the United States, which may be due to differences in ancestral origins, migration, and racial admixture.

  7. Population-specific documentation of pharmacogenomic markers and their allelic frequencies in FINDbase.

    PubMed

    Georgitsi, Marianthi; Viennas, Emmanouil; Gkantouna, Vassiliki; Christodoulopoulou, Elena; Zagoriti, Zoi; Tafrali, Christina; Ntellos, Fotios; Giannakopoulou, Olga; Boulakou, Athanassia; Vlahopoulou, Panagiota; Kyriacou, Eva; Tsaknakis, John; Tsakalidis, Athanassios; Poulas, Konstantinos; Tzimas, Giannis; Patrinos, George P

    2011-01-01

    Population and ethnic group-specific allele frequencies of pharmacogenomic markers are poorly documented and not systematically collected in structured data repositories. We developed the Frequency of Inherited Disorders Pharmacogenomics database (FINDbase-PGx), a separate module of the FINDbase, aiming to systematically document pharmacogenomic allele frequencies in various populations and ethnic groups worldwide. We critically collected and curated 214 scientific articles reporting pharmacogenomic markers allele frequencies in various populations and ethnic groups worldwide. Subsequently, in order to host the curated data, support data visualization and data mining, we developed a website application, utilizing Microsoft™ PivotViewer software. Curated allelic frequency data pertaining to 144 pharmacogenomic markers across 14 genes, representing approximately 87,000 individuals from 150 populations worldwide, are currently included in FINDbase-PGx. A user-friendly query interface allows for easy data querying, based on numerous content criteria, such as population, ethnic group, geographical region, gene, drug and rare allele frequency. FINDbase-PGx is a comprehensive database, which, unlike other pharmacogenomic knowledgebases, fulfills the much needed requirement to systematically document pharmacogenomic allelic frequencies in various populations and ethnic groups worldwide.

  8. HLA-A*02 allele frequencies and haplotypic associations in Koreans.

    PubMed

    Park, M H; Whang, D H; Kang, S J; Han, K S

    2000-03-01

    We have investigated the frequencies of HLA-A*02 alleles and their haplotypic associations with HLA-B and -DRB1 loci in 439 healthy unrelated Koreans, including 214 parents from 107 families. All of the 227 samples (51.7%) typed as A2 by serology were analyzed for A*02 alleles using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-low ionic strength-single-strand conformation polymorphism (LIS-SSCP) method. A total of six different A*02 alleles were detected (A*02 allele frequency 29.6%): A*0201/9 (16.6%), *0203 (0.5%), *0206 (9.3%), *0207 (3.0%), and one each case of *0210 and *02 undetermined type. Two characteristic haplotypes showing the strongest linkage disequilibrium were A*0203-B38-DRB]*1502 and A*0207-B46-DRB1*0803. Besides these strong associations, significant two-locus associations (P<0.001) were observed for A*0201 with B61, DRB1*0901 and DRB1*1401, and for A*0206 with B48 and B61. HLA haplotypes carrying HLA-A2 showed a variable distribution of A*02 alleles, and all of the eight most common A2-B-DR haplotypes occurring at frequencies of > or =1% were variably associated with two different A*02 alleles. These results demonstrate that substantial heterogeneity is present in the distribution of HLA-A*02 alleles and related haplotypes in Koreans.

  9. Beta2-adrenergic receptor allele frequencies in the Quechua, a high altitude native population.

    PubMed

    Rupert, J L; Monsalve, M V; Devine, D V; Hochachka, P W

    2000-03-01

    The beta2-adrenergic receptor is involved in the control of numerous physiological processes and, as the primary catecholamine receptor in the lungs, is of particular importance in the regulation of pulmonary function. There are several polymorphic loci in the beta2-adrenergic receptor gene that have alleles that alter receptor function, including two (A/G46, G/C79) that increase agonist sensitivity. As such a phenotype may increase vaso and bronchial dilation, thereby facilitating air and blood flow through the lungs, we hypothesized that selection may have favoured these alleles in high altitude populations as part of an adaptive strategy to deal with the hypoxic conditions characteristic of such environments. We tested this hypothesis by determining the allele frequencies for these two polymorphisms, as well one additional missense mutation (C/T491) and two silent mutations (G/A252 and C/A523) in 63 Quechua speaking natives from communities located between 3200 and 4200 m on the Peruvian altiplano. These frequencies were compared with those of two lowland populations, one native American (Na-Dene from the west coast of Canada) and one Caucasian of Western European descent. The Quechua manifest many of the pulmonary characteristics of high altitude populations and differences in allele frequencies between the Quechua and lowlanders could be indicative of a selective advantage conferred by certain genotypes in high altitude environments. Allele frequencies varied between populations at some loci and patterns of linkage disequilibrium differed between the old-world and new-world samples; however, as these populations are not closely related, significant variation would be expected due to stochastic effects alone. Neither of the alleles associated with increased receptor sensitivity (A46, G79) was significantly over-represented in the Quechua compared with either lowland group. The Quechua were monomorphic for the C allele at base 79. This variant has been

  10. Population based allele frequencies of disease associated polymorphisms in the Personalized Medicine Research Project.

    PubMed

    Cross, Deanna S; Ivacic, Lynn C; Stefanski, Elisha L; McCarty, Catherine A

    2010-06-17

    There is a lack of knowledge regarding the frequency of disease associated polymorphisms in populations and population attributable risk for many populations remains unknown. Factors that could affect the association of the allele with disease, either positively or negatively, such as race, ethnicity, and gender, may not be possible to determine without population based allele frequencies.Here we used a panel of 51 polymorphisms previously associated with at least one disease and determined the allele frequencies within the entire Personalized Medicine Research Project population based cohort. We compared these allele frequencies to those in dbSNP and other data sources stratified by race. Differences in allele frequencies between self reported race, region of origin, and sex were determined. There were 19544 individuals who self reported a single racial category, 19027 or (97.4%) self reported white Caucasian, and 11205 (57.3%) individuals were female. Of the 11,208 (57%) individuals with an identifiable region of origin 8337 or (74.4%) were German.41 polymorphisms were significantly different between self reported race at the 0.05 level. Stratification of our Caucasian population by self reported region of origin revealed 19 polymorphisms that were significantly different (p = 0.05) between individuals of different origins. Further stratification of the population by gender revealed few significant differences in allele frequencies between the genders. This represents one of the largest population based allele frequency studies to date. Stratification by self reported race and region of origin revealed wide differences in allele frequencies not only by race but also by region of origin within a single racial group. We report allele frequencies for our Asian/Hmong and American Indian populations; these two minority groups are not typically selected for population allele frequency detection. Population wide allele frequencies are important for the design and

  11. Population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs.

    PubMed

    Mao, Linyong; Fang, Yayin; Campbell, Michael; Southerland, William M

    2017-11-10

    Obesity is emerging as a global health problem, with more than one-third of the world's adult population being overweight or obese. In this study, we investigated worldwide population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). We collected a total of 225 obesity-associated SNPs from a public database. Their population-level allele frequencies were derived based on the genotype data from 1000 Genomes Project (phase 3). We used hypergeometric model to assess whether the effect allele at a given SNP is significantly enriched or depleted in each of the 26 populations surveyed in the 1000 Genomes Project with respect to the overall pooled population. Our results indicate that 195 out of 225 SNPs (86.7%) possess effect alleles significantly enriched or depleted in at least one of the 26 populations. Populations within the same continental group exhibit similar allele enrichment/depletion patterns whereas inter-continental populations show distinct patterns. Among the 225 SNPs, 15 SNPs cluster in the first intron region of the FTO gene, which is a major gene associated with body-mass index (BMI) and fat mass. African populations exhibit much smaller blocks of LD (linkage disequilibrium) among these15 SNPs while European and Asian populations have larger blocks. To estimate the cumulative effect of all variants associated with obesity, we developed the personal composite genetic risk score for obesity. Our results indicate that the East Asian populations have the lowest averages of the composite risk scores, whereas three European populations have the highest averages. In addition, the population-level average of composite genetic risk scores is significantly correlated (R 2 = 0.35, P = 0.0060) with obesity prevalence. We have detected substantial population differentiation in allele frequencies of obesity-associated SNPs. The results will help elucidate the genetic basis which may contribute to population

  12. HLA-B27 allele frequency in Sri Lankan patients with spondyloarthritides.

    PubMed

    Kidnapillai, S; Sirisena, N D; Dissanayake, V H

    2016-06-01

    This preliminary study aims to describe the HLA-B27 allele frequency in Sri Lankan patients with spondyloarthritides (SA). An anonymised database of 373 Sri Lankan patients with SA referred for HLA-B27 testing was retrospectively analysed. Eighty five (22.8%) patients were positive for the HLA-B27 allele. A male preponderance was observed among the positives. The HLA-B27 allele frequency in this sample of patients with SA was relatively low compared to published studies in other populations. Further research is needed to identify the predominant subtypes of the allele to determine which subtypes are the most prevalent in a larger sample of Sri Lankan patients with SA, and to define their association with the specific types of SA.

  13. Haplotypic Background of a Private Allele at High Frequency in the Americas

    PubMed Central

    Schroeder, Kari B.; Jakobsson, Mattias; Crawford, Michael H.; Schurr, Theodore G.; Boca, Simina M.; Conrad, Donald F.; Tito, Raul Y.; Osipova, Ludmilla P.; Tarskaia, Larissa A.; Zhadanov, Sergey I.; Wall, Jeffrey D.; Pritchard, Jonathan K.; Malhi, Ripan S.; Smith, David G.; Rosenberg, Noah A.

    2009-01-01

    Recently, the observation of a high-frequency private allele, the 9-repeat allele at microsatellite D9S1120, in all sampled Native American and Western Beringian populations has been interpreted as evidence that all modern Native Americans descend primarily from a single founding population. However, this inference assumed that all copies of the 9-repeat allele were identical by descent and that the geographic distribution of this allele had not been influenced by natural selection. To investigate whether these assumptions are satisfied, we genotyped 34 single nucleotide polymorphisms across ∼500 kilobases (kb) around D9S1120 in 21 Native American and Western Beringian populations and 54 other worldwide populations. All chromosomes with the 9-repeat allele share the same haplotypic background in the vicinity of D9S1120, suggesting that all sampled copies of the 9-repeat allele are identical by descent. Ninety-one percent of these chromosomes share the same 76.26 kb haplotype, which we call the “American Modal Haplotype” (AMH). Three observations lead us to conclude that the high frequency and widespread distribution of the 9-repeat allele are unlikely to be the result of positive selection: 1) aside from its association with the 9-repeat allele, the AMH does not have a high frequency in the Americas, 2) the AMH is not unusually long for its frequency compared with other haplotypes in the Americas, and 3) in Latin American mestizo populations, the proportion of Native American ancestry at D9S1120 is not unusual compared with that observed at other genomewide microsatellites. Using a new method for estimating the time to the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all sampled copies of an allele on the basis of an estimate of the length of the genealogy descended from the MRCA, we calculate the mean time to the MRCA of the 9-repeat allele to be between 7,325 and 39,900 years, depending on the demographic model used. The results support the hypothesis that all

  14. Allele frequency distribution for 21 autosomal STR loci in Nepal.

    PubMed

    Kraaijenbrink, T; van Driem, G L; Opgenort, J R M L; Tuladhar, N M; de Knijff, P

    2007-05-24

    The allele frequency distributions of 21 autosomal loci contained in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler, the Powerplex 16 and the FFFL multiplex PCR kits, was studied in 953 unrelated individuals from Nepal. Several new alleles (i.e. not yet reported in the NIST Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet DataBase [http://www.cstl.nist.gov/biotech/strbase/]) have been detected in the process.

  15. Comparison of Prion Allele Frequency found in Suffolk and Targhee Sheep

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Scrapie is a class of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy that affects sheep and goats. The objective of this study was to compare genotypic and allelic frequencies among USSES Targhee and Suffolk sheep. A total of 122 sheep were genotyped for codon 171 with allele specific primers in 2 separate...

  16. High-resolution HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in majority and minority populations of Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Differential admixture proportions in neighboring countries.

    PubMed

    Arrieta-Bolaños, E; Madrigal-Sánchez, J J; Stein, J E; Órlich-Pérez, P; Moreira-Espinoza, M J; Paredes-Carias, E; Vanegas-Padilla, Y; Salazar-Sánchez, L; Madrigal, J A; Marsh, S G E; Shaw, B E

    2018-06-01

    The HLA system shows the most extensive polymorphism in the human genome. Allelic and haplotypic frequencies of HLA genes vary dramatically across human populations. Due to a complex history of migration, populations in Latin America show a broad variety of admixture proportions, usually varying not only between countries, but also within countries. Knowledge of HLA allele and haplotype frequencies is essential for medical fields such as transplantation, but also serves as a means to assess genetic diversity and ancestry in human populations. Here, we have determined high-resolution HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in a sample of 713 healthy subjects from three Mestizo populations, one population of African descent, and Amerindians of five different groups from Costa Rica and Nicaragua and compared their profiles to a large set of indigenous populations from Iberia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas. Our results show a great degree of allelic and haplotypic diversity within and across these populations, with most extended haplotypes being private. Mestizo populations show alleles and haplotypes of putative European, Amerindian, and Sub-Saharan African origin, albeit with differential proportions. Despite some degree of gene flow, Amerindians and Afro-descendants show great similarity to other Amerindian and West African populations, respectively. This is the first comprehensive study reporting high-resolution HLA diversity in Central America, and its results will shed light into the genetic history of this region while also supporting the development of medical programs for organ and stem cell transplantation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Allele frequencies of 15 STR loci in Bosnian and Herzegovinian population

    PubMed Central

    Pilav, Amela; Pojskić, Naris; Ahatović, Anesa; Džehverović, Mirela; Čakar, Jasmina; Marjanović, Damir

    2017-01-01

    Aim To determine newest the most accurate allele frequencies for 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in the Bosnian and Herzegovinian population, calculate statistical parameters, and compare them with the relevant data for seven neighboring populations. Methods Genomic DNA was obtained from buccal swabs of 1000 unrelated individuals from all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Genotyping was performed using PowerPlex® 16 System to obtain allele frequencies for 15 polymorphic STR loci including D3S1358, TH01, D21S11, D18S51, Penta E, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO, Penta D, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX, and FGA. The calculated allele frequencies were also compared with the data from neighboring populations. Results The highest detected value of polymorphism information content (PIC) was detected at the PentaE locus, whereas the lowest value was detected at the TPOX locus. The power of discrimination (PD) values had similar distribution, with Penta E showing the highest PD of 0.9788. While D18S51 had the highest value of power of exclusion (PE), the lowest PE value was detected at the TPOX locus. Conclusion Upon comparison of Bosnian and Herzegovinian population data with those of seven neighboring populations, the highest allele frequency differentiation was noticed between Bosnian and Herzegovinian and Turkish population at 5 loci, the most informative of which was Penta E. The neighbor-joining dendrogram constructed on the basis of genetic distance showed grouping of Slovenian, Austrian, Hungarian, and Croatian populations. Bosnian and Herzegovinian population was between the mentioned cluster and Serbian population. To determine more accurate distribution of allelic frequencies and forensic parameters, our study included 1000 unrelated individuals from all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and our findings demonstrated the applicability of these markers in both forensics and future population genetic studies. PMID:28613042

  18. Allele frequencies of 15 STR loci in Bosnian and Herzegovinian population.

    PubMed

    Pilav, Amela; Pojskić, Naris; Ahatović, Anesa; Džehverović, Mirela; Čakar, Jasmina; Marjanović, Damir

    2017-06-14

    To determine newest the most accurate allele frequencies for 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in the Bosnian and Herzegovinian population, calculate statistical parameters, and compare them with the relevant data for seven neighboring populations. Genomic DNA was obtained from buccal swabs of 1000 unrelated individuals from all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Genotyping was performed using PowerPlex® 16 System to obtain allele frequencies for 15 polymorphic STR loci including D3S1358, TH01, D21S11, D18S51, Penta E, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO, Penta D, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX, and FGA. The calculated allele frequencies were also compared with the data from neighboring populations. The highest detected value of polymorphism information content (PIC) was detected at the PentaE locus, whereas the lowest value was detected at the TPOX locus. The power of discrimination (PD) values had similar distribution, with Penta E showing the highest PD of 0.9788. While D18S51 had the highest value of power of exclusion (PE), the lowest PE value was detected at the TPOX locus. Upon comparison of Bosnian and Herzegovinian population data with those of seven neighboring populations, the highest allele frequency differentiation was noticed between Bosnian and Herzegovinian and Turkish population at 5 loci, the most informative of which was Penta E. The neighbor-joining dendrogram constructed on the basis of genetic distance showed grouping of Slovenian, Austrian, Hungarian, and Croatian populations. Bosnian and Herzegovinian population was between the mentioned cluster and Serbian population. To determine more accurate distribution of allelic frequencies and forensic parameters, our study included 1000 unrelated individuals from all regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and our findings demonstrated the applicability of these markers in both forensics and future population genetic studies.

  19. Accounting for genotype uncertainty in the estimation of allele frequencies in autopolyploids.

    PubMed

    Blischak, Paul D; Kubatko, Laura S; Wolfe, Andrea D

    2016-05-01

    Despite the increasing opportunity to collect large-scale data sets for population genomic analyses, the use of high-throughput sequencing to study populations of polyploids has seen little application. This is due in large part to problems associated with determining allele copy number in the genotypes of polyploid individuals (allelic dosage uncertainty-ADU), which complicates the calculation of important quantities such as allele frequencies. Here, we describe a statistical model to estimate biallelic SNP frequencies in a population of autopolyploids using high-throughput sequencing data in the form of read counts. We bridge the gap from data collection (using restriction enzyme based techniques [e.g. GBS, RADseq]) to allele frequency estimation in a unified inferential framework using a hierarchical Bayesian model to sum over genotype uncertainty. Simulated data sets were generated under various conditions for tetraploid, hexaploid and octoploid populations to evaluate the model's performance and to help guide the collection of empirical data. We also provide an implementation of our model in the R package polyfreqs and demonstrate its use with two example analyses that investigate (i) levels of expected and observed heterozygosity and (ii) model adequacy. Our simulations show that the number of individuals sampled from a population has a greater impact on estimation error than sequencing coverage. The example analyses also show that our model and software can be used to make inferences beyond the estimation of allele frequencies for autopolyploids by providing assessments of model adequacy and estimates of heterozygosity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Huntington disease reduced penetrance alleles occur at high frequency in the general population

    PubMed Central

    Kay, Chris; Collins, Jennifer A.; Miedzybrodzka, Zosia; Madore, Steven J.; Gordon, Erynn S.; Gerry, Norman; Davidson, Mark; Slama, Ramy A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To directly estimate the frequency and penetrance of CAG repeat alleles associated with Huntington disease (HD) in the general population. Methods: CAG repeat length was evaluated in 7,315 individuals from 3 population-based cohorts from British Columbia, the United States, and Scotland. The frequency of ≥36 CAG alleles was assessed out of a total of 14,630 alleles. The general population frequency of reduced penetrance alleles (36–39 CAG) was compared to the prevalence of patients with HD with genetically confirmed 36–39 CAG from a multisource clinical ascertainment in British Columbia, Canada. The penetrance of 36–38 CAG repeat alleles for HD was estimated for individuals ≥65 years of age and compared against previously reported clinical penetrance estimates. Results: A total of 18 of 7,315 individuals had ≥36 CAG, revealing that approximately 1 in 400 individuals from the general population have an expanded CAG repeat associated with HD (0.246%). Individuals with CAG 36–37 genotypes are the most common (36, 0.096%; 37, 0.082%; 38, 0.027%; 39, 0.000%; ≥40, 0.041%). General population CAG 36–38 penetrance rates are lower than penetrance rates extrapolated from clinical cohorts. Conclusion: HD alleles with a CAG repeat length of 36–38 occur at high frequency in the general population. The infrequent diagnosis of HD at this CAG length is likely due to low penetrance. Another important contributing factor may be reduced ascertainment of HD in those of older age. PMID:27335115

  1. Allele frequency data for 15 autosomal STR loci in eight Indonesian subpopulations.

    PubMed

    Venables, Samantha J; Daniel, Runa; Sarre, Stephen D; Soedarsono, Nurtami; Sudoyo, Herawati; Suryadi, Helena; van Oorschot, Roland A H; Walsh, Simon J; Widodo, Putut T; McNevin, Dennis

    2016-01-01

    Evolutionary and cultural history can affect the genetic characteristics of a population and influences the frequency of different variants at a particular genetic marker (allele frequency). These characteristics directly influence the strength of forensic DNA evidence and make the availability of suitable allele frequency information for every discrete country or jurisdiction highly relevant. Population sub-structure within Indonesia has not been well characterised but should be expected given the complex geographical, linguistic and cultural architecture of the Indonesian population. Here we use forensic short tandem repeat (STR) markers to identify a number of distinct genetic subpopulations within Indonesia and calculate appropriate population sub-structure correction factors. This data represents the most comprehensive investigation of population sub-structure within Indonesia to date using these markers. The results demonstrate that significant sub-structure is present within the Indonesian population and must be accounted for using island specific allele frequencies and corresponding sub-structure correction factors in the calculation of forensic DNA match statistics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Lower Frequency of HLA-DRB1 Type 1 Diabetes Risk Alleles in Pediatric Patients with MODY.

    PubMed

    Urrutia, Inés; Martínez, Rosa; López-Euba, Tamara; Velayos, Teresa; Martínez de LaPiscina, Idoia; Bilbao, José Ramón; Rica, Itxaso; Castaño, Luis

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes in a cohort of pediatric patients with a confirmed genetic diagnosis of MODY. 160 families with a proband diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 74 families with a molecular diagnosis of MODY (61 GCK-MODY and 13 HNF1A-MODY) were categorized at high definition for HLA-DRB1 locus. According to the presence or absence of the susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles for type 1 diabetes, we considered three different HLA-DRB1 genotypes: 0 risk alleles (no DR3 no DR4); 1 risk allele (DR3 or DR4); 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4). Compared with type 1 diabetes, patients with MODY carried higher frequency of 0 risk alleles, OR 22.7 (95% CI: 10.7-48.6) and lower frequency of 1 or 2 risk alleles, OR 0.53 (95% CI: 0.29-0.96) and OR 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02-0.18), respectively. The frequency of HLA-DRB1 risk alleles for type 1 diabetes is significantly lower in patients with MODY. In children and adolescents with diabetes, the presence of 2 risk alleles (DR3 and/or DR4) reduces the probability of MODY diagnosis, whereas the lack of risk alleles increases it. Therefore, we might consider that HLA-DRB1 provides additional information for the selection of patients with high probability of monogenic diabetes.

  3. Precise Estimation of Allele Frequencies of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms by a Quantitative SSCP Analysis of Pooled DNA

    PubMed Central

    Sasaki, Tomonari; Tahira, Tomoko; Suzuki, Akari; Higasa, Koichiro; Kukita, Yoji; Baba, Shingo; Hayashi, Kenshi

    2001-01-01

    We show that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of moderate to high heterozygosity (minor allele frequencies >10%) can be efficiently detected, and their allele frequencies accurately estimated, by pooling the DNA samples and applying a capillary-based SSCP analysis. In this method, alleles are separated into peaks, and their frequencies can be reliably and accurately quantified from their peak heights (SD <1.8%). We found that as many as 40% of publicly available SNPs that were analyzed by this method have widely differing allele frequency distributions among groups of different ethnicity (parents of Centre d'Etude Polymorphisme Humaine families vs. Japanese individuals). These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the present pooling method in the reevaluation of candidate SNPs that have been collected by examination of limited numbers of individuals. The method should also serve as a robust quantitative technique for studies in which a precise estimate of SNP allele frequencies is essential—for example, in linkage disequilibrium analysis. PMID:11083945

  4. Diversity of alleles encoding HLA-B40: relative frequencies in united states populations and description of five novel alleles.

    PubMed

    Pimtanothai, N; Rizzuto, G A; Slack, R; Steiner, N K; Kosman, C A; Jones, P F; Koester, R; Ng, J; Hartzman, R J; Katovich Hurley, C

    2000-08-01

    The frequency of each B*40 allele was determined by DNA sequencing in four major United States populations: Caucasians, African Americans, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Thirty-two individuals from each ethnic group, who were previously described serologically as B40, B60, or B61, were randomly selected out of a pool of 82,979 unrelated individuals for allele characterization. Out of nine different B*40 alleles identified in this study, B*4001 and B*4002 were the two most frequent B*40 alleles in all the population groups. B*4001 was the primary B*40 allele seen in Caucasians (83%) and African Americans (76%), while B*4002 was found in the majority of Hispanics (62%). The distributions of both alleles were comparable in the Asian/Pacific Islander population. These two alleles were the only B*40 alleles detected in Caucasians while four to five additional B*40 alleles were seen in the other population groups. The other B*40 alleles detected in this study included: B*4003 and B*4010 in Asian/Pacific Islanders; B*4012 and B*4016 in African Americans; and B*4004, B*4006, and B*4027 in Hispanics. Analysis revealed significant differences between Hispanics and all other groups as well as between African Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders. This report also describes five novel B*40 alleles: B*4019, B*4020, B*4024, B*4027, and B*4028.

  5. Frequencies of Null Alleles at Enzyme Loci in Natural Populations of Ponderosa and Red Pine

    PubMed Central

    Allendorf, Fred W.; Knudsen, Kathy L.; Blake, George M.

    1982-01-01

    Pinus ponderosa and P. resinosa population samples have mean frequencies of enzymatically inactive alleles of 0.0031 and 0.0028 at 29 and 27 enzyme loci, respectively. Such alleles are rare and are apparently maintained by selection-mutation balance. Ponderosa pine have much higher amounts of allozymic and polygenic phenotypic variation than red pine, yet both species have similar frequencies of null alleles. Thus, null alleles apparently do not contribute to polygenic variation, as has been suggested. The concordance between allozymic and polygenic variation adds support to the view that allozyme studies may be valuable in predicting the relative amount of polygenic variation in populations. PMID:17246067

  6. Frequency of null allele of Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) locus in subjects to recurrent miscarriage.

    PubMed

    Alizadeh, Nazila; Mosaferi, Elnaz; Farzadi, Laya; Majidi, Jafar; Monfaredan, Amir; Yousefi, Bahman; Baradaran, Behzad

    2016-07-01

    Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a non-classical class I molecule highly expressed by extravillous cytotrophoblast cells. Due to a single base pair deletion, its function can be compensated by other isoforms. Investigating the frequency of null allele in Recurrent Miscarriage (RM) subjects could be useful in understanding the relationship between frequency of this allele and RM in a given population. This study aimed to determine the frequency of HLA-G*0105N null allele and its potential association with down-regulation of HLA-G in subjects with RM. Western blotting was used to assess the level of HLA-G protein expression. For investigating the frequency of HLA-G*0105N null allele in RM subjects, PCR-RFLP method was used. Exon 3 of HLA-G gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequently, PpuM-1 enzyme was employed to digest the PCR products and fragments were analyzed using gel electrophoresis. Digestion using restriction enzyme showed the presence of heterozygous HLA-G*0105N null allele in 10% of the test population. Western blotting results confirmed the decrease in expression of HLA-G in the placental tissue of subjects with RM compared to subjects who could give normal birth. The frequency of heterozygous HLA-G*0105N null allele was high to some extent in subjects with RM. The mutation rate in subjects suggested that there is a significant association between RM and frequency of mutations in this allele.

  7. FREQ-Seq: A Rapid, Cost-Effective, Sequencing-Based Method to Determine Allele Frequencies Directly from Mixed Populations

    PubMed Central

    Delaney, Nigel F.; Marx, Christopher J.

    2012-01-01

    Understanding evolutionary dynamics within microbial populations requires the ability to accurately follow allele frequencies through time. Here we present a rapid, cost-effective method (FREQ-Seq) that leverages Illumina next-generation sequencing for localized, quantitative allele frequency detection. Analogous to RNA-Seq, FREQ-Seq relies upon counts from the >105 reads generated per locus per time-point to determine allele frequencies. Loci of interest are directly amplified from a mixed population via two rounds of PCR using inexpensive, user-designed oligonucleotides and a bar-coded bridging primer system that can be regenerated in-house. The resulting bar-coded PCR products contain the adapters needed for Illumina sequencing, eliminating further library preparation. We demonstrate the utility of FREQ-Seq by determining the order and dynamics of beneficial alleles that arose as a microbial population, founded with an engineered strain of Methylobacterium, evolved to grow on methanol. Quantifying allele frequencies with minimal bias down to 1% abundance allowed effective analysis of SNPs, small in-dels and insertions of transposable elements. Our data reveal large-scale clonal interference during the early stages of adaptation and illustrate the utility of FREQ-Seq as a cost-effective tool for tracking allele frequencies in populations. PMID:23118913

  8. Genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the genes associated with body composition and locomotion traits in Myanmar native horses.

    PubMed

    Okuda, Yu; Moe, Hla Hla; Moe, Kyaw Kyaw; Shimizu, Yuki; Nishioka, Kenji; Shimogiri, Takeshi; Mannen, Hideyuki; Kanemaki, Misao; Kunieda, Tetsuo

    2017-08-01

    Myanmar native horses are small horses used mainly for drafting carts or carriages in rural areas and packing loads in mountainy areas. In the present study, we investigated genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the LCORL/NCAPG, MSTN and DMRT3 genes, which are associated with body composition and locomotion traits of horses, in seven local populations of Myanmar native horses. The genotyping result of LCORL/NCAPG showed that allele frequencies of C allele associated with higher withers height ranged from 0.08 to 0.27, and 0.13 in average. For MSTN, allele frequencies of C allele associated with higher proportion of Type 2B muscular fiber ranged from 0.05 to 0.23, and 0.09 in average. For DMRT3, allele frequencies of A allele associated with ambling gait ranged from 0 to 0.04, and 0.01 in average. The presences of the minor alleles of these genes at low frequencies suggest a possibility that these horse populations have not been under strong selection pressure for particular locomotion traits and body composition. Our findings of the presence of these minor alleles in Southeast Asian native horses are also informative for considering the origins of these minor alleles associated with body composition and locomotion traits in horse populations. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  9. Frequency of null allele of Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) locus in subjects to recurrent miscarriage

    PubMed Central

    Alizadeh, Nazila; Mosaferi, Elnaz; Farzadi, Laya; Majidi, Jafar; Monfaredan, Amir; Yousefi, Bahman; Baradaran, Behzad

    2016-01-01

    Background: Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a non-classical class I molecule highly expressed by extravillous cytotrophoblast cells. Due to a single base pair deletion, its function can be compensated by other isoforms. Investigating the frequency of null allele in Recurrent Miscarriage (RM) subjects could be useful in understanding the relationship between frequency of this allele and RM in a given population. Objective: This study aimed to determine the frequency of HLA-G*0105N null allele and its potential association with down-regulation of HLA-G in subjects with RM. Materials and Methods: Western blotting was used to assess the level of HLA-G protein expression. For investigating the frequency of HLA-G*0105N null allele in RM subjects, PCR-RFLP method was used. Exon 3 of HLA-G gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequently, PpuM-1 enzyme was employed to digest the PCR products and fragments were analyzed using gel electrophoresis. Results: Digestion using restriction enzyme showed the presence of heterozygous HLA-G*0105N null allele in 10% of the test population. Western blotting results confirmed the decrease in expression of HLA-G in the placental tissue of subjects with RM compared to subjects who could give normal birth. Conclusion: The frequency of heterozygous HLA-G*0105N null allele was high to some extent in subjects with RM. The mutation rate in subjects suggested that there is a significant association between RM and frequency of mutations in this allele. PMID:27525330

  10. Large allele frequency differences between human continental groups are more likely to have occurred by drift during range expansions than by selection.

    PubMed

    Hofer, T; Ray, N; Wegmann, D; Excoffier, L

    2009-01-01

    Several studies have found strikingly different allele frequencies between continents. This has been mainly interpreted as being due to local adaptation. However, demographic factors can generate similar patterns. Namely, allelic surfing during a population range expansion may increase the frequency of alleles in newly colonised areas. In this study, we examined 772 STRs, 210 diallelic indels, and 2834 SNPs typed in 53 human populations worldwide under the HGDP-CEPH Diversity Panel to determine to which extent allele frequency differs among four regions (Africa, Eurasia, East Asia, and America). We find that large allele frequency differences between continents are surprisingly common, and that Africa and America show the largest number of loci with extreme frequency differences. Moreover, more STR alleles have increased rather than decreased in frequency outside Africa, as expected under allelic surfing. Finally, there is no relationship between the extent of allele frequency differences and proximity to genes, as would be expected under selection. We therefore conclude that most of the observed large allele frequency differences between continents result from demography rather than from positive selection.

  11. D1S80 (pMCT118) allele frequencies in a Malay population sample from Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Koh, C L; Lim, M E; Ng, H S; Sam, C K

    1997-01-01

    The D1S80 allele frequencies in 124 unrelated Malays from the Malaysian population were determined and 51 genotypes and 19 alleles were encountered. The D1S80 frequency distribution met Hardy-Weinberg expectations. The observed heterozygosity was 0.80 and the power of discrimination was 0.96.

  12. Geographic differences in allele frequencies of susceptibility SNPs for cardiovascular disease

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background We hypothesized that the frequencies of risk alleles of SNPs mediating susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases differ among populations of varying geographic origin and that population-specific selection has operated on some of these variants. Methods From the database of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we selected 36 cardiovascular phenotypes including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as related quantitative traits (eg, body mass index and plasma lipid levels). We identified 292 SNPs in 270 genes associated with a disease or trait at P < 5 × 10-8. As part of the Human Genome-Diversity Project (HGDP), 158 (54.1%) of these SNPs have been genotyped in 938 individuals belonging to 52 populations from seven geographic areas. A measure of population differentiation, FST, was calculated to quantify differences in risk allele frequencies (RAFs) among populations and geographic areas. Results Large differences in RAFs were noted in populations of Africa, East Asia, America and Oceania, when compared with other geographic regions. The mean global FST (0.1042) for 158 SNPs among the populations was not significantly higher than the mean global FST of 158 autosomal SNPs randomly sampled from the HGDP database. Significantly higher global FST (P < 0.05) was noted in eight SNPs, based on an empirical distribution of global FST of 2036 putatively neutral SNPs. For four of these SNPs, additional evidence of selection was noted based on the integrated Haplotype Score. Conclusion Large differences in RAFs for a set of common SNPs that influence risk of cardiovascular disease were noted between the major world populations. Pairwise comparisons revealed RAF differences for at least eight SNPs that might be due to population-specific selection or demographic factors. These findings are relevant to a better understanding of geographic variation in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. PMID:21507254

  13. Extremely high frequency of autoimmune-predisposing alleles in medieval specimens*

    PubMed Central

    Witas, H.W.; Jędrychowska-Dańska, K.; Zawicki, P.

    2007-01-01

    The precise etiology and reasons for the increase in incidence of autoimmune disorders still remain unclear, and although both genetic and environmental factors have been proven to shape individual predisposition, it is not known which of the factors, if not both, is responsible for the boom observed during the last decades. In order to establish whether a higher frequency of autoimmune-predisposing alleles may explain this increase we took advantage of ancient DNA methodology to establish the genetic predisposition, conferred by cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA4) +49A/G and human leukocyte antigens (HLA) DQB157, in population inhabiting Poland in the Middle Ages. After successful typing of 42 individuals from a 12th~14th’s century archeological burial site, we found that frequencies of the predisposing alleles in the medieval population were higher than they are at present, suggesting thus that the recently observed incidence increase results most probably from factors of other than genetic nature. PMID:17610332

  14. Cytochrome P450 2D6 variants in a Caucasian population: Allele frequencies and phenotypic consequences

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sachse, C.; Brockmoeller, J.; Bauer, S.

    Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) metabolizes many important drugs. CYP2D6 activity ranges from complete deficiency to ultrafast metabolism, depending on at least 16 different known alleles. Their frequencies were determined in 589 unrelated German volunteers and correlated with enzyme activity measured by phenotyping with dextromethorphan or debrisoquine. For genotyping, nested PCR-RFLP tests from a PCR amplificate of the entire CYP2D6 gene were developed. The frequency of the CYP2D6*1 allele coding for extensive metabolizer (EM) phenotype was .364. The alleles coding for slightly (CYP2D6*2) or moderately (*9 and *10) reduced activity (intermediate metabolizer phenotype [IM]) showed frequencies of .324, .018, and .015,more » respectively. By use of novel PCR tests for discrimination, CYP2D6 gene duplication alleles were found with frequencies of.005 (*1 x 2), .013 (* 2 x 2), and .001 (*4 x 2). Frequencies of alleles with complete deficiency (poor metabolizer phenotype [PM]) were .207 (*4), .020 (*3 and *5), .009 (*6), and .001 (*7, *15, and *16). The defective CYP2D6 alleles *8, *11, *12, *13, and *14 were not found. All 41 PMs (7.0%) in this sample were explained by five mutations detected by four PCR-RFLP tests, which may suffice, together with the gene duplication test, for clinical prediction of CYP2D6 capacity. Three novel variants of known CYP2D6 alleles were discovered: *1C (T{sub 1957}C), *2B (additional C{sub 2558}T), and *4E (additional C{sub 2938}T). Analysis of variance showed significant differences in enzymatic activity measured by the dextromethorphan metabolic ratio (MR) between carriers of EN/PM (mean MR = .006) and IM/PM (mean MR = .014) alleles and between carriers of one (mean MR = .009) and two (mean MR = .003) functional alleles. The results of this study provide a solid basis for prediction of CYP2D6 capacity, as required in drug research and routine drug treatment. 35 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.« less

  15. Allele frequency changes due to hitch-hiking in genomic selection programs

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Genomic selection makes it possible to reduce pedigree-based inbreeding over best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) by increasing emphasis on own rather than family information. However, pedigree inbreeding might not accurately reflect loss of genetic variation and the true level of inbreeding due to changes in allele frequencies and hitch-hiking. This study aimed at understanding the impact of using long-term genomic selection on changes in allele frequencies, genetic variation and level of inbreeding. Methods Selection was performed in simulated scenarios with a population of 400 animals for 25 consecutive generations. Six genetic models were considered with different heritabilities and numbers of QTL (quantitative trait loci) affecting the trait. Four selection criteria were used, including selection on own phenotype and on estimated breeding values (EBV) derived using phenotype-BLUP, genomic BLUP and Bayesian Lasso. Changes in allele frequencies at QTL, markers and linked neutral loci were investigated for the different selection criteria and different scenarios, along with the loss of favourable alleles and the rate of inbreeding measured by pedigree and runs of homozygosity. Results For each selection criterion, hitch-hiking in the vicinity of the QTL appeared more extensive when accuracy of selection was higher and the number of QTL was lower. When inbreeding was measured by pedigree information, selection on genomic BLUP EBV resulted in lower levels of inbreeding than selection on phenotype BLUP EBV, but this did not always apply when inbreeding was measured by runs of homozygosity. Compared to genomic BLUP, selection on EBV from Bayesian Lasso led to less genetic drift, reduced loss of favourable alleles and more effectively controlled the rate of both pedigree and genomic inbreeding in all simulated scenarios. In addition, selection on EBV from Bayesian Lasso showed a higher selection differential for mendelian sampling terms than selection on

  16. Allele frequencies for 12 autosomal short tandem repeat loci in two Bolivian populations.

    PubMed

    Cifuentes, L; Jorquera, H; Acuña, M; Ordóñez, J; Sierra, A L

    2008-03-18

    Two hundred and sixty unrelated subjects who asked for paternity testing at two Bolivian Laboratories in La Paz and Santa Cruz were studied. The loci D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, TH01, TPOX, and CSF1PO were typed from blood samples, amplifying DNA by polymerase chain reactions and electrophoresis. Allele frequencies were estimated by simple counting and the unbiased heterozygosity was calculated. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was studied and gene frequencies were compared between the two samples. All loci conformed to the Hardy-Weinberg law and allele frequencies were similar in samples from the two cities. The Bolivian gene frequencies estimated were significantly different from those described for Chile and the United States Hispanic-Americans for most of the loci.

  17. Frequency analysis of the delta32ccr5 HIV resistance allele in a medieval plague mass grave.

    PubMed

    Kremeyer, Barbara; Hummel, Susanne; Herrmann, Bernd

    2005-03-01

    The 32 basepair deletion in the gene for the human chemokine receptor CCR5 (delta32ccr5) conferring resistance against HIV-1 infection is present in Caucasian populations. The mutant allele is believed to have originated by a single mutational event in historic times and to have reached its present population frequency of an average 10 % in Europe through selective pressure by a pathogenic agent. Because of their great impact on European populations, the medieval Plague epidemics have been considered as a possible candidate. To test this hypothesis, we studied the delta32ccr5-frequency in 35 individuals from a mass grave containing victims of the 14th century Plague pandemic in Lübeck, Northern Germany, and compared them to the frequency in a control group from the same burial site, dating from the time before the first Plague pandemic. If the delta32ccr5 allele conferred an at least partial resistance against the medieval Plague, its frequency would be expected to be lower in those that died in the pandemic, than it was in the local population before the arrival of the Plague. The CCR5 locus could be typed successfully for 14 Plague victims and for 20 individuals from the medieval control group. We found a delta32ccr5 allelic frequency of 14.2% and 12.5%, respectively. The difference between these figures is not statistically significant. Furthermore, they are comparable to the delta32ccr5 frequency for nowadays Northern Europe. We therefore conclude that the medieval Plague pandemic has not contributed to an increase in the allelic frequency of the mutant delta32ccr5 allele and that, if there has been a positive selection of this allele, it is likely to have occurred before the 14th century and thus before the arrival of the Plague in Europe.

  18. Allele frequency distribution for 21 autosomal STR loci in Bhutan.

    PubMed

    Kraaijenbrink, Thirsa; van Driem, George L; Tshering of Gaselô, Karma; de Knijff, Peter

    2007-07-20

    We studied the allele frequency distribution of 21 autosomal STR loci contained in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler (Applied Biosystems), the Powerplex 16 (Promega) and the FFFL (Promega) multiplex PCR kits among 936 individuals from the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. As such these are the first published autosomal DNA results from this country.

  19. Identification of the third/extra allele for forensic application in cases with TPOX tri-allelic pattern.

    PubMed

    Picanço, Juliane Bentes; Raimann, Paulo Eduardo; Motta, Carlos Henrique Ares Silveira da; Rodenbusch, Rodrigo; Gusmão, Leonor; Alho, Clarice Sampaio

    2015-05-01

    Genotyping of polymorphic short tandem repeats (STRs) loci is widely used in forensic DNA analysis. STR loci eventually present tri-allelic pattern as a genotyping irregularity and, in that situation, the doubt about the tri-allele locus frequency calculation can reduce the analysis strength. In the TPOX human STR locus, tri-allelic genotypes have been reported with a widely varied frequency among human populations. We investigate whether there is a single extra allele (the third allele) in the TPOX tri-allelic pattern, what it is, and where it is, aiming to understand its genomic anatomy and to propose the knowledge of this TPOX extra allele from genetic profile, thus preserving the two standard TPOX alleles in forensic analyses. We looked for TPOX tri-allelic subjects in 75,113 Brazilian families. Considering only the parental generation (mother+father) we had 150,226 unrelated subjects evaluated. From this total, we found 88 unrelated subjects with tri-allelic pattern in the TPOX locus (0.06%; 88/150,226). Seventy three of these 88 subjects (73/88; 83%) had the Clayton's original Type 2 tri-allelic pattern (three peaks of even intensity). The remaining 17% (15/88) show a new Type 2 derived category with heterozygote peak imbalance (one double dose peak plus one regular sized peak). In this paper we present detailed data from 66 trios (mother+father+child) with true biological relationships. In 39 of these families (39/66; 59%) the extra TPOX allele was transmitted either from the mother or from the father to the child. Evidences indicated the allele 10 as the extra TPOX allele, and it is on the X chromosome. The present data, which support the previous Lane hypothesis, improve the knowledge about tri-allelic pattern of TPOX CODIS' locus allowing the use of TPOX profile in forensic analyses even when with tri-allelic pattern. This evaluation is now available for different forensic applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. THE REAL McCOIL: A method for the concurrent estimation of the complexity of infection and SNP allele frequency for malaria parasites

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Hsiao-Han; Worby, Colin J.; Yeka, Adoke; Nankabirwa, Joaniter; Kamya, Moses R.; Staedke, Sarah G.; Hubbart, Christina; Amato, Roberto; Kwiatkowski, Dominic P.

    2017-01-01

    As many malaria-endemic countries move towards elimination of Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent human malaria parasite, effective tools for monitoring malaria epidemiology are urgent priorities. P. falciparum population genetic approaches offer promising tools for understanding transmission and spread of the disease, but a high prevalence of multi-clone or polygenomic infections can render estimation of even the most basic parameters, such as allele frequencies, challenging. A previous method, COIL, was developed to estimate complexity of infection (COI) from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, but relies on monogenomic infections to estimate allele frequencies or requires external allele frequency data which may not available. Estimates limited to monogenomic infections may not be representative, however, and when the average COI is high, they can be difficult or impossible to obtain. Therefore, we developed THE REAL McCOIL, Turning HEterozygous SNP data into Robust Estimates of ALelle frequency, via Markov chain Monte Carlo, and Complexity Of Infection using Likelihood, to incorporate polygenomic samples and simultaneously estimate allele frequency and COI. This approach was tested via simulations then applied to SNP data from cross-sectional surveys performed in three Ugandan sites with varying malaria transmission. We show that THE REAL McCOIL consistently outperforms COIL on simulated data, particularly when most infections are polygenomic. Using field data we show that, unlike with COIL, we can distinguish epidemiologically relevant differences in COI between and within these sites. Surprisingly, for example, we estimated high average COI in a peri-urban subregion with lower transmission intensity, suggesting that many of these cases were imported from surrounding regions with higher transmission intensity. THE REAL McCOIL therefore provides a robust tool for understanding the molecular epidemiology of malaria across transmission settings. PMID

  1. The non-equilibrium allele frequency spectrum in a Poisson random field framework.

    PubMed

    Kaj, Ingemar; Mugal, Carina F

    2016-10-01

    In population genetic studies, the allele frequency spectrum (AFS) efficiently summarizes genome-wide polymorphism data and shapes a variety of allele frequency-based summary statistics. While existing theory typically features equilibrium conditions, emerging methodology requires an analytical understanding of the build-up of the allele frequencies over time. In this work, we use the framework of Poisson random fields to derive new representations of the non-equilibrium AFS for the case of a Wright-Fisher population model with selection. In our approach, the AFS is a scaling-limit of the expectation of a Poisson stochastic integral and the representation of the non-equilibrium AFS arises in terms of a fixation time probability distribution. The known duality between the Wright-Fisher diffusion process and a birth and death process generalizing Kingman's coalescent yields an additional representation. The results carry over to the setting of a random sample drawn from the population and provide the non-equilibrium behavior of sample statistics. Our findings are consistent with and extend a previous approach where the non-equilibrium AFS solves a partial differential forward equation with a non-traditional boundary condition. Moreover, we provide a bridge to previous coalescent-based work, and hence tie several frameworks together. Since frequency-based summary statistics are widely used in population genetics, for example, to identify candidate loci of adaptive evolution, to infer the demographic history of a population, or to improve our understanding of the underlying mechanics of speciation events, the presented results are potentially useful for a broad range of topics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Frequency of alleles conferring resistance to a Bacillus thuringiensis toxin in a Philippine population of Scirpophaga incertulas (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

    PubMed

    Bentur, J S; Andow, D A; Cohen, M B; Romena, A M; Gould, F

    2000-10-01

    Using the F2 screen methodology, we estimated the frequency of alleles conferring resistance to the Cry1Ab toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner in a Philippine population of the stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker). Evaluation of >450 isofemale lines for survival of F2 larvae on cry1Ab plants did not detect the presence of an allele conferring a high level of resistance. The frequency of such an allele in the sampled population was conservatively estimated to be <3.6 x 10(-3) with 95% confidence and a detection probability of 94%. However, there was evidence of the presence of alleles conferring partial resistance to Cry1Ab. The frequency of alleles for partial resistance was estimated as 4.8 x 10(-3) with a 95% CI between 1.3 x 10(-3) and 1.04 x 10(-2) and a detection probability of 94%. Our results suggest that the frequency of alleles conferring resistance to Cry1Ab in the population of S. incertulas sampled is not too high to preclude successful implementation of the high dose/refuge resistance management strategy.

  3. Detection of MPLW515L/K Mutations and Determination of Allele Frequencies with a Single-Tube PCR Assay

    PubMed Central

    Takei, Hiraku; Morishita, Soji; Araki, Marito; Edahiro, Yoko; Sunami, Yoshitaka; Hironaka, Yumi; Noda, Naohiro; Sekiguchi, Yuji; Tsuneda, Satoshi; Ohsaka, Akimichi; Komatsu, Norio

    2014-01-01

    A gain-of-function mutation in the myeloproliferative leukemia virus (MPL) gene, which encodes the thrombopoietin receptor, has been identified in patients with essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis, subgroups of classic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The presence of MPL gene mutations is a critical diagnostic criterion for these diseases. Here, we developed a rapid, simple, and cost-effective method of detecting two major MPL mutations, MPLW515L/K, in a single PCR assay; we termed this method DARMS (dual amplification refractory mutation system)-PCR. DARMS-PCR is designed to produce three different PCR products corresponding to MPLW515L, MPLW515K, and all MPL alleles. The amplicons are later detected and quantified using a capillary sequencer to determine the relative frequencies of the mutant and wild-type alleles. Applying DARMS-PCR to human specimens, we successfully identified MPL mutations in MPN patients, with the exception of patients bearing mutant allele frequencies below the detection limit (5%) of this method. The MPL mutant allele frequencies determined using DARMS-PCR correlated strongly with the values determined using deep sequencing. Thus, we demonstrated the potential of DARMS-PCR to detect MPL mutations and determine the allele frequencies in a timely and cost-effective manner. PMID:25144224

  4. Detection of MPLW515L/K mutations and determination of allele frequencies with a single-tube PCR assay.

    PubMed

    Takei, Hiraku; Morishita, Soji; Araki, Marito; Edahiro, Yoko; Sunami, Yoshitaka; Hironaka, Yumi; Noda, Naohiro; Sekiguchi, Yuji; Tsuneda, Satoshi; Ohsaka, Akimichi; Komatsu, Norio

    2014-01-01

    A gain-of-function mutation in the myeloproliferative leukemia virus (MPL) gene, which encodes the thrombopoietin receptor, has been identified in patients with essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis, subgroups of classic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The presence of MPL gene mutations is a critical diagnostic criterion for these diseases. Here, we developed a rapid, simple, and cost-effective method of detecting two major MPL mutations, MPLW515L/K, in a single PCR assay; we termed this method DARMS (dual amplification refractory mutation system)-PCR. DARMS-PCR is designed to produce three different PCR products corresponding to MPLW515L, MPLW515K, and all MPL alleles. The amplicons are later detected and quantified using a capillary sequencer to determine the relative frequencies of the mutant and wild-type alleles. Applying DARMS-PCR to human specimens, we successfully identified MPL mutations in MPN patients, with the exception of patients bearing mutant allele frequencies below the detection limit (5%) of this method. The MPL mutant allele frequencies determined using DARMS-PCR correlated strongly with the values determined using deep sequencing. Thus, we demonstrated the potential of DARMS-PCR to detect MPL mutations and determine the allele frequencies in a timely and cost-effective manner.

  5. An historical perspective on "The world-wide distribution of allele frequencies at the human dopamine D4 receptor locus".

    PubMed

    Kidd, Kenneth K; Pakstis, Andrew J; Yun, Libing

    2014-04-01

    Human population genetics is a completely different science today compared to two decades ago, at least at the empiric level. Our paper [Chang (Hum Genet 98:91-101, 1996a)] demonstrated that three different alleles were common when one considered many populations although other low frequency alleles occurred. Because previous work had been largely done on European subjects, our findings involved 36 distinct populations and showed that East Asian populations had nearly lost the 7-repeat allele, and that Native American populations had the highest frequencies of that allele globally, was a significant early empiric demonstration of the potential magnitude of population variation at important genes. There are thousands of loci tested on many of the same populations and the gene frequency pattern seen for the DRD4 7-repeat allele is seen at other loci, arguing that this pattern commonly reflects the pattern of divergence of populations and accumulated random genetic drift.

  6. Minor Allele Frequency Changes the Nature of Genotype by Environment Interactions.

    PubMed

    Verhulst, Brad; Neale, Michael C

    2016-09-01

    In the classical twin study, phenotypic variation is often partitioned into additive genetic (A), common (C) and specific environment (E) components. From genetical theory, the outcome of genotype by environment interaction is expected to inflate A when the interacting factor is shared (i.e., C) between the members of a twin pair. We show that estimates of both A and C can be inflated. When the shared interacting factor changes the size of the difference between homozygotes' means, the expected sibling or DZ twin correlation is .5 if and only if the minor allele frequency (MAF) is .5; otherwise the expected DZ correlation is greater than this value, consistent (and confounded) with some additional effect of C. This result is considered in the light of the distribution of minor allele frequencies for polygenic traits. Also discussed is whether such interactions take place at the locus level or affect an aggregated biological structure or system. Interactions with structures or endophenotypes that result from the aggregated effects of many loci will generally emerge as part of the A estimate.

  7. How-To-Do-It: Multiple Allelic Frequencies in Populations at Equilibrium: Algorithms and Applications.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nussbaum, Francis, Jr.

    1988-01-01

    Presents an algorithm for solving problems related to multiple allelic frequencies in populations at equilibrium. Considers sample problems and provides their solution using this tabular algorithm. (CW)

  8. The Equilibrium Allele Frequency Distribution for a Population with Reproductive Skew

    PubMed Central

    Der, Ricky; Plotkin, Joshua B.

    2014-01-01

    We study the population genetics of two neutral alleles under reversible mutation in a model that features a skewed offspring distribution, called the Λ-Fleming–Viot process. We describe the shape of the equilibrium allele frequency distribution as a function of the model parameters. We show that the mutation rates can be uniquely identified from this equilibrium distribution, but the form of the offspring distribution cannot itself always be so identified. We introduce an estimator for the mutation rate that is consistent, independent of the form of reproductive skew. We also introduce a two-allele infinite-sites version of the Λ-Fleming–Viot process, and we use it to study how reproductive skew influences standing genetic diversity in a population. We derive asymptotic formulas for the expected number of segregating sites as a function of sample size and offspring distribution. We find that the Wright–Fisher model minimizes the equilibrium genetic diversity, for a given mutation rate and variance effective population size, compared to all other Λ-processes. PMID:24473932

  9. A New Method for Estimating the Effective Population Size from Allele Frequency Changes

    PubMed Central

    Pollak, Edward

    1983-01-01

    A new procedure is proposed for estimating the effective population size, given that information is available on changes in frequencies of the alleles at one or more independently segregating loci and the population is observed at two or more separate times. Approximate expressions are obtained for the variances of the new statistic, as well as others, also based on allele frequency changes, that have been discussed in the literature. This analysis indicates that the new statistic will generally have a smaller variance than the others. Estimates of effective population sizes and of the standard errors of the estimates are computed for data on two fly populations that have been discussed in earlier papers. In both cases, there is evidence that the effective population size is very much smaller than the minimum census size of the population. PMID:17246147

  10. Confidence intervals for population allele frequencies: the general case of sampling from a finite diploid population of any size.

    PubMed

    Fung, Tak; Keenan, Kevin

    2014-01-01

    The estimation of population allele frequencies using sample data forms a central component of studies in population genetics. These estimates can be used to test hypotheses on the evolutionary processes governing changes in genetic variation among populations. However, existing studies frequently do not account for sampling uncertainty in these estimates, thus compromising their utility. Incorporation of this uncertainty has been hindered by the lack of a method for constructing confidence intervals containing the population allele frequencies, for the general case of sampling from a finite diploid population of any size. In this study, we address this important knowledge gap by presenting a rigorous mathematical method to construct such confidence intervals. For a range of scenarios, the method is used to demonstrate that for a particular allele, in order to obtain accurate estimates within 0.05 of the population allele frequency with high probability (> or = 95%), a sample size of > 30 is often required. This analysis is augmented by an application of the method to empirical sample allele frequency data for two populations of the checkerspot butterfly (Melitaea cinxia L.), occupying meadows in Finland. For each population, the method is used to derive > or = 98.3% confidence intervals for the population frequencies of three alleles. These intervals are then used to construct two joint > or = 95% confidence regions, one for the set of three frequencies for each population. These regions are then used to derive a > or = 95%% confidence interval for Jost's D, a measure of genetic differentiation between the two populations. Overall, the results demonstrate the practical utility of the method with respect to informing sampling design and accounting for sampling uncertainty in studies of population genetics, important for scientific hypothesis-testing and also for risk-based natural resource management.

  11. Frequencies of apolipoprotein E alleles in depressed patients undergoing hemodialysis--a case-control study.

    PubMed

    Su, Yan-yan; Zhang, Yun-fang; Yang, Shen; Wang, Jie-lin; Hua, Bao-jun; Luo, Jie; Wang, Qi; Zeng, De-wang; Lin, Yan-qun; Li, Hong-yan

    2015-06-01

    To explore the relation between the frequencies of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) alleles and the occurrence of depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis in a Chinese population. We examined the ApoE alleles in a sample of 288 subjects: 72 patients with depression under hemodialysis, 74 patients without depression under hemodialysis, 75 patients with depression under nondialytic treatment and 67 patients without depression under nondialytic treatment. The depression state was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Associations between the occurrence of depression and the frequencies of ApoE alleles were examined using multinomial logistic regression models with adjustment of relevant covariates. Information about sociodemographics, clinical data, vascular risk factors and cognitive function was also collected and evaluated. The frequencies of ApoE-ɛ2 were significantly different between depressed and non-depressed patients irrespective of dialysis (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in the frequencies of ApoE-ɛ4 (p > 0.05). Serum ApoE levels were significantly different between depressed and non-depressed patients in the whole sample (p < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression models showed significant association between the frequency of ApoE-ɛ2 and the occurrence of depression in the Chinese population after control of relevant covariates, including age, sex, educational level, history of smoking and drinking, vascular risk factors and cognitive function. No association between the frequency of ApoE-ɛ4 and the occurrence of depression was found in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Further research is needed to find out if ApoE-ɛ2 acts as a protective factor in Chinese dialysis population since it might decrease the prevalence of depression and delay the onset age.

  12. HLA-A, -B, -C, -DQB1, and -DRB1,3,4,5 allele and haplotype frequencies in the Costa Rica Central Valley Population and its relationship to worldwide populations.

    PubMed

    Arrieta-Bolaños, Esteban; Maldonado-Torres, Hazael; Dimitriu, Oana; Hoddinott, Michael A; Fowles, Finnuala; Shah, Anila; Orlich-Pérez, Priscilla; McWhinnie, Alasdair J; Alfaro-Bourrouet, Wilbert; Buján-Boza, Willem; Little, Ann-Margaret; Salazar-Sánchez, Lizbeth; Madrigal, J Alejandro

    2011-01-01

    The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is the most polymorphic in humans. Its allele, genotype, and haplotype frequencies vary significantly among different populations. Molecular typing data on HLA are necessary for the development of stem cell donor registries, cord blood banks, HLA-disease association studies, and anthropology studies. The Costa Rica Central Valley Population (CCVP) is the major population in this country. No previous study has characterized HLA frequencies in this population. Allele group and haplotype frequencies of HLA genes in the CCVP were determined by means of molecular typing in a sample of 130 unrelated blood donors from one of the country's major hospitals. A comparison between these frequencies and those of 126 populations worldwide was also carried out. A minimum variance dendrogram based on squared Euclidean distances was constructed to assess the relationship between the CCVP sample and populations from all over the world. Allele group and haplotype frequencies observed in this study are consistent with a profile of a dynamic and diverse population, with a hybrid ethnic origin, predominantly Caucasian-Amerindian. Results showed that populations genetically closest to the CCVP are a Mestizo urban population from Venezuela, and another one from Guadalajara, Mexico. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. All rights reserved.

  13. Prion protein genotype survey confirms low frequency of scrapie-resistant K222 allele in British goat herds.

    PubMed

    Goldmann, W; Marier, E; Stewart, P; Konold, T; Street, S; Langeveld, J; Windl, O; Ortiz-Pelaez, A

    2016-02-13

    Scrapie in goats is a transmissible, fatal prion disease, which is endemic in the British goat population. The recent success in defining caprine PRNP gene variants that provide resistance to experimental and natural classical scrapie has prompted the authors to conduct a survey of PRNP genotypes in 10 goat breeds and 52 herds to find goats with the resistant K222 allele. They report here the frequencies in 1236 tested animals of the resistance-associated K222 and several other alleles by breed and herd. Eight animals were found to be heterozygous QK222 goats (0.64 per cent genotype frequency, 95 per cent CI 0.28 to 1.27 per cent) but no homozygous KK222 goats were detected. The K222 allele was found in Saanen, Toggenburg and Anglo-Nubian goats. The fact that only a few goats with the K222 allele have been identified does not preclude the possibility to design and implement successful breeding programmes at national level. British Veterinary Association.

  14. Beta-fibrinogen allele frequencies in Peruvian Quechua, a high-altitude native population.

    PubMed

    Rupert, J L; Devine, D V; Monsalve, M V; Hochachka, P W

    1999-06-01

    Elevated hematocrits, which are found in many high-altitude populations, increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood and may represent an adaptation to hypoxic environments. However, as high hematocrit increases blood viscosity, which in turn is associated with hypertension and heart disease, it may be advantageous for high-altitude populations to limit other factors that contribute to increased blood viscosity. One such factor is the plasma concentration of the coagulation protein fibrinogen. Several common polymorphisms in the beta-fibrinogen gene have been identified that affect fibrinogen concentrations. We determined the allele frequencies of three of these polymorphisms (G/A-455(HaeIII), C/T-148(HindIII), and G/A+448(MnlI)) in sample groups drawn from three populations: Quechua-speaking natives living at over 3,200 m in the Peruvian Andes, North American natives (Na-Dene) from coastal British Columbia, and Caucasian North Americans. The frequencies of the alleles previously shown to be associated with increased fibrinogen levels were so low in the Quechuas that their presence could be accounted for solely by genetic admixture with Caucasians. Frequencies in the Na-Dene, a Native American group unrelated to the Quechua, were not significantly different from those in Caucasians.

  15. Allele Frequencies Net Database: Improvements for storage of individual genotypes and analysis of existing data.

    PubMed

    Santos, Eduardo Jose Melos Dos; McCabe, Antony; Gonzalez-Galarza, Faviel F; Jones, Andrew R; Middleton, Derek

    2016-03-01

    The Allele Frequencies Net Database (AFND) is a freely accessible database which stores population frequencies for alleles or genes of the immune system in worldwide populations. Herein we introduce two new tools. We have defined new classifications of data (gold, silver and bronze) to assist users in identifying the most suitable populations for their tasks. The gold standard datasets are defined by allele frequencies summing to 1, sample sizes >50 and high resolution genotyping, while silver standard datasets do not meet gold standard genotyping resolution and/or sample size criteria. The bronze standard datasets are those that could not be classified under the silver or gold standards. The gold standard includes >500 datasets covering over 3 million individuals from >100 countries at one or more of the following loci: HLA-A, -B, -C, -DPA1, -DPB1, -DQA1, -DQB1 and -DRB1 - with all loci except DPA1 present in more than 220 datasets. Three out of 12 geographic regions have low representation (the majority of their countries having less than five datasets) and the Central Asia region has no representation. There are 18 countries that are not represented by any gold standard datasets but are represented by at least one dataset that is either silver or bronze standard. We also briefly summarize the data held by AFND for KIR genes, alleles and their ligands. Our second new component is a data submission tool to assist users in the collection of the genotypes of the individuals (raw data), facilitating submission of short population reports to Human Immunology, as well as simplifying the submission of population demographics and frequency data. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Allele frequency distribution of 1691G >A F5 (which confers Factor V Leiden) across Europe, including Slavic populations.

    PubMed

    Clark, Jeremy S C; Adler, Grażyna; Salkic, Nermin N; Ciechanowicz, Andrzej

    2013-11-01

    The allele 1691A F5, conferring Factor V Leiden, is a common risk factor in venous thromboembolism. The frequency distribution for this allele in Western Europe has been well documented; but here data from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe has been included. In order to assess the significance of the collated data, a chi-squared test was applied, and Tukey tests and z-tests with Bonferroni correction were compared. A distribution with a North-Southeast band of high frequency of the 1691A F5 allele was discovered with a pocket including some Southern Slavic populations with low frequency. European countries/regions can be arbitrarily delimited into low (group 1, <2.8 %, mean 1.9 % 1691A F5 allele) or high (group 2, ≥2.8 %, mean 4.0 %) frequency groups, with many significant differences between groups, but only one intra-group difference (the Tukey test is suggested to be superior to the z-tests). In Europe a North-Southeast band of 1691A F5 high frequency has been found, clarified by inclusion of data from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, which surrounds a pocket of low frequency in the Balkans which could possibly be explained by Slavic migration. There seem to be no indications of variation in environmental selection due to geographical location.

  17. Allelic frequencies and statistical data obtained from 12 codis STR loci in an admixed population of the Brazilian Amazon

    PubMed Central

    da Costa Francez, Pablo Abdon; Rodrigues, Elzemar Martins Ribeiro; Frazão, Gleycianne Furtado; dos Reis Borges, Nathalia Danielly; dos Santos, Sidney Emanuel Batista

    2011-01-01

    The allelic frequencies of 12 short tandem repeat loci were obtained from a sample of 307 unrelated individuals living in Macapá, a city in the northern Amazon region, Brazil. These loci are the most commonly used in forensics and paternity testing. Based on the allele frequency obtained for the population of Macapá, we estimated an interethnic admixture for the three parental groups (European, Native American and African) of, respectively, 46%, 35% and 19%. Comparing these allele frequencies with those of other Brazilian populations and of the Iberian Peninsula population, no significant distances were observed. The interpopulation genetic distances (FST coefficients) to the present database ranged from FST = 0.0016 between Macapá and Belém to FST = 0.0036 between Macapá and the Iberian Peninsula. PMID:21637540

  18. Allelic frequencies and statistical data obtained from 12 codis STR loci in an admixed population of the Brazilian Amazon.

    PubMed

    da Costa Francez, Pablo Abdon; Rodrigues, Elzemar Martins Ribeiro; Frazão, Gleycianne Furtado; Dos Reis Borges, Nathalia Danielly; Dos Santos, Sidney Emanuel Batista

    2011-01-01

    The allelic frequencies of 12 short tandem repeat loci were obtained from a sample of 307 unrelated individuals living in Macapá, a city in the northern Amazon region, Brazil. These loci are the most commonly used in forensics and paternity testing. Based on the allele frequency obtained for the population of Macapá, we estimated an interethnic admixture for the three parental groups (European, Native American and African) of, respectively, 46%, 35% and 19%. Comparing these allele frequencies with those of other Brazilian populations and of the Iberian Peninsula population, no significant distances were observed. The interpopulation genetic distances (F(ST) coefficients) to the present database ranged from F(ST) = 0.0016 between Macapá and Belém to F(ST) = 0.0036 between Macapá and the Iberian Peninsula.

  19. How allele frequency and study design affect association test statistics with misrepresentation errors.

    PubMed

    Escott-Price, Valentina; Ghodsi, Mansoureh; Schmidt, Karl Michael

    2014-04-01

    We evaluate the effect of genotyping errors on the type-I error of a general association test based on genotypes, showing that, in the presence of errors in the case and control samples, the test statistic asymptotically follows a scaled non-central $\\chi ^2$ distribution. We give explicit formulae for the scaling factor and non-centrality parameter for the symmetric allele-based genotyping error model and for additive and recessive disease models. They show how genotyping errors can lead to a significantly higher false-positive rate, growing with sample size, compared with the nominal significance levels. The strength of this effect depends very strongly on the population distribution of the genotype, with a pronounced effect in the case of rare alleles, and a great robustness against error in the case of large minor allele frequency. We also show how these results can be used to correct $p$-values.

  20. Genome-wide analysis of allele frequency change in sunflower crop-wild hybrid populations evolving under natural conditions.

    PubMed

    Corbi, Jonathan; Baack, Eric J; Dechaine, Jennifer M; Seiler, Gerald; Burke, John M

    2018-01-01

    Crop-wild hybridization occurs in numerous plant species and could alter the genetic structure and evolutionary dynamics of wild populations. Studying crop-derived alleles in wild populations is also relevant to assessing/mitigating the risks associated with transgene escape. To date, crop-wild hybridization has generally been examined via short-term studies, typically within a single generation, focusing on few traits or genetic markers. Little is known about patterns of selection on crop-derived alleles over multiple generations, particularly at a genome-wide scale. Here, we documented patterns of natural selection in an experimental crop × wild sunflower population that was allowed to evolve under natural conditions for two generations at two locations. Allele frequencies at a genome-wide collection of SNPs were tracked across generations, and a common garden experiment was conducted to compare trait means between generations. These data allowed us to identify instances of selection on crop-derived alleles/traits and, in concert with QTL mapping results, test for congruence between our genotypic and phenotypic results. We found that natural selection overwhelmingly favours wild alleles and phenotypes. However, crop alleles in certain genomic regions can be favoured, and these changes often occurred in parallel across locations. We did not, however, consistently observe close agreement between our genotypic and phenotypic results. For example, when a trait evolved towards the wild phenotype, wild QTL alleles associated with that trait did not consistently increase in frequency. We discuss these results in the context of crop allele introgression into wild populations and implications for the management of GM crops. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. HLA class-I and class-II allele frequencies and two-locus haplotypes in Melanesians of Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

    PubMed

    Maitland, K; Bunce, M; Harding, R M; Barnardo, M C N M; Clegg, J B; Welsh, K; Bowden, D K; Williams, T N

    2004-12-01

    HLA class-I and class-II allele frequencies and two-locus haplotypes were examined in 367 unrelated Melanesians living on the islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Diversity at all HLA class-I and class-II loci was relatively limited. In class-I loci, three HLA-A allelic groups (HLA-A*24, HLA-A*34 and HLA-A*11), seven HLA-B alleles or allelic groups (HLA-B*1506, HLA-B*5602, HLA-B*13, HLA-B*5601, HLA-B*4001, HLA-B*4002 and HLA-B*2704) and four HLA-C alleles or allelic groups (HLA-Cw*04, HLA-Cw*01, HLA-Cw*0702 and HLA-Cw*15) constituted more than 90% of the alleles observed. In the class-II loci, four HLA-DRB1 alleles (HLA-DRB1*15, HLA-DRB1*11, HLA-DRB1*04 and HLA-DRB1*16), three HLA-DRB3-5 alleles (HLA-DRB3*02, HLA-DRB4*01 and HLA-DRB5*01/02) and five HLA-DQB1 alleles (HLA-DQB1*0301, HLA-DQB1*04, HLA-DQB1*05, HLA-DQB1*0601 and HLA-DQB1*0602) constituted over 93, 97 and 98% of the alleles observed, respectively. Homozygosity showed significant departures from expected levels for neutrality based on allele frequency (i.e. excess diversity) at the HLA-B, HLA-Cw, HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DRB3/5 loci on some islands. The locus with the strongest departure from neutrality was HLA-DQB1, homozygosity being significantly lower than expected on all islands except New Caledonia. No consistent pattern was demonstrated for any HLA locus in relation to malaria endemicity.

  2. On the testing of Hardy-Weinberg proportions and equality of allele frequencies in males and females at biallelic genetic markers.

    PubMed

    Graffelman, Jan; Weir, Bruce S

    2018-02-01

    Standard statistical tests for equality of allele frequencies in males and females and tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are tightly linked by their assumptions. Tests for equality of allele frequencies assume Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, whereas the usual chi-square or exact test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assume equality of allele frequencies in the sexes. In this paper, we propose ways to break this interdependence in assumptions of the two tests by proposing an omnibus exact test that can test both hypotheses jointly, as well as a likelihood ratio approach that permits these phenomena to be tested both jointly and separately. The tests are illustrated with data from the 1000 Genomes project. © 2017 The Authors Genetic Epidemiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. The role of climate and out-of-Africa migration in the frequencies of risk alleles for 21 human diseases.

    PubMed

    Blair, Lily M; Feldman, Marcus W

    2015-07-14

    Demography and environmental adaptation can affect the global distribution of genetic variants and possibly the distribution of disease. Population heterozygosity of single nucleotide polymorphisms has been shown to decrease strongly with distance from Africa and this has been attributed to the effect of serial founding events during the migration of humans out of Africa. Additionally, population allele frequencies have been shown to change due to environmental adaptation. Here, we investigate the relationship of Out-of-Africa migration and climatic variables to the distribution of risk alleles for 21 diseases. For each disease, we computed the regression of average heterozygosity and average allele frequency of the risk alleles with distance from Africa and 9 environmental variables. We compared these regressions to a null distribution created by regressing statistics for SNPs not associated with disease on distance from Africa and these environmental variables. Additionally, we used Bayenv 2.0 to assess the signal of environmental adaptation associated with individual risk SNPs. For those SNPs in HGDP and HapMap that are risk alleles for type 2 diabetes, we cannot reject that their distribution is as expected from Out-of-Africa migration. However, the allelic statistics for many other diseases correlate more closely with environmental variables than would be expected from the serial founder effect and show signals of environmental adaptation. We report strong environmental interactions with several autoimmune diseases, and note a particularly strong interaction between asthma and summer humidity. Additionally, we identified several risk genes with strong environmental associations. For most diseases, migration does not explain the distribution of risk alleles and the worldwide pattern of allele frequencies for some diseases may be better explained by environmental associations, which suggests that some selection has acted on these diseases.

  4. Frequencies and phenotypic consequences of association of α- and β-thalassemia alleles with sickle-cell disease in Bahrain.

    PubMed

    Abuamer, S; Shome, D K; Jaradat, A; Radhi, A; Bapat, J P; Sharif, K A; Al-Touq, J; Al-Asheeri, A; Al-Ajami, A

    2017-02-01

    Bahrain has high prevalence rates of sickle cell and thalassemia in the population. This study reports the frequencies and phenotypic characteristics of α- and/or β-thalassemia associated with sickle-cell disease (SCD) in a tertiary care hospital. Adult SCD patients (n = 200) were screened for the common α- and β-thalassemia alleles prevalent in the region using molecular techniques. Results of CBC, hemoglobin analysis, and average annual frequencies of severe pain episodes and numbers of transfused red cell units were documented. Patients were grouped on the basis of molecular studies as sickle-cell anemia (SS, n = 131), SS/α-thalassemia with three normal genes (n = 27), SS/α-thalassemia with two normal genes (n = 11), sickle-β-thalassemia (Sβ, n = 23), and Sβ with co-inherited α-thalassemia (n = 8). Identified α-thalassemia determinants were -α 3.7 (n = 52), -α 4.2 (n = 4), α T-Saudi α (n = 1), and α Hph α (n = 1). All β-thalassemia alleles were β 0 defects. Sickle-thalassemia association resulted in higher hemoglobin, hematocrit, and erythrocyte counts with reduced MCV and reticulocytes. Significant clinical associations were as follows: increased severe pain frequency with α-thalassemia (three-gene group); red cell transfusion with β-thalassemia alleles and female gender. One-third of patients with SCD co-inherited α- and/or β-thalassemia alleles and these associations explained some of the observed phenotypic variability. A low prevalence of nondeletion α-thalassemia alleles was observed in these patients. The most significant disease amelioration occurred in SCD associated with two α-thalassemia alleles. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. The allele frequency of two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene in the Taiwanese population.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wen-Chung; Chen, Hui-Ju; Shu, Wei-Pang; Tsai, Yi-Chang; Lai, Yen-Chein

    2011-10-01

    The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3p25-26 is implicated in VHL disease. Two informative single nucleotide polymorphisms are at positions 19 and 1149 on the nucleotide sequence from Gene Bank NM_000551. In this study we examined the allele frequencies at these two loci in the Taiwanese population and compared the results to those from European ethnic populations. The allele frequency was examined in 616 healthy individuals including 301 university students and 315 neonates. Both A/G polymorphisms were investigated using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis created by restriction enzymes, BsaJ I and Acc I. Among these subjects, the allele frequencies at 19 SNP and 1149 SNP for variant G were 0.130 and 0.133, respectively. And these results were significant differences from those of the Caucasian populations. In addition, 90% of the tested subjects had identical genotypes at these two loci suggesting the existence of nonrandom association of alleles. We found that the G allele frequency at these two loci in the Taiwanese population is much lower than that in people from Western countries. This phenomenon may be attributed to ethnic effects. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies of 10 918 Koreans from bone marrow donor registry in Korea.

    PubMed

    Park, H; Lee, Y-J; Song, E Y; Park, M H

    2016-10-01

    The human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system is the most polymorphic genetic system in humans, and HLA matching is crucial in organ transplantation, especially in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We investigated HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies at allelic level in 10 918 Koreans from bone marrow donor registry in Korea. Intermediate resolution HLA typing was performed using Luminex technology (Wakunaga, Japan), and additional allelic level typing was performed using PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism method and/or sequence-based typing (Abbott Molecular, USA). Allele and haplotype frequencies were calculated by direct counting and maximum likelihood methods, respectively. A total of 39 HLA-A, 66 HLA-B and 47 HLA-DRB1 alleles were identified. High-frequency alleles found at a frequency of ≥5% were 6 HLA-A (A*02:01, *02:06, *11:01, *24:02, *31:01 and *33:03), 6 HLA-B (B*15:01, *35:01, *44:03, *51:01, 54:01 and *58:01) and 8 HLA-DRB1 (DRB1*01:01, *04:05, *04:06, *07:01, *08:03, *09:01, *13:02 and *15:01) alleles. At each locus, A*02, B*15 and DRB1*14 generic groups were most diverse at allelic level, consisting of 9, 12 and 11 different alleles, respectively. A total of 366, 197 and 21 different HLA-A-B-DRB1 haplotypes were estimated with frequencies of ≥0.05%, ≥0.1% and ≥0.5%, respectively. The five most common haplotypes with frequencies of ≥2.0% were A*33:03-B*44:03-DRB1*13:02 (4.97%), A*33:03-B*58:01-DRB1*13:02, A*33:03-B*44:03-DRB1*07:01, A*24:02-B*07:02-DRB1*01:01 and A*24:02-B*52:01-DRB1*15:02. Among 34 serologic HLA-A-B-DR haplotypes with frequencies of ≥0.5%, 17 haplotypes revealed allele-level diversity and majority of the allelic variation was arising from A2, A26, B61, B62, DR4 and DR14 specificities. Haplotype diversity obtained in this study is the most comprehensive data thus far reported in Koreans, and the information will be useful for unrelated stem cell transplantation as well as for disease

  7. Allele Frequencies for 15 Short Tandem Repeat Loci in Representative Sample of Croatian Population

    PubMed Central

    Projić, Petar; Škaro, Vedrana; Šamija, Ivana; Pojskić, Naris; Durmić-Pašić, Adaleta; Kovačević, Lejla; Bakal, Narcisa; Primorac, Dragan; Marjanović, Damir

    2007-01-01

    Aim To study the distribution of allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a representative sample of the Croatian population. Methods A total of 195 unrelated Caucasian individuals born in Croatia, from 14 counties and the City of Zagreb, were sampled for the analysis. All the tested individuals were voluntary donors. Buccal swab was used as the DNA source. AmpFlSTR® Identifiler® was applied to simultaneously amplify 15 STR loci. Total reaction volume was 12.5 μL. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was carried out in PE Gene Amp PCR System Thermal Cycler. Electrophoresis of the amplification products was preformed on an ABI PRISM 3130 Genetic Analyzer. After PCR amplification and separation by electrophoresis, raw data were compiled, analyzed, and numerical allele designations of the profiles were obtained. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, observed and expected heterozygosity, power of discrimination, and power of exclusion were calculated. Bonferroni’s correction was used before each comparative analysis. Results We compared Croatian data with those obtained from geographically neighboring European populations. The significant difference (at P<0.01) in allele frequencies was recorded only between the Croatian and Slovenian populations for vWA locus. There was no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all the observed loci. Conclusion Obtained population data concurred with the expected “STR data frame” for this part of Europe. PMID:17696301

  8. Genetic variation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene: increased frequency of the insertion allele in Koreans.

    PubMed

    Hong, S H; Kang, B Y; Park, W H; Kim, J Q; Lee, C C

    1997-01-01

    In view of the clinical importance of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) as a major marker for cardiovascular diseases, we investigated insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene in Koreans. Genotype frequencies were examined by polymerase chain reaction in 171 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 120 healthy subjects. Allele frequencies of ACE polymorphism in Koreans were not significantly different between patient and control groups. In addition, association between ACE genotypes and the number of stenosed coronary arteries was not detected. ACE genotypes in the CAD group were not associated with body mass index and plasma lipid levels. Thus, our results suggest that, at least in Koreans, I/D polymorphism of the gene is unlikely to be a useful marker for CAD subjects. However, the I allele frequency of Koreans (0.58) was higher than that of Caucasian populations (0.47) but lower than that of Samoan (0.91) and Yanomami (0.85) populations. Here, we discuss the clinical and ethnic importance of ACE polymorphism.

  9. Could FIV zoonosis responsible of the breakdown of the pathocenosis which has reduced the European CCR5-Delta32 allele frequencies?

    PubMed Central

    Faure, Eric

    2008-01-01

    Background In Europe, the north-south downhill cline frequency of the chemokine receptor CCR5 allele with a 32-bp deletion (CCR5-Δ32) raises interesting questions for evolutionary biologists. We had suggested first that, in the past, the European colonizers, principally Romans, might have been instrumental of a progressively decrease of the frequencies southwards. Indeed, statistical analyses suggested strong negative correlations between the allele frequency and historical parameters including the colonization dates by Mediterranean civilisations. The gene flows from colonizers to native populations were extremely low but colonizers are responsible of the spread of several diseases suggesting that the dissemination of parasites in naive populations could have induced a breakdown rupture of the fragile pathocenosis changing the balance among diseases. The new equilibrium state has been reached through a negative selection of the null allele. Results Most of the human diseases are zoonoses and cat might have been instrumental in the decrease of the allele frequency, because its diffusion through Europe was a gradual process, due principally to Romans; and that several cat zoonoses could be transmitted to man. The possible implication of a feline lentivirus (FIV) which does not use CCR5 as co-receptor is discussed. This virus can infect primate cells in vitro and induces clinical signs in macaque. Moreover, most of the historical regions with null or low frequency of CCR5-Δ32 allele coincide with historical range of the wild felid species which harbor species-specific FIVs. Conclusion We proposed the hypothesis that the actual European CCR5 allelic frequencies are the result of a negative selection due to a disease spreading. A cat zoonosis, could be the most plausible hypothesis. Future studies could provide if CCR5 can play an antimicrobial role in FIV pathogenesis. Moreover, studies of ancient DNA could provide more evidences regarding the implications of

  10. Ancient DNA Investigation of a Medieval German Cemetery Confirms Long-Term Stability of CCR5-Δ32 Allele Frequencies in Central Europe.

    PubMed

    Bouwman, Abigail; Shved, Natallia; Akgül, Gülfirde; Rühli, Frank; Warinner, Christina

    2017-04-01

    The CCR5-Δ32 mutation present in European populations is among the most prominently debated cases of recent positive selection in humans. This allele, a 32-bp deletion that renders the T-cell CCR5 receptor nonfunctional, has important epidemiological and public health significance, as homozygous carriers are resistant to several HIV strains. However, although the function of this allele in preventing HIV infection is now well described, its human evolutionary origin is poorly understood. Initial attempts to determine the emergence of the CCR5-Δ32 allele pointed to selection during the 14th-century Black Death pandemic; however, subsequent analyses suggest that the allele rose in frequency more than 5,000 years ago, possibly through drift. Recently, three studies have identified populations predating the 14th century CE that are positive for the CCR5-Δ32 allele, supporting the claim for a more ancient origin. However, these studies also suggest poorly understood regional differences in the recent evolutionary history of the CCR5-Δ32 allele. Here a new hydrolysis-probe-based real-time PCR assay was designed to ascertain CCR5 allele frequency in 53 individuals from a 10th- to 12th-century CE church and convent complex in central Germany that predates outbreaks of the Black Death pandemic. High-confidence genotypes were obtained for 32 individuals, and results show that CCR5-Δ32 allele frequency has remained unchanged in this region of Central Europe over the last millennium, suggesting that there has been no strong positive selective pressure over this time period and confirming a more ancient origin for the allele.

  11. The Distribution of Genotype and Allelic Frequency of IL28B Gene Polymorphism in Andhra Pradesh, India

    PubMed Central

    Sivaprasad, Siddapuram; Rao, Padaki Nagaraja; Gupta, Rajesh; Ashwini, Kaitha; Reddy, Duvvuru Nageshwar

    2012-01-01

    Background The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL28B gene on chromosome 19, encoding for the interferon (IFN)-λ-3 is strongly associated with treatment response to pegylated-IFN and ribavirin in patients infected with different genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Difference between ethnicity and treatment response rates suggesting a key role of host genetics. The IL28B polymorphism (rs12979860C/T) shows a marked differential distribution between racial groups. Aim The present study is aimed to evaluate genotype and allelic frequency of IL28B gene polymorphism (rs12979860C/T) in Andhra Pradesh, India. Methods A total of 220 healthy controls were recruited for the study. The genotyping of SNP rs12979860C/T on IL28B gene was performed by polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing method. Result The frequency of CC genotype was found to be significantly (59.09%) higher compared to CT (34.09%) and TT (6.81%) genotypes, respectively. The frequency of major allele C is 0.762 whereas minor allele T is 0.238. Conclusion The higher distribution of genotype ‘CC’ of SNP, rs12979860C/T of IL28B gene in study subjects is suggestive of better response of HCV patients to standard anti-HCV therapy. PMID:25755419

  12. High Resolution Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Allele Frequencies and HIV-1 Infection Associations in Chinese Han and Uyghur Cohorts

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yanhou; Zhao, Zhongfang; Li, Tianyi; Liao, Qi; Kushner, Nicholas; Touzjian, Neal Y.; Shao, Yiming; Sun, Yongtao; Strong, Amie J.; Lu, Yichen

    2012-01-01

    Background Host immunogenetic factors such as HLA class I polymorphism are important to HIV-1 infection risk and AIDS progression. Previous studies using high-resolution HLA class I profile data of Chinese populations appeared insufficient to provide information for HIV-1 vaccine development and clinical trial design. Here we reported HLA class I association with HIV-1 susceptibility in a Chinese Han and a Chinese Uyghur cohort. Methodology/Principal Findings Our cohort included 327 Han and 161 Uyghur ethnic individuals. Each cohort included HIV-1 seropositive and HIV-1 seronegative subjects. Four-digit HLA class I typing was performed by sequencing-based typing and high-resolution PCR-sequence specific primer. We compared the HLA class I allele and inferred haplotype frequencies between HIV-1 seropositive and seronegative groups. A neighbor-joining tree between our cohorts and other populations was constructed based on allele frequencies of HLA-A and HLA-B loci. We identified 58 HLA-A, 75 HLA-B, and 32 HLA-Cw distinct alleles from our cohort and no novel alleles. The frequency of HLA-B*5201 and A*0301 was significantly higher in the Han HIV-1 negative group. The frequency of HLA-B*5101 was significantly higher in the Uyghur HIV-1 negative group. We observed statistically significant increases in expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm predicted haplotype frequencies of HLA-A*0201-B*5101 in the Uyghur HIV-1 negative group, and of Cw*0304-B*4001 in the Han HIV-1 negative group. The B62s supertype frequency was found to be significantly higher in the Han HIV-1 negative group than in the Han HIV-1 positive group. Conclusions At the four-digit level, several HLA class I alleles and haplotypes were associated with lower HIV-1 susceptibility. Homogeneity of HLA class I and Bw4/Bw6 heterozygosity were not associated with HIV-1 susceptibility in our cohort. These observations contribute to the Chinese HLA database and could prove useful in the development of HIV-1 vaccine

  13. Allelic frequencies and statistical data obtained from 48 AIM INDEL loci in an admixed population from the Brazilian Amazon.

    PubMed

    Francez, Pablo Abdon da Costa; Ribeiro-Rodrigues, Elzemar Martins; dos Santos, Sidney Emanuel Batista

    2012-01-01

    Allelic frequencies of 48 informative insert-delete (INDEL) loci were obtained from a sample set of 130 unrelated individuals living in Macapá, a city located in the northern Amazon region, in Brazil. The values of heterozygosity (H), polymorphic information content (PIC), power of discrimination (PD), power of exclusion (PE), matching probability (MP) and typical paternity index (TPI) were calculated and showed the forensic efficiency of these genetic markers. Based on the allele frequency obtained for the population of Macapá, we estimated an interethnic admixture for the three parental groups (European, Native American and African) of, respectively, 50%, 21% and 29%. Comparing these allele frequencies with those of other Brazilian populations and the parental populations, statistically significant distances were found. The interpopulation genetic distance (F(ST) coefficients) to the present database ranged from F(ST)=0.0431 (p<0.00001) between Macapá and Belém to F(ST)=0.266 (p<0.00001) between Macapá and the Native American group. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Detection of Allelic Frequency Differences between the Sexes in Humans: A Signature of Sexually Antagonistic Selection.

    PubMed

    Lucotte, Elise A; Laurent, Romain; Heyer, Evelyne; Ségurel, Laure; Toupance, Bruno

    2016-06-02

    Sexually antagonistic (SA) selection, a form of selection that can occur when both sexes have different fitness optima for a trait, is a major force shaping the evolution of organisms. A seminal model developed by Rice (Rice WR. 1984. Sex chromosomes and the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Evolution 38:735-742.) predicts that the X chromosome should be a hotspot for the accumulation of loci under SA selection as compared with the autosomes. Here, we propose a methodological framework designed to detect a specific signature of SA selection on viability, differences in allelic frequencies between the sexes. Applying this method on genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data in human populations where no sex-specific population stratification could be detected, we show that there are overall significantly more SNPs exhibiting differences in allelic frequencies between the sexes on the X chromosome as compared with autosomes, supporting the predictions of Rice's model. This pattern is consistent across populations and is robust to correction for potential biases such as differences in linkage disequilibrium, sample size, and genotyping errors between chromosomes. Although SA selection is not the only factor resulting in allelic frequency differences between the sexes, we further show that at least part of the identified X-linked loci is caused by such a sex-specific processes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  15. Allele frequency data of 15 autosomal STR loci in four major population groups of South Africa.

    PubMed

    Lucassen, Anton; Ehlers, Karen; Grobler, Paul J; Shezi, Adeline L

    2014-03-01

    Allele frequency distributions for 15 tetrameric short tandem repeat (STR) loci were determined using the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler Plus™ PCR amplification kit. There was little evidence of departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or association of alleles of different loci in the population samples. The probability of identity values for the different populations range from 1/3.3 × 10(17) (White) to 1/1.88 × 10(18) (Coloured). The combined probability of paternal exclusion for the different population groups ranges from 0.9995858 (Coloured) to 0.9997874 (Indian).

  16. Comparison of allele frequencies of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite antigens in malaria infections sampled in different years in a Kenyan population.

    PubMed

    Ochola-Oyier, Lynette Isabella; Okombo, John; Wagatua, Njoroge; Ochieng, Jacob; Tetteh, Kevin K; Fegan, Greg; Bejon, Philip; Marsh, Kevin

    2016-05-06

    Plasmodium falciparum merozoite antigens elicit antibody responses in malaria-endemic populations, some of which are clinically protective, which is one of the reasons why merozoite antigens are the focus of malaria vaccine development efforts. Polymorphisms in several merozoite antigen-encoding genes are thought to arise as a result of selection by the human immune system. The allele frequency distribution of 15 merozoite antigens over a two-year period, 2007 and 2008, was examined in parasites obtained from children with uncomplicated malaria. In the same population, allele frequency changes pre- and post-anti-malarial treatment were also examined. Any gene which showed a significant shift in allele frequencies was also assessed longitudinally in asymptomatic and complicated malaria infections. Fluctuating allele frequencies were identified in codons 147 and 148 of reticulocyte-binding homologue (Rh) 5, with a shift from HD to YH haplotypes over the two-year period in uncomplicated malaria infections. However, in both the asymptomatic and complicated malaria infections YH was the dominant and stable haplotype over the two-year and ten-year periods, respectively. A logistic regression analysis of all three malaria infection populations between 2007 and 2009 revealed, that the chance of being infected with the HD haplotype decreased with time from 2007 to 2009 and increased in the uncomplicated and asymptomatic infections. Rh5 codons 147 and 148 showed heterogeneity at both an individual and population level and may be under some degree of immune selection.

  17. GJB2 Mutations in Mongolia: Complex Alleles, Low Frequency, and Reduced Fitness of the Deaf

    PubMed Central

    Tekin, Mustafa; Xia, Xia-Juan; Erdenetungalag, Radnaabazar; Cengiz, F. Basak; White, Thomas W.; Radnaabazar, Janchiv; Dangaasuren, Begzsuren; Tastan, Hakki; Nance, Walter E.; Pandya, Arti

    2016-01-01

    Summary We screened the GJB2 gene for mutations in 534 (108 multiplex and 426 simplex) probands with non-syndromic sensorineural deafness, who were ascertained through the only residential school for deaf in Mongolia and in 217 hearing controls. Twenty different alleles, including four novel changes, were identified. Biallelic GJB2 mutations were found in 4.5% of the deaf probands (8.3% in multiplex, 3.5% in simplex). The most common mutations were c.IVS1+1G>A (c.-3201G>A) and c.235delC with allele frequencies of 3.5% and 1.5%, respectively. The c.IVS1+1G>A mutation appears to have diverse origins based on its association with multiple haplotypes constructed using nearby SNP markers. The p.V27I and p.E114G variants were frequently detected in both deaf probands and hearing controls. The p.E114G variant was always associated with p.V27I, and haplotype analysis confirmed that it was always in cis with the p.V27I variant. Although in vitro experiments using Xenopus oocytes have suggested that p.[V27I;E114G] disturb the gap junction function of Cx26, the equal distribution of this complex allele in both deaf probands and hearing controls makes it a less likely cause of profound congenital deafness. We found a lower frequency of assortative mating (37.5%) and decreased genetic fitness (62%) of the deaf in Mongolia as compared to the western populations, which provides an explanation for lower frequency of GJB2 deafness in Mongolia. PMID:20201936

  18. Allele Surfing Promotes Microbial Adaptation from Standing Variation

    PubMed Central

    Gralka, Matti; Stiewe, Fabian; Farrell, Fred; Möbius, Wolfram; Waclaw, Bartek; Hallatschek, Oskar

    2016-01-01

    The coupling of ecology and evolution during range expansions enables mutations to establish at expanding range margins and reach high frequencies. This phenomenon, called allele surfing, is thought to have caused revolutions in the gene pool of many species, most evidently in microbial communities. It has remained unclear, however, under which conditions allele surfing promotes or hinders adaptation. Here, using microbial experiments and simulations, we show that, starting with standing adaptive variation, range expansions generate a larger increase in mean fitness than spatially uniform population expansions. The adaptation gain results from ‘soft’ selective sweeps emerging from surfing beneficial mutations. The rate of these surfing events is shown to sensitively depend on the strength of genetic drift, which varies among strains and environmental conditions. More generally, allele surfing promotes the rate of adaptation per biomass produced, which could help developing biofilms and other resource-limited populations to cope with environmental challenges. PMID:27307400

  19. Polymorphism discovery and allele frequency estimation using high-throughput DNA sequencing of target-enriched pooled DNA samples

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The central role of the somatotrophic axis in animal post-natal growth, development and fertility is well established. Therefore, the identification of genetic variants affecting quantitative traits within this axis is an attractive goal. However, large sample numbers are a pre-requisite for the identification of genetic variants underlying complex traits and although technologies are improving rapidly, high-throughput sequencing of large numbers of complete individual genomes remains prohibitively expensive. Therefore using a pooled DNA approach coupled with target enrichment and high-throughput sequencing, the aim of this study was to identify polymorphisms and estimate allele frequency differences across 83 candidate genes of the somatotrophic axis, in 150 Holstein-Friesian dairy bulls divided into two groups divergent for genetic merit for fertility. Results In total, 4,135 SNPs and 893 indels were identified during the resequencing of the 83 candidate genes. Nineteen percent (n = 952) of variants were located within 5' and 3' UTRs. Seventy-two percent (n = 3,612) were intronic and 9% (n = 464) were exonic, including 65 indels and 236 SNPs resulting in non-synonymous substitutions (NSS). Significant (P < 0.01) mean allele frequency differentials between the low and high fertility groups were observed for 720 SNPs (58 NSS). Allele frequencies for 43 of the SNPs were also determined by genotyping the 150 individual animals (Sequenom® MassARRAY). No significant differences (P > 0.1) were observed between the two methods for any of the 43 SNPs across both pools (i.e., 86 tests in total). Conclusions The results of the current study support previous findings of the use of DNA sample pooling and high-throughput sequencing as a viable strategy for polymorphism discovery and allele frequency estimation. Using this approach we have characterised the genetic variation within genes of the somatotrophic axis and related pathways, central to mammalian post

  20. Determination of frequencies of alleles, associated with the pseudodeficiency of lysosomal hydrolases, in population of Ukraine.

    PubMed

    Olkhovych, N V; Gorovenko, N G

    2016-01-01

    The pseudodeficiency of lysosomal hydrolases described as a significant reduction in enzyme activi­ty in vitro in clinically healthy individuals, can lead to diagnostic errors in the process of biochemical analysis of lysosomal storage disease in case of its combination with pathology of another origin. Pseudodeficiency is mostly caused by some non-pathogenic changes in the corresponding gene. These changes lead to the in vitro lability of the enzyme molecule, whereas in vivo the enzyme retains its functional activity. To assess the prevalence of the most common lysosomal hydrolases pseudodeficiency alleles in Ukraine, we have determined the frequency of alleles c.1055A>G and c.* 96A>G in the ARSA gene, substitutions c.739C>T (R247W) and c.745C>T (R249W) in the HEXA gene, c.1726G>A (G576S) and c.2065G>A (E689K) in the GAA gene, c.937G>T (D313Y) in the GLA1 gene and c.898G>A (A300T) in the IDUA gene in a group of 117 healthy individuals from different regions of the country and 14 heterozygous carriers of pathogenic mutations in the HEXA gene (parents of children with confirmed diagnosis of Tay-Sachs disease). The total frequency of haplotypes, associated with arylsulfatase A pseudodeficiency, in healthy people in Ukraine (c.1055G/c.*96G and c.1055G/c.*96A haplotypes) was 10.3%. The frequency of c.739C>T (R247W) allele, associated with hexo­saminidase A pseudodeficiency, among Tay-Sachs carriers from Ukraine was 7.1%. The total frequency of α-glucosidase pseudodeficiency haplotypes in healthy individuals in Ukraine (c.1726A/c.2065A and c.1726G/c.2065A haplotypes) was 2.6%. No person among examined individuals with the substitution c.937G>T (D313Y) in the GLA1 gene and c.898G>A (A300T) in the IDUA gene was found. The differential diagnostics of lysosomal storage diseases requires obligatory determination of the presence of the pseudodeficiency alleles, particularly the ones with high incidence in the total population. Ignoring phenomenon of pseudodeficiency may

  1. The immunogenetics of multiple sclerosis. The frequency of HLA-alleles class 1 and 2 is lower in Southern Brazil than in the European population.

    PubMed

    Werneck, Lineu Cesar; Lorenzoni, Paulo José; Arndt, Raquel Cristina; Kay, Cláudia Suemi Kamoi; Scola, Rosana Herminia

    2016-08-01

    To study the HLA of class 1and 2 in a multiple sclerosis (MS) population to verify the susceptibility for the disease in the Southern Brazil. We analyzed patients with MS and controls, by direct sequencing of the genes related to HLA DRB1, DQB1, DPB1, A, B and C alleles with high resolution techniques. We found a lower frequency of all HLA alleles class 1 and 2 in MS and controls comparing to the European population. Several alleles had statistical correlation, but after Bonferroni correction, the only allele with significance was the HLA-DQB1*02:03, which has a positive association with MS. Our data have different frequency of HLA-alleles than the previous published papers in the Southeast Brazil and European population, possible due to several ethnic backgrounds.

  2. The molecular epidemiology of Huntington disease is related to intermediate allele frequency and haplotype in the general population.

    PubMed

    Kay, Chris; Collins, Jennifer A; Wright, Galen E B; Baine, Fiona; Miedzybrodzka, Zosia; Aminkeng, Folefac; Semaka, Alicia J; McDonald, Cassandra; Davidson, Mark; Madore, Steven J; Gordon, Erynn S; Gerry, Norman P; Cornejo-Olivas, Mario; Squitieri, Ferdinando; Tishkoff, Sarah; Greenberg, Jacquie L; Krause, Amanda; Hayden, Michael R

    2018-04-01

    Huntington disease (HD) is the most common monogenic neurodegenerative disorder in populations of European ancestry, but occurs at lower prevalence in populations of East Asian or black African descent. New mutations for HD result from CAG repeat expansions of intermediate alleles (IAs), usually of paternal origin. The differing prevalence of HD may be related to the rate of new mutations in a population, but no comparative estimates of IA frequency or the HD new mutation rate are available. In this study, we characterize IA frequency and the CAG repeat distribution in fifteen populations of diverse ethnic origin. We estimate the HD new mutation rate in a series of populations using molecular IA expansion rates. The frequency of IAs was highest in Hispanic Americans and Northern Europeans, and lowest in black Africans and East Asians. The prevalence of HD correlated with the frequency of IAs by population and with the proportion of IAs found on the HD-associated A1 haplotype. The HD new mutation rate was estimated to be highest in populations with the highest frequency of IAs. In European ancestry populations, one in 5,372 individuals from the general population and 7.1% of individuals with an expanded CAG repeat in the HD range are estimated to have a molecular new mutation. Our data suggest that the new mutation rate for HD varies substantially between populations, and that IA frequency and haplotype are closely linked to observed epidemiological differences in the prevalence of HD across major ancestry groups in different countries. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Evolutionary dynamics of sporophytic self-incompatibility alleles in plants.

    PubMed

    Schierup, M H; Vekemans, X; Christiansen, F B

    1997-10-01

    The stationary frequency distribution and allelic dynamics in finite populations are analyzed through stochastic simulations in three models of single-locus, multi-allelic sporophytic self-incompatibility. The models differ in the dominance relationships among alleles. In one model, alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style (SSIcod), in the second, alleles form a dominance hierarchy in pollen and style (SSIdom). In the third model, alleles interact codominantly in the style and form a dominance hierarchy in the pollen (SSIdomcod). The SSIcod model behaves similarly to the model of gametophytic self-incompatibility, but the selection intensity is stronger. With dominance, dominant alleles invade the population more easily than recessive alleles and have a lower frequency at equilibrium. In the SSIdom model, recessive alleles have both a higher allele frequency and higher expected life span. In the SSIdomcod model, however, loss due to drift occurs more easily for pollen-recessive than for pollen-dominant alleles, and therefore, dominant alleles have a higher expected life span than the more recessive alleles. The process of allelic turnover in the SSIdomcod and SSIdom models is closely approximated by a random walk on a dominance ladder. Implications of the results for experimental studies of sporophytic self-incompatibility in natural populations are discussed.

  4. Polymorphisms of alcohol metabolizing enzymes in indigenous Mexican population: unusual high frequency of CYP2E1*c2 allele.

    PubMed

    Gordillo-Bastidas, Elizabeth; Panduro, Arturo; Gordillo-Bastidas, Daniela; Zepeda-Carrillo, Eloy A; García-Bañuelos, Jesús J; Muñoz-Valle, José F; Bastidas-Ramírez, Blanca E

    2010-01-01

    Alcohol abuse represents the major identified etiological factor of cirrhosis in México. ADH1B, ALDH2, and CYP2E1 have been considered candidate genes in alcohol-related diseases. Controversial results probably due to ethnic differences, among other factors, have been reported. Mexican Mestizos (MES) derive from the combination of indigenous, Spaniard, and African genes. Huichols (HUI) constitute an indigenous group from western Mexico with no racial admixture. We determined ADH1B*2, ALDH2*2, and CYP2E1*c2 allele frequencies in healthy HUI and MES from western Mexico. Lipid and hepatic profile were also carried out. One hundred and one HUI and 331 MES subjects were studied. Genotype and allele frequency were assessed through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism after DNA isolation from peripheral leukocytes. Commercial kits for lipid and hepatic determinations were used. Polymorphic allele distribution in HUI was: 0%ADH1B*2, 0.5%ALDH2*2, 51.5%CYP2E1*c2; in MES: 3.4%ADH1B*2, 0%ALDH2*2, 16.1%CYP2E1*c2. Frequency of ADH1B*2 was statistically (p < 0.001) lower in HUI than MES. CYP2E1*c2 polymorphic allele was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) in HUI than MES. Hepatic profile was normal in both groups. HUI showed a better lipid profile than MES independently of genotype. Huichols exhibited the highest CYP2E1*c2 allele frequency of the world documented up to this date; meanwhile, ADH1B*2 and ALDH2*2 were practically absent. This feature could be useful in the understanding of Mexican population gene composition, alcohol metabolism, and alcoholic liver disease development. However, further association studies are necessary. The heterogeneity of Mexican population was evidenced by the significantly different distribution of CYP2E1*c2 allele observed among different regions of the country. Lipid and hepatic values were not associated to genotype. This report constitutes the first study dealing with gene polymorphisms of alcohol metabolizing

  5. Diversity of HLA-B61 alleles and haplotypes in East Asians and Spanish Gypsies.

    PubMed

    Ogawa, A; Tokunaga, K; Lin, L; Kashiwase, K; Tanaka, H; Herrero, M J; Vilches, C; Park, M H; Jia, G J; Chimge, N O; Sideltseva, E W; Ishikawa, Y; Akaza, T; Tadokoro, K; Juji, T

    1998-04-01

    The distribution of HLA-B61 alleles and their association with HLA-C and DRB1 alleles were investigated in six East Asian populations (South Korean, Chinese Korean, Man (Manchu), Northern Han, Mongolian and Buryat) and Spanish Gypsies and compared to our previous report on the Japanese population. The alleles were identified using a group-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genomic DNA followed by hybridization with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (SSOP). Both HLA-B*4002 and B*4006 were commonly detected in the South Korean, Chinese Korean, Man, Northern Han and Japanese populations, while HLA-B*4002 was predominant in the Mongolian and Buryat populations. Strong associations of B*4002 with Cw*0304 and of B*4006 with Cw*0801 were commonly observed in these East Asian populations. In contrast, in Spanish Gypsies, only HLA-B*4006 was found and the allele exhibited a strong association with Cw*1502. HLA-B*4003 was also identified in the South Korean, Chinese Korean, Northern Han, Mongolian and Japanese populations at relatively low frequencies, and exhibited an association with Cw*0304. Moreover, the association of these B61 alleles with the DRB1 alleles revealed considerable diversity among the different populations. HLA-B*4004 and B*4009 were not observed in these populations. Consequently, the frequencies of the B61 alleles varied among the different East Asian populations, but the individual B61 alleles were carried by specific haplotypes often regardless of the ethnic differences.

  6. Allelic frequencies and association with carcass traits of six genes in local subpopulations of Japanese Black cattle.

    PubMed

    Nishimaki, Takahiro; Ibi, Takayuki; Siqintuya; Kobayashi, Naohiko; Matsuhashi, Tamako; Akiyama, Takayuki; Yoshida, Emi; Imai, Kazumi; Matsui, Mayu; Uemura, Keiichi; Eto, Hisayoshi; Watanabe, Naoto; Fujita, Tatsuo; Saito, Yosuke; Komatsu, Tomohiko; Hoshiba, Hiroshi; Mannen, Hideyuki; Sasazaki, Shinji; Kunieda, Tetsuo

    2016-04-01

    Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is expected to accelerate the genetic improvement of Japanese Black cattle. However, verification of the effects of the genes for MAS in different subpopulations is required prior to the application of MAS. In this study, we investigated the allelic frequencies and genotypic effects for carcass traits of six genes, which can be used in MAS, in eight local subpopulations. These genes are SCD, FASN and SREBP1, which are associated with the fatty acid composition of meat, and NCAPG, MC1R and F11, which are associated with carcass weight, coat color and blood coagulation abnormality, respectively. The frequencies of desirable alleles of SCD and FASN were relatively high and that of NCAPG was relatively low, and NCAPG was significantly associated with several carcass traits, including carcass weight. The proportions of genotypic variance explained by NCAPG to phenotypic variance were 4.83 for carcass weight. We thus confirmed that NCAPG is a useful marker for selection of carcass traits in these subpopulations. In addition, we found that the desirable alleles of six genes showed no negative effects on carcass traits. Therefore, selection using these genes to improve target traits should not have negative impacts on carcass traits. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  7. Geographic distributions of Idh-1 alleles in a cricket are linked to differential enzyme kinetic performance across thermal environments

    PubMed Central

    Huestis, Diana L; Oppert, Brenda; Marshall, Jeremy L

    2009-01-01

    Background Geographic clines within species are often interpreted as evidence of adaptation to varying environmental conditions. However, clines can also result from genetic drift, and these competing hypotheses must therefore be tested empirically. The striped ground cricket, Allonemobius socius, is widely-distributed in the eastern United States, and clines have been documented in both life-history traits and genetic alleles. One clinally-distributed locus, isocitrate dehydrogenase (Idh-1), has been shown previously to exhibit significant correlations between allele frequencies and environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall). Further, an empirical study revealed a significant genotype-by-environmental interaction (GxE) between Idh-1 genotype and temperature which affected fitness. Here, we use enzyme kinetics to further explore GxE between Idh-1 genotype and temperature, and test the predictions of kinetic activity expected under drift or selection. Results We found significant GxE between temperature and three enzyme kinetic parameters, providing further evidence that the natural distributions of Idh-1 allele frequencies in A. socius are maintained by natural selection. Differences in enzyme kinetic activity across temperatures also mirror many of the geographic patterns observed in allele frequencies. Conclusion This study further supports the hypothesis that the natural distribution of Idh-1 alleles in A. socius is driven by natural selection on differential enzymatic performance. This example is one of several which clearly document a functional basis for both the maintenance of common alleles and observed clines in allele frequencies, and provides further evidence for the non-neutrality of some allozyme alleles. PMID:19460149

  8. HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 Allele and Haplotype Frequencies in Renal Transplant Candidates in a Population in Southern Brazil.

    PubMed

    Saito, Patrícia Keiko; Yamakawa, Roger Haruki; Noguti, Erika Noda; Bedendo, Gustavo Borelli; Júnior, Waldir Veríssimo da Silva; Yamada, Sérgio Seiji; Borelli, Sueli Donizete

    2016-05-01

    Very few studies have examined the diversity of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in the Brazilian renal transplant candidates. The frequencies of the HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 alleles, haplotypes and phenotypes were studied in 522 patients with chronic renal failure, renal transplant candidates, registered at the Transplant Centers in north/northwestern Paraná State, southern Brazil. Patients were classified according to the ethnic group (319 whites [Caucasians], 134 mestizos [mixed race descendants of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians; browns or "pardos"] and 69 blacks). The HLA typing was performed by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide method (PCR-SSO), combined with Luminex technology. In the analysis of the total samples, 20 HLA-A, 32 HLA-B, and 13 HLA-DRB1 allele groups were identified. The most frequent allele groups for each HLA locus were HLA-A*02 (25.4%), HLA-B*44 (10.9%), and HLA-DRB1*13 (13.9%). The most frequent haplotypes were HLA-A*01-B*08-DRB1*03 (2.3%), A*02-B*44-DRB1*07 (1.2%), and A*03-B*07-DRB1*11 (1.0%). Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the HLA-A*68, B*08, and B*58 allele frequencies among ethnic groups. This study provides the first data on the HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 allele, phenotype and haplotype frequencies of renal transplant candidates in a population in southern Brazil. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene 4G/5G alleles frequency distribution in the Lebanese population.

    PubMed

    Shammaa, Dina M R; Sabbagh, Amira S; Taher, Ali T; Zaatari, Ghazi S; Mahfouz, Rami A R

    2008-09-01

    Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is an inhibitor of fibrinolysis. Increased plasma PAI-1 levels play an essential role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular risk and other diseases associated with thrombosis. The 4G/5G polymorphism of the PAI-1 promoter region has been extensively studied in different populations. We studied 160 healthy unrelated Lebanese individuals using a reverse hybridization PCR assay to detect the 5G/5G, 4G/5G and, 4G/4G genotypes of the PAI-1 gene and the frequencies of the 4G and 5G alleles. We found that 4G/5G genotype was the most prevalent (45.6%) followed by 5G/5G (36.9%) and 4G/4G (17.5%). The frequencies of the 4G and 5G alleles were calculated to be 0.403 and 0.597, respectively. Compared to other ethnic communities, the Lebanese population was found to harbour a relatively high prevalence of the rare 4G allele. This, in turn, may predispose this population to develop cardiovascular diseases and other thrombotic clinical conditions. This study aids to enhance our understanding of the genetic features of the Lebanese population.

  10. Polymorphism of the bovine POU1F1 gene: allele frequencies and effects on milk production in three Iranian native breeds and Holstein cattle of Iran.

    PubMed

    Zakizadeh, S; Reissmann, M; Rahimi, G; Javaremi, A Nejati; Reinecke, P; Mirae-Ashtiani, S R; Shahrbabak, M Moradi

    2007-08-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the allele frequencies in polymorphic site of exon six of POU1F1 gene in three Iranian native and Holstein cattle. Genomic DNA was extracted from 3 Iranian native cattle breeds, including 97 Mazandarani, 87 Sarabi, 112 Golpaygani and also 110 Holstein cattle. A 451 bp fragment of intron 5 and exon 6 were amplified and digested with HinfI restriction enzyme. Frequencies of allele A were 0.37, 0.27, 0.34 and 0.21 for Mazandarani, Sarabi, Golpaygani and Holstein cattle, respectively. Significant differences in genotype frequencies were found between Mazandarani or Golpaygani and Holstein cattle. No significant differences in genotype frequencies were found between Sarabi and Holstein cattle. Transition A to G in nucleotide 1256 is responsible for HinfI(-) allele. No significant association was observed between POU1F1 polymorphism and milk production. Differences in allelic frequency between native Bos indicus breeds (Mazandarani, Golpaygani) and Holstein at the present study might be due to differences in origin breeds, low number of samples and/or as the effect of natural selection in native breeds.

  11. Allelic Prevalence of ABO Blood Group Genes in Iranian Azari Population.

    PubMed

    Nojavan, Mohammad; Shamsasenjan, Karrim; Movassaghpour, Ali Akbar; Akbarzadehlaleh, Parvin; Torabi, Seyd Esmail; Ghojazadeh, Morteza

    2012-01-01

    ABO blood group system is the most important blood group in transfusion and has been widely used in population studies. Several molecular techniques for ABO allele's detection are widely used for distinguishing various alleles of glycosyl transferase locus on chromosome 9. 744 randomly selected samples from Azari donors of East Azerbaijan province (Iran) were examined using well-adjusted multiplex allele- specific PCR ABO genotyping technique. The results were consistent for all individuals. The ABO blood group genotype of 744 healthy Azari blood donors was: 25.8% AA/AO (2), 7.6% AO (1), 1.6% BB, 11.3% B0 (1), 10% AB, 9.3% 0(1)0(1) and 15.3%0(1)0(2). The highest genotype frequency belonged to O01/O02 genotype (15.3%) and the lowest frequency belonged to A101/A102 genotype (0.4%). The frequencies of ABO alleles didn't show significant differences between East Azerbaijan province population and that of other areas of the country. Meanwhile, statistical analysis of frequencies of A and B alleles between East Azerbaijan province population and neighbor countries showed significant differences whereas the frequency of allele O between them did not show significant difference (P>0.05). The frequencies of ABO alleles didn't show significant differences between East Azerbaijan province population and that of other areas of the country. Meanwhile, statistical analysis of frequencies of A and B alleles between East Azerbaijan province population and neighbor countries showed significant differences whereas the frequency of allele O between them did not show significant difference (P>0.05).

  12. Geographical distribution of pyrethroid resistance allele frequency in head lice (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) from Argentina.

    PubMed

    Toloza, Ariel Ceferino; Ascunce, Marina S; Reed, David; Picollo, María Inés

    2014-01-01

    The human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), is an obligate ectoparasite that causes pediculosis capitis and has parasitized humans since the beginning of humankind. Head louse infestations are widespread throughout the world and have been increasing since the early 1990s partially because of ineffective pediculicides. In Argentina, the overuse of products containing pyrethroids has led to the development of resistant louse populations. Pyrethroid insecticides act on the nervous system affecting voltage-sensitive sodium channels. Three point mutations at the corresponding amino acid sequence positions M815I, T917I, and L920F in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene are responsible for contributing to knockdown resistance (kdr). The management of pyrethroid resistance requires either early detection or the characterization of the mechanisms involved in head louse populations. In the current study, we estimated the distribution of kdr alleles in 154 head lice from six geographical regions of Argentina. Pyrethroid resistance kdr alleles were found in high frequencies ranging from 67 to 100%. Of these, 131 (85.1%) were homozygous resistant, 13 (8.4%) were homozygous susceptible, and 10 (6.5%) were heterozygous. Exact tests for the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for each location showed that genotype frequencies differed significantly from expectation in four of the six sites studied. These results show that pyrethroid resistance is well established reaching an overall frequency of 88%, thus close to fixation. With 30 yr of pyrethroid-based pediculicides use in Argentina, kdr resistance has evolved rapidly among these head louse populations.

  13. Serologic ambiguity and allelic frequency of the HLA-B40 family in the Korean population.

    PubMed

    Lee, K W; Kim, Y S

    1997-04-01

    The most frequently identified HLA-B type in Koreans is HLA-B40 (13.4%). Due to the lack of mono-specific alloantisera and cross reactivity of sera used as typing reagents, discrimination between the serologic splits of B40, B60 and B61, has been a problem in tissue typing laboratories. In this study, an efficient PCR-SSP typing system was established to distinguish B60 and B61 and to assess the difficulty in serologic assignment for these types. The SSP system was also used to elucidate the frequency of B40 alleles (B*4001-B*4008) encoding B40 molecules in the Korean population. Eighty eight unrelated individuals identified serologically as B40 positive were selected from 358 consecutive volunteers from the unrelated bone marrow registry. Seven sets of PCR that amplify exons 2 and 3 of the HLA-B gene using 10 sequence specific primers (SSP) were used for discrimination between B60 and B61, and for B40 allelic typing. A clear discrimination of B60 and B61 was possible in all samples including 48 serologically ambiguous samples (B60-14/48; B61-34/48) and 5 potentially B40 homozygous samples (B60/ B61 heterozygotes-4/5; B60 homozygote-1/5). Therefore, the use of a focused SSP approach enhances serologic definition of HLA types in routine clinical testing. In allelic typing, all B60 samples (26) appeared to be B*4001, but B61 samples revealed more heterogeneity (B*4002-36/58, B*4003-4/ 58, B*4006-18/58). In addition, B*4003 seemed to be closely associated with the A24-Cw3-DRB1*02 haplotype (3/4). The characterization of allele frequency as well as haplotypic association will be helpful in determination of the optimal size of the volunteer marrow donor pool in the Korean population.

  14. Human leukocyte antigen alleles, genotypes and haplotypes frequencies in renal transplant donors and recipients from West Central India.

    PubMed

    Patel, Jaina S; Patel, Manisha M; Koringa, Prakash G; Shah, Tejas M; Patel, Amrutlal K; Tripathi, Ajai K; Mathew, Anila; Rajapurkar, Mohan M; Joshi, Chaitanya G

    2013-04-01

    Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is comprised of a highly polymorphic set of genes which determines the histocompatibility of organ transplantation. The present study was undertaken to identify HLA class I and class II allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies in renal transplant recipients and donors from West Central India. HLA typing was carried out using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Sequence Specific Primer in 552 live related and unrelated renal transplant recipients and donors. The most frequent HLA class I and class II alleles and their frequencies in recipients were HLA-AFNx0101 (0.1685) and AFNx0102 (0.1649), HLA-BFNx0135 (0.1322), and HLA-DR beta 1 (DRB 1)FNx0115 (0.2192), whereas in donors, these were HLA-AFNx0102 (0.1848) and AFNx0101 (0.1667), HLA-BFNx0135 (0.1359), and HLA-DRB1FNx0115 (0.2409). The two-locus haplotype statistical analysis revealed HLA-AFNx0102-B61 as the most common haplotype with the frequency of 0.0487 and 0.0510 in recipients and donors, respectively. Further, among the three locus haplotypes HLA-AFNx0133-BFNx0144-DRB1FNx0107 and HLA-AFNx0102-BFNx0161-DRB1FNx0115 were the most common haplotypes with frequencies 0.0362 and 0.0326, respectively in recipients and 0.0236 and 0.0323, respectively in donors. Genotype frequency revealed a high prevalence of genotype HLA-AFNx0102/AFNx0124 in recipients (0.058) compared to donors (0.0109) whereas low prevalence of HLA-AFNx0101/AFNx0102 in recipients (0.0435) than in donors (0.0797). The phylogenetic and principal component analysis of HLA allele and haplotype frequency distribution revealed genetic similarities of various ethnic groups. Further, case control analysis provides preliminary evidence of association of HLA-A genotype (P < 0.05) with renal failure. This study will be helpful in suitable donor search besides providing valuable information for population genetics and HLA disease association analysis.

  15. Uneven segregation of sporophytic self-incompatibility alleles in Arabidopsis lyrata.

    PubMed

    Bechsgaard, J; Bataillon, T; Schierup, M H

    2004-05-01

    Self-incompatibility in Arabidopsis lyrata is sporophytically controlled by the multi-allelic S-locus. Self-incompatibility alleles (S-alleles) are under strong negative frequency dependent selection because pollen carrying common S-alleles have fewer mating opportunities. Population genetics theory predicts that deleterious alleles can accumulate if linked to the S-locus. This was tested by studying segregation of S-alleles in 11 large full sib families in A. lyrata. Significant segregation distortion leading to an up to fourfold difference in transmission rates was found in six families. Differences in transmission rates were not significantly different in reciprocal crosses and the distortions observed were compatible with selection acting at the gametic stage alone. The S-allele with the largest segregation advantage is also the most recessive, and is very common in natural populations concordant with its apparent segregation advantage. These results imply that frequencies of S-alleles in populations of A. lyrata cannot be predicted based on simple models of frequency-dependent selection alone.

  16. Triglyceride associated polymorphisms of the APOA5 gene have very different allele frequencies in Pune, India compared to Europeans

    PubMed Central

    Chandak, Giriraj R; Ward, Kirsten J; Yajnik, Chittaranjan S; Pandit, Anand N; Bavdekar, Ashish; Joglekar, Charu V; Fall, Caroline HD; Mohankrishna, P; Wilkin, Terence J; Metcalf, Bradley S; Weedon, Michael N; Frayling, Timothy M; Hattersley, Andrew T

    2006-01-01

    Background The APOA5 gene variants, -1131T>C and S19W, are associated with altered triglyceride concentrations in studies of subjects of Caucasian and East Asian descent. There are few studies of these variants in South Asians. We investigated whether the two APOA5 variants also show similar association with various lipid parameters in Indian population as in the UK white subjects. Methods We genotyped 557 Indian adults from Pune, India, and 237 UK white adults for -1131T>C and S19W variants in the APOA5 gene, compared their allelic and genotype frequency and determined their association with fasting serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol levels using univariate general linear analysis. APOC3 SstI polymorphism was also analyzed in 175 Pune Indian subjects for analysis of linkage disequilibrium with the APOA5 variants. Results The APOA5 -1131C allele was more prevalent in Indians from Pune (Pune Indians) compared to UK white subjects (allele frequency 20% vs. 4%, p = 0.00001), whereas the 19W allele was less prevalent (3% vs. 6% p = 0.0015). Patterns of linkage disequilibrium between the two variants were similar between the two populations and confirmed that they occur on two different haplotypes. In Pune Indians, the presence of -1131C allele and the 19W allele was associated with a 19% and 15% increase respectively in triglyceride concentrations although only -1131C was significant (p = 0.0003). This effect size was similar to that seen in the UK white subjects. Analysis of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism in 175 Pune Indian subjects showed that this variant is not in appreciable linkage disequilibrium with the APOA5 -1131T>C variant (r2 = 0.07). Conclusion This is the first study to look at the role of APOA5 in Asian Indian subjects that reside in India. The -1131C allele is more prevalent and the 19W allele is less prevalent in Pune Indians compared to UK Caucasians. We confirm that the APOA5 variants are associated with triglyceride levels

  17. Impact of population structure, effective bottleneck time, and allele frequency on linkage disequilibrium maps

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Weihua; Collins, Andrew; Gibson, Jane; Tapper, William J.; Hunt, Sarah; Deloukas, Panos; Bentley, David R.; Morton, Newton E.

    2004-01-01

    Genetic maps in linkage disequilibrium (LD) units play the same role for association mapping as maps in centimorgans provide at much lower resolution for linkage mapping. Association mapping of genes determining disease susceptibility and other phenotypes is based on the theory of LD, here applied to relations with three phenomena. To test the theory, markers at high density along a 10-Mb continuous segment of chromosome 20q were studied in African-American, Asian, and Caucasian samples. Population structure, whether created by pooling samples from divergent populations or by the mating pattern in a mixed population, is accurately bioassayed from genotype frequencies. The effective bottleneck time for Eurasians is substantially less than for migration out of Africa, reflecting later bottlenecks. The classical dependence of allele frequency on mutation age does not hold for the generally shorter time span of inbreeding and LD. Limitation of the classical theory to mutation age justifies the assumption of constant time in a LD map, except for alleles that were rare at the effective bottleneck time or have arisen since. This assumption is derived from the Malecot model and verified in all samples. Tested measures of relative efficiency, support intervals, and localization error determine the operating characteristics of LD maps that are applicable to every sexually reproducing species, with implications for association mapping, high-resolution linkage maps, evolutionary inference, and identification of recombinogenic sequences. PMID:15604137

  18. Impact of population structure, effective bottleneck time, and allele frequency on linkage disequilibrium maps.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Weihua; Collins, Andrew; Gibson, Jane; Tapper, William J; Hunt, Sarah; Deloukas, Panos; Bentley, David R; Morton, Newton E

    2004-12-28

    Genetic maps in linkage disequilibrium (LD) units play the same role for association mapping as maps in centimorgans provide at much lower resolution for linkage mapping. Association mapping of genes determining disease susceptibility and other phenotypes is based on the theory of LD, here applied to relations with three phenomena. To test the theory, markers at high density along a 10-Mb continuous segment of chromosome 20q were studied in African-American, Asian, and Caucasian samples. Population structure, whether created by pooling samples from divergent populations or by the mating pattern in a mixed population, is accurately bioassayed from genotype frequencies. The effective bottleneck time for Eurasians is substantially less than for migration out of Africa, reflecting later bottlenecks. The classical dependence of allele frequency on mutation age does not hold for the generally shorter time span of inbreeding and LD. Limitation of the classical theory to mutation age justifies the assumption of constant time in a LD map, except for alleles that were rare at the effective bottleneck time or have arisen since. This assumption is derived from the Malecot model and verified in all samples. Tested measures of relative efficiency, support intervals, and localization error determine the operating characteristics of LD maps that are applicable to every sexually reproducing species, with implications for association mapping, high-resolution linkage maps, evolutionary inference, and identification of recombinogenic sequences.

  19. Positive selection of deleterious alleles through interaction with a sex-ratio suppressor gene in African Buffalo: a plausible new mechanism for a high frequency anomaly.

    PubMed

    van Hooft, Pim; Greyling, Ben J; Getz, Wayne M; van Helden, Paul D; Zwaan, Bas J; Bastos, Armanda D S

    2014-01-01

    Although generally rare, deleterious alleles can become common through genetic drift, hitchhiking or reductions in selective constraints. Here we present a possible new mechanism that explains the attainment of high frequencies of deleterious alleles in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population of Kruger National Park, through positive selection of these alleles that is ultimately driven by a sex-ratio suppressor. We have previously shown that one in four Kruger buffalo has a Y-chromosome profile that, despite being associated with low body condition, appears to impart a relative reproductive advantage, and which is stably maintained through a sex-ratio suppressor. Apparently, this sex-ratio suppressor prevents fertility reduction that generally accompanies sex-ratio distortion. We hypothesize that this body-condition-associated reproductive advantage increases the fitness of alleles that negatively affect male body condition, causing genome-wide positive selection of these alleles. To investigate this we genotyped 459 buffalo using 17 autosomal microsatellites. By correlating heterozygosity with body condition (heterozygosity-fitness correlations), we found that most microsatellites were associated with one of two gene types: one with elevated frequencies of deleterious alleles that have a negative effect on body condition, irrespective of sex; the other with elevated frequencies of sexually antagonistic alleles that are negative for male body condition but positive for female body condition. Positive selection and a direct association with a Y-chromosomal sex-ratio suppressor are indicated, respectively, by allele clines and by relatively high numbers of homozygous deleterious alleles among sex-ratio suppressor carriers. This study, which employs novel statistical techniques to analyse heterozygosity-fitness correlations, is the first to demonstrate the abundance of sexually-antagonistic genes in a natural mammal population. It also has important

  20. Frequencies of 23 Functionally Significant Variant Alleles Related with Metabolism of Antineoplastic Drugs in the Chilean Population: Comparison with Caucasian and Asian Populations

    PubMed Central

    Roco, Ángela; Quiñones, Luis; Agúndez, José A. G.; García-Martín, Elena; Squicciarini, Valentina; Miranda, Carla; Garay, Joselyn; Farfán, Nancy; Saavedra, Iván; Cáceres, Dante; Ibarra, Carol; Varela, Nelson

    2012-01-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. The cancer incidence rate in Chile is 133.7/100,000 inhabitants and it is the second cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases. Most of the antineoplastic drugs are metabolized to be detoxified, and some of them to be activated. Genetic polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes can induce deep changes in enzyme activity, leading to individual variability in drug efficacy and/or toxicity. The present research describes the presence of genetic polymorphisms in the Chilean population, which might be useful in public health programs for personalized treatment of cancer, and compares these frequencies with those reported for Asian and Caucasian populations, as a contribution to the evaluation of ethnic differences in the response to chemotherapy. We analyzed 23 polymorphisms in a group of 253 unrelated Chilean volunteers from the general population. The results showed that CYP2A6*2, CYP2A6*3, CYP2D6*3, CYP2C19*3, and CYP3A4*17 variant alleles are virtually absent in Chileans. CYP1A1*2A allele frequency (0.37) is similar to that of Caucasians and higher than that reported for Japanese people. Allele frequencies for CYP3A5*3(0.76) and CYP2C9*3(0.04) are similar to those observed in Japanese people. CYP1A1*2C(0.32), CYP1A2*1F(0.77), CYP3A4*1B(0.06), CYP2D6*2(0.41), and MTHFR T(0.52) allele frequencies are higher than the observed either in Caucasian or in Japanese populations. Conversely, CYP2C19*2 allelic frequency (0.12), and genotype frequencies for GSTT1 null (0.11) and GSTM1 null (0.36) are lower than those observed in both populations. Finally, allele frequencies for CYP2A6*4(0.04), CYP2C8*3(0.06), CYP2C9*2(0.06), CYP2D6*4(0.12), CYP2E1*5B(0.14), CYP2E1*6(0.19), and UGT2B7*2(0.40) are intermediate in relation to those described in Caucasian and in Japanese populations, as expected according to the ethnic origin of the Chilean population. In conclusion, our findings support the idea that ethnic variability must be

  1. HLA-A, -B, -DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies of 920 cord blood units from Central Chile.

    PubMed

    Schäfer, Christian; Sauter, Jürgen; Riethmüller, Tobias; Kashi, Zahra Mehdizadeh; Schmidt, Alexander H; Barriga, Francisco J

    2016-08-01

    We present human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype and allele/antigenic group frequencies derived from a data set of 920 umbilical cord blood units collected in Central Chile. HLA-A and -B genotypes were typed using sequence specific oligonucleotide probe methods while HLA-DRB1 genotypes were obtained from sequencing-based typing. The most frequent haplotype is A*29~B*44~DRB1*07:01 with an estimated frequency of 2.1%. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Allelic Prevalence of ABO Blood Group Genes in Iranian Azari Population

    PubMed Central

    Nojavan, Mohammad; Shamsasenjan, Karrim; Movassaghpour, Ali Akbar; Akbarzadehlaleh, Parvin; Torabi, Seyd Esmail; Ghojazadeh, Morteza

    2012-01-01

    Introduction ABO blood group system is the most important blood group in transfusion and has been widely used in population studies. Several molecular techniques for ABO allele’s detection are widely used for distinguishing various alleles of glycosyl transferase locus on chromosome 9. Methods 744 randomly selected samples from Azari donors of East Azerbaijan province (Iran) were examined using well-adjusted multiplex allele- specific PCR ABO genotyping technique. Results The results were consistent for all individuals. The ABO blood group genotype of 744 healthy Azari blood donors was: 25.8% AA/AO (2), 7.6% AO (1), 1.6% BB, 11.3% B0 (1), 10% AB, 9.3% 0(1)0(1) and 15.3%0(1)0(2). The highest genotype frequency belonged to O01/O02 genotype (15.3%) and the lowest frequency belonged to A101/A102 genotype (0.4%). Conclusions: The frequencies of ABO alleles didn’t show significant differences between East Azerbaijan province population and that of other areas of the country. Meanwhile, statistical analysis of frequencies of A and B alleles between East Azerbaijan province population and neighbor countries showed significant differences whereas the frequency of allele O between them did not show significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusions The frequencies of ABO alleles didn’t show significant differences between East Azerbaijan province population and that of other areas of the country. Meanwhile, statistical analysis of frequencies of A and B alleles between East Azerbaijan province population and neighbor countries showed significant differences whereas the frequency of allele O between them did not show significant difference (P>0.05). PMID:23678461

  3. Allele frequency and genotype distribution of polymorphisms within disease-related genes is influenced by ethnic population sub-structuring in Sudan.

    PubMed

    Bereir, R E H; Mohamed, H S; Seielstad, M; El Hassani, A M; Khalil, E A G; Peacock, C S; Blackwell, J M; Ibrahim, M E

    2003-09-01

    Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism located within disease associated/causing genes were typed in four populations of different tribal and ethnic affiliation from the Sudan. The genotype and allele frequencies were compared with those of other groups from published and unpublished data of world populations. The combined Sudanese sample conformed with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) expectation. However, population sub-structuring according to ethnic/linguistic group indicated at least two SNPs in departure from HWE. Differences in allele frequencies and genotype distribution between groups was also noted in three of the four SNPs. The other loci were distributed homogeneously within the populations studied with genotype frequencies in agreement with HWE expectation. These results highlight the importance of inter-population stratification for polymorphic markers, as well as the potential influence of evolutionary history and ethnic variation of loci, in the general distribution of SNPs and other polymorphisms.

  4. BRAF Gene Copy Number and Mutant Allele Frequency Correlate with Time to Progression in Metastatic Melanoma Patients Treated with MAPK Inhibitors.

    PubMed

    Stagni, Camilla; Zamuner, Carolina; Elefanti, Lisa; Zanin, Tiziana; Bianco, Paola Del; Sommariva, Antonio; Fabozzi, Alessio; Pigozzo, Jacopo; Mocellin, Simone; Montesco, Maria Cristina; Chiarion-Sileni, Vanna; De Nicolo, Arcangela; Menin, Chiara

    2018-06-01

    Metastatic melanoma is characterized by complex genomic alterations, including a high rate of mutations in driver genes and widespread deletions and amplifications encompassing various chromosome regions. Among them, chromosome 7 is frequently gained in BRAF -mutant melanoma, inducing a mutant allele-specific imbalance. Although BRAF amplification is a known mechanism of acquired resistance to therapy with MAPK inhibitors, it is still unclear if BRAF copy-number variation and BRAF mutant allele imbalance at baseline can be associated with response to treatment. In this study, we used a multimodal approach to assess BRAF copy number and mutant allele frequency in pretreatment melanoma samples from 46 patients who received MAPK inhibitor-based therapy, and we analyzed the association with progression-free survival. We found that 65% patients displayed BRAF gains, often supported by chromosome 7 polysomy. In addition, we observed that 64% patients had a balanced BRAF -mutant/wild-type allele ratio, whereas 14% and 23% patients had low and high BRAF mutant allele frequency, respectively. Notably, a significantly higher risk of progression was observed in patients with a diploid BRAF status versus those with BRAF gains [HR, 2.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-6.35; P = 0.01] and in patients with low percentage versus those with a balanced BRAF mutant allele percentage (HR, 4.54; 95% CI, 1.33-15.53; P = 0.016). Our data suggest that quantitative analysis of the BRAF gene could be useful to select the melanoma patients who are most likely to benefit from therapy with MAPK inhibitors. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(6); 1332-40. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  5. The frequency of the canine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) allele within the Irish Setter population of Australia.

    PubMed

    Jobling, A I; Ryan, J; Augusteyn, R C

    2003-12-01

    To determine the frequency of the 107G-->C canine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) mutation in Irish Setters from the Australian breeding population. Genomic DNA was isolated from 87 Irish Setter blood samples and a region of the beta-2 integrin gene (ITGB2), encompassing the mutation, was amplified using real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Two fluorescently labelled probes were hybridised to the fragment, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was used to detect the 107G-->C mutation responsible for CLAD. Three new heterozygotes were identified among 87 healthy Irish Setters from Australia. All originated from a litter sired by a known heterozygote. A total of seven heterozygotes have now been identified in 92 dogs (7.6%), representing over 90% of all major breeding stock in five Australian states. Two of the heterozygotes were recently imported adult dogs and the others were their offspring. The frequency of the 107C allele in the Australian population of Irish Setters is lower than that in Europe. Selective breeding programs should be adopted to eliminate the mutant allele presently in two breeding lines.

  6. Diploid male dynamics under different numbers of sexual alleles and male dispersal abilities.

    PubMed

    Faria, Luiz R R; Soares, Elaine Della Giustina; Carmo, Eduardo do; Oliveira, Paulo Murilo Castro de

    2016-09-01

    Insects in the order Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) present an haplodiploid system of sexual determination in which fertilized eggs become females and unfertilized eggs males. Under single locus complementary sex-determination (sl-CSD) system, the sex of a specimen depends on the alleles at a single locus: when diploid, an individual will be a female if heterozygous and male if homozygous. Significant diploid male (DM) production may drive a population to an extinction scenario called "diploid male vortex". We aimed at studying the dynamics of populations of a sl-CSD organism under several combinations of two parameters: male flight abilities and number of sexual alleles. In these simulations, we evaluated the frequency of DM and a genetic diversity measure over 10,000 generations. The number of sexual alleles varied from 10 to 100 and, at each generation, a male offspring might fly to another random site within a varying radius R. Two main results emerge from our simulations: (i) the number of DM depends more on male flight radius than on the number of alleles; (ii) in large geographic regions, the effect of males flight radius on the allelic diversity turns out much less pronounced than in small regions. In other words, small regions where inbreeding normally appears recover genetic diversity due to large flight radii. These results may be particularly relevant when considering the population dynamics of species with increasingly limited dispersal ability (e.g., forest-dependent species of euglossine bees in fragmented landscapes).

  7. Apolipoprotein E alleles in Alzheimer`s and Parkinson`s patients

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Poduslo, S.E.; Schwankhaus, J.D.

    1994-09-01

    A number of investigators have found an association between the apolipoprotein E4 allele and Alzheimer`s disease. The E4 allele appears at a higher frequency in late onset familial Alzheimer`s patients. In our studies we obtained blood samples from early and late onset familial and sporadic Alzheimer`s patients and spouses, as well as from Parkinson`s patients. The patients were diagnosed as probable Alzheimer`s patients after a neurological examination, extensive blood work, and a CAT scan. The diagnosis was made according to the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. The apolipoprotein E4 polymorphism was detected after PCR amplification of genomic DNA, restriction enzyme digestion with Hhal,more » and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Ethidium bromide-stained bands at 91 bp were designated as allele 3, at 83 bp as allele 2, and at 72 bp as allele 4. Of the 84 probable Alzheimer`s patients (all of whom were Caucasian), 47 were heterozygous and 13 were homozygous for the E4 allele. There were 26 early onset patients; 13 were heterozygous and 7 homozygous for the E4 allele. The frequencies for the E4 allele for late onset familial patients was 0.45 and for sporadic patients was 0.37. We analyzed 77 spouses with an average age of 71.9 {plus_minus} 7.4 years as controls, and 15 were heterozygous for the E4 allele for an E4 frequency of 0.097. Of the 53 Parkinson`s patients, 11 had the E4 allele for a frequency of 0.113. Thus our findings support the association of the ApoE4 allele with Alzheimer`s disease.« less

  8. Detecting SNPs and estimating allele frequencies in clonal bacterial populations by sequencing pooled DNA.

    PubMed

    Holt, Kathryn E; Teo, Yik Y; Li, Heng; Nair, Satheesh; Dougan, Gordon; Wain, John; Parkhill, Julian

    2009-08-15

    Here, we present a method for estimating the frequencies of SNP alleles present within pooled samples of DNA using high-throughput short-read sequencing. The method was tested on real data from six strains of the highly monomorphic pathogen Salmonella Paratyphi A, sequenced individually and in a pool. A variety of read mapping and quality-weighting procedures were tested to determine the optimal parameters, which afforded > or =80% sensitivity of SNP detection and strong correlation with true SNP frequency at poolwide read depth of 40x, declining only slightly at read depths 20-40x. The method was implemented in Perl and relies on the opensource software Maq for read mapping and SNP calling. The Perl script is freely available from ftp://ftp.sanger.ac.uk/pub/pathogens/pools/.

  9. [High frequency of ancestral allele of the TJP1 polymorphism rs2291166 in Mexican population, conformational effect and applications in surgery and medicine].

    PubMed

    Ramirez-Garcia, Sergio Alberto; Flores-Alvarado, Luis Javier; Topete-González, Luz Rosalba; Charles-Niño, Claudia; Mazariegos-Rubi, Manuel; Dávalos-Rodríguez, Nory Omayra

    2016-01-01

    TJP1 gene encodes a ZO-1 protein that is required for the recruitment of occludins and claudins in tight junction, and is involved in cell polarisation. It has different variations, the frequency of which has been studied in different populations. In Mexico there are no studies of this gene. These are required because their polymorphisms can be used in studies associated with medicine and surgery. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of alleles and genotypes of rs2291166 gene polymorphism TJP1 in Mexico Mestizos population, and to estimate the conformational effect of an amino acid change. A total of 473 individuals were included. The rs2291166 polymorphism was identified PASA PCR-7% PAGE, and stained with silver nitrate. The conformational effect of amino acid change was performed in silico, and was carried out with servers ProtPraram Tool and Search Database with Fasta. The most frequent allele in the two populations is the ancestral allele (T). A genotype distribution similar to other populations was found. The polymorphism is in Hardy-Weinberg, p>0.05. Changing aspartate to alanine produced a conformational change. The study reveals a high frequency of the ancestral allele at rs2291166 polymorphism in the Mexican population. Copyright © 2015 Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  10. The population genetics of sporophytic self-incompatibility in Senecio squalidus L. (Asteraceae): the number, frequency, and dominance interactions of S alleles across its British range.

    PubMed

    Brennan, Adrian C; Harris, Stephen A; Hiscock, Simon J

    2006-02-01

    Sporophytic self-incompatibility (SSI) was studied in 11 British Senecio squalidus populations to quantify mating system variation and determine how its recent colonization of the United Kingdom has influenced its mating behavior. S allele number, frequency, and dominance interactions in populations were assessed using full diallels of controlled pollinations. A mean of 5.1 S alleles per population was observed, and no population contained more than six S alleles. Numbers of S alleles within populations of S. squalidus declined with increasing distance from the center of its introduction (Oxford). Cross-classification of S alleles allowed an estimate of approximately seven and no more than 11 S alleles for the entire British S. squalidus population. The low number of S alleles observed in British S. squalidus compared to other SI species is consistent with the population bottleneck associated with S. squalidus' introduction to the Oxford Botanic Garden and subsequent colonization of Britain. Extensive S allele dominance interactions were observed to be a feature of the S. squalidus SSI system and may represent an adaptive response to improve limited mate availability imposed by the presence of so few S alleles. Multilocus allozyme genotypes were also identified for individuals in all populations and geographic patterns of S locus and allozyme loci variation investigated. Less interpopulation structure was observed for the S locus than for allozyme diversity--a finding indicative of the effects of negative frequency-dependent selection at the S locus maintaining equal S phenotypes within populations and enhancing effective migration between populations.

  11. Real-time PCR genotyping assay for canine progressive rod-cone degeneration and mutant allele frequency in Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas and Miniature Dachshunds in Japan.

    PubMed

    Kohyama, Moeko; Tada, Naomi; Mitsui, Hiroko; Tomioka, Hitomi; Tsutsui, Toshihiko; Yabuki, Akira; Rahman, Mohammad Mahbubur; Kushida, Kazuya; Mizukami, Keijiro; Yamato, Osamu

    2016-03-01

    Canine progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD) is a middle- to late-onset, autosomal recessive, inherited retinal disorder caused by a substitution (c.5G>A) in the canine PRCD gene that has been identified in 29 or more purebred dogs. In the present study, a TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR assay was developed and evaluated for rapid genotyping and large-scale screening of the mutation. Furthermore, a genotyping survey was carried out in a population of the three most popular breeds in Japan (Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas and Miniature Dachshunds) to determine the current mutant allele frequency. The assay separated all the genotypes of canine PRCD rapidly, indicating its suitability for large-scale surveys. The results of the survey showed that the mutant allele frequency in Toy Poodles was high enough (approximately 0.09) to allow the establishment of measures for the prevention and control of this disorder in breeding kennels. The mutant allele was detected in Chihuahuas for the first time, but the frequency was lower (approximately 0.02) than that in Toy Poodles. The mutant allele was not detected in Miniature Dachshunds. This assay will allow the selective breeding of dogs from the two most popular breeds (Toy Poodle and Chihuahua) in Japan and effective prevention or control of the disorder.

  12. Plasmodium falciparum msp1 and msp2 genetic diversity and allele frequencies in parasites isolated from symptomatic malaria patients in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

    PubMed

    Somé, Anyirékun Fabrice; Bazié, Thomas; Zongo, Issaka; Yerbanga, R Serge; Nikiéma, Frédéric; Neya, Cathérine; Taho, Liz Karen; Ouédraogo, Jean-Bosco

    2018-05-30

    In Burkina Faso, malaria remains the overall leading cause of morbidity and mortality accounting for 35.12% of consultations, 40.83% of hospitalizations and 37.5% of deaths. Genotyping of malaria parasite populations remains an important tool to determine the types and number of parasite clones in an infection. The present study aimed to evaluate the merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1) and merozoite surface protein 2 (msp2) genetic diversity and allele frequencies in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Dried blood spots (DBS) were collected at baseline from patients with uncomplicated malaria in urban health centers in Bobo-Dioulasso. Parasite DNA was extracted using chelex-100 and species were identified using nested PCR. Plamodium falciparum msp1 and msp2 genes were amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis on a 2.5% agarose gel. Alleles were categorized according to their molecular weight. A total of 228 blood samples were analyzed out of which 227 (99.9%) were confirmed as P. falciparum-positive and one sample classified as mixed infection for P. malaria and P. falciparum. In msp1, the K1 allelic family was predominant with 77.4% (162/209) followed respectively by the MAD20 allelic family with 41.3% and R033 allelic family with 36%. In msp2, the 3D7 allelic family was the most frequently detected with 93.1 % compared to FC27 with 41.3%. Twenty-one different alleles were observed in msp1 with 9 alleles for K1, 8 alleles for MAD20 and 4 alleles for R033. In msp2, 25 individual alleles were detected with 10 alleles for FC27 and 15 alleles for 3D7. The mean multiplicity of falciparum infection was 1.95 with respectively 1.8 (1.76-1.83) and 2.1 (2.03-2.16) for msp1 and msp2 (P = 0.01). Our study showed high genetic diversity and allelic frequencies of msp1 and msp2 in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from symptomatic malaria patients in Bobo-Dioulasso.

  13. The HLA-C*04: 01/KIR2DS4 gene combination and human leukocyte antigen alleles with high population frequency drive rate of HIV disease progression.

    PubMed

    Olvera, Alex; Pérez-Álvarez, Susana; Ibarrondo, Javier; Ganoza, Carmela; Lama, Javier R; Lucchetti, Aldo; Cate, Steven; Hildebrand, William; Bernard, Nicole; Gomez, Lupe; Sanchez, Jorge; Brander, Christian

    2015-03-13

    The objective of this study is to identify human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes associated with different risks for HIV acquisition and HIV disease progression. A cross-sectional study of a cohort of 468 high-risk individuals (246 HIV-positive and 222 HIV-negative) from outpatient clinics in Lima (Perú). The cohort was high-resolution HLA and KIR-typed and analysed for potential differences in single-allele frequencies and allele combinations between HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals and for associations with HIV viral load and CD4 cell counts in infected individuals. HLA class I alleles associated with a lack of viral control had a significantly higher population frequency than relatively protective alleles (P = 0.0093), in line with a rare allele advantage. HLA-A02 : 01 and HLA-C04 : 01 were both associated with high viral loads (P = 0.0313 and 0.0001, respectively) and low CD4 cell counts (P = 0.0008 and 0.0087, respectively). Importantly, the association between HLA-C04 : 01 and poor viral control was not due to its linkage disequilibrium with other HLA alleles. Rather, the coexpression of its putative KIR ligand KIR2DS4f was critically linked to elevated viral loads. These results highlight the impact of population allele frequency on viral control and identify a novel association between HLA-C04 : 01 in combination with KIR2DS4f and uncontrolled HIV infection. Our data further support the importance of the interplay of markers of the adaptive and innate immune system in viral control.

  14. High susceptibility and low resistance allele frequency of Chrysodeixis includens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) field populations to Cry1Ac in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Yano, Silvia Ac; Specht, Alexandre; Moscardi, Flávio; Carvalho, Renato A; Dourado, Patrick M; Martinelli, Samuel; Head, Graham P; Sosa-Gómez, Daniel R

    2016-08-01

    The soybean looper (SBL), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker), is one of the most important soybean pests in Brazil. MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean expressing Cry1Ac has been recently deployed in Brazil, providing high levels of control against the primary lepidopteran pests. To support insect resistance management (IRM) programmes, the baseline susceptibility of SBL to Cry1Ac was assessed, and the resistance allele frequency was estimated on the basis of an F2 screen. The toxicity (LC50 ) of Cry1Ac ranged from 0.39 to 2.01 µg mL(-1) diet among all SBL field populations collected from crop seasons 2008/09 to 2012/13, which indicated approximately fivefold variation. Cry1Ac diagnostic concentrations of 5.6 and 18 µg mL(-1) diet were established for monitoring purposes, and no shift in mortality was observed. A total of 626 F2 family lines derived from SBL collected from locations across Brazil during crop season 2014/15 were screened for the presence of Cry1Ac resistance alleles. None of the 626 families survived on MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean leaf tissue (joint frequency 0.0004). SBL showed high susceptibility and low resistance allele frequency to Cry1Ac across the main soybean-producing regions in Brazil. These findings meet important criteria for effective IRM strategy. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  15. Human Leukocyte Antigen-A, B, C, DRB1, and DQB1 Allele and Haplotype Frequencies in a Subset of 237 Donors in the South African Bone Marrow Registry

    PubMed Central

    Ingram, Charlotte; Schlaphoff, Terry; Borrill, Veronica; Christoffels, Alan

    2018-01-01

    Human leukocyte antigen- (HLA-) A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1 allele and haplotype frequencies were studied in a subset of 237 volunteer bone marrow donors registered at the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR). Hapl-o-Mat software was used to compute allele and haplotype frequencies from individuals typed at various resolutions, with some alleles in multiple allele code (MAC) format. Four hundred and thirty-eight HLA-A, 235 HLA-B, 234 HLA-DRB1, 41 HLA-DQB1, and 29 HLA-C alleles are reported. The most frequent alleles were A∗02:02g (0.096), B∗07:02g (0.082), C∗07:02g (0.180), DQB1∗06:02 (0.157), and DRB1∗15:01 (0.072). The most common haplotype was A∗03:01g~B∗07:02g~C∗07:02g~DQB1∗06:02~DRB1∗15:01 (0.067), which has also been reported in other populations. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed in A, B, and DRB1 loci, with C~DQB1 being the only locus pair in linkage disequilibrium. This study describes allele and haplotype frequencies from a subset of donors registered at SABMR, the only active bone marrow donor registry in Africa. Although the sample size was small, our results form a key resource for future population studies, disease association studies, and donor recruitment strategies. PMID:29850621

  16. High allele frequency of CYP2C9*3 (rs1057910) in a Negrito's subtribe population in Malaysia; Aboriginal people of Jahai.

    PubMed

    Rosdi, Rasmaizatul Akma; Mohd Yusoff, Narazah; Ismail, Rusli; Soo Choon, Tan; Saleem, Mohamed; Musa, Nurfadhlina; Yusoff, Surini

    2016-09-01

    CYP2C9 gene polymorphisms modulate inter-individual variations in the human body's responses to various endogenous and exogenous drug substrates. To date, little is known about the CYP2C9 gene polymorphisms among the aboriginal populations of the world, including those in Malaysia. To characterise and compare the CYP2C9 polymorphisms (CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3, CYP2C9*4 and CYP2C9*5) between one of Malaysia's aboriginal populations, Jahai, with the national major ethnic, Malay. To also compare the allele frequencies from these two populations with available data of other aboriginal populations around the world. The extracted DNA of 155 Jahais and 183 Malays was genotyped for CYP2C9 polymorphisms using a nested multiplex allele-specific polymerase chain reaction technique. The results were confirmed by DNA direct sequencing. Genotyping results revealed that CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*4 and CYP2C9*5 were absent in Jahais, while only the latter two were absent in Malays. The CYP2C9*3 allelic frequency in Jahais was 36.2%, making them the most frequent carriers of the allele thus far reported in any ethnic group from Southeast Asia. The high frequency of CYP2C9*3 and the absence of CYP2C9*2 in Jahais suggest that genetic drift may be occurring in this ethnic group. This is the first study to determine the CYP2C9 polymorphisms in an aboriginal population in Malaysia.

  17. Estimating the number, frequency, and dominance of S-alleles in a natural population of Arabidopsis lyrata(Brassicaceae) with sporophytic control of self-incompatibility.

    PubMed

    Mable, B K; Schierup, M H; Charlesworth, D

    2003-06-01

    In homomorphic plant self-incompatibility (SI) systems, large numbers of alleles may be maintained at a single Mendelian locus. Most estimators of the number of alleles present in natural populations are designed for gametophytic self-incompatibility systems (GSI) in which the recognition phenotype of the pollen is determined by its own haploid genotype. In sporophytic systems (SSI), the recognition phenotype of the pollen is determined by the diploid genotype of its parent, and dominance differs among alleles. We describe research aimed at estimates of S-allele numbers in a natural population of Arabidopsis lyrata (Brassicaceae), whose SSI system has recently been described. Using a combination of pollination studies and PCR-based identification of alleles at a locus equivalent to the Brassica SRK gene, we identified and sequenced 11 putative alleles in a sample of 20 individuals from different maternal seed sets. The pollination results indicate that we have not amplified all alleles that must be present. Extensive partial incompatibility, nonreciprocal compatibility differences, and evidence of weakened expression of SI in some genotypes, prevent us from determining the exact number of missing alleles based only on cross-pollination data. Although we show that none of the theoretical models currently proposed is completely appropriate for estimating the number of alleles in this system, we estimate that there are between 13 and 16 different S-alleles in our sample, probably between 16 and 25 alleles in the population, and discuss the relative frequency of alleles in relation to dominance.

  18. Knockdown Resistance Allele Frequencies in North American Head Louse (Anoplura: Pediculidae) Populations

    PubMed Central

    Yoon, Kyong Sup; Previte, Domenic J.; Hodgdon, Hilliary E.; Poole, Bryan C.; Kwon, Deok Ho; El-Ghar, Gamal E. Abo; Lee, Si Hyeock; Clark, J. Marshall

    2014-01-01

    The study examines the extent and frequency of a knockdown-type resistance allele (kdr type) in North American populations of human head lice. Lice were collected from 32 locations in Canada and the United States. DNA was extracted from individual lice and used to determine their zygosity using the serial invasive signal amplification technique to detect the kdr-type T917I (TI) mutation, which is most responsible for nerve insensitivity that results in the kdr phenotype and permethrin resistance. Previously sampled sites were resampled to determine if the frequency of the TI mutation was changing. The TI frequency was also reevaluated using a quantitative sequencing method on pooled DNA samples from selected sites to validate this population genotyping method. Genotyping substantiated that TI occurs at high levels in North American lice (88.4%). Overall, the TI frequency in U.S. lice was 84.4% from 1999 to 2009, increased to 99.6% from 2007 to 2009, and was 97.1% in Canadian lice in 2008. Genotyping results using the serial invasive signal amplification reaction (99.54%) and quantitative sequencing (99.45%) techniques were highly correlated. Thus, the frequencies of TI in North American head louse populations were found to be uniformly high, which may be due to the high selection pressure from the intensive and widespread use of the pyrethrins- or pyrethroid-based pediculicides over many years, and is likely a main cause of increased pediculosis and failure of pyrethrins- or permethrin-based products in Canada and the United States. Alternative approaches to treatment of head lice infestations are critically needed. PMID:24724296

  19. Real-time PCR genotyping assay for canine progressive rod-cone degeneration and mutant allele frequency in Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas and Miniature Dachshunds in Japan

    PubMed Central

    KOHYAMA, Moeko; TADA, Naomi; MITSUI, Hiroko; TOMIOKA, Hitomi; TSUTSUI, Toshihiko; YABUKI, Akira; RAHMAN, Mohammad Mahbubur; KUSHIDA, Kazuya; MIZUKAMI, Keijiro; YAMATO, Osamu

    2015-01-01

    Canine progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD) is a middle- to late-onset, autosomal recessive, inherited retinal disorder caused by a substitution (c.5G>A) in the canine PRCD gene that has been identified in 29 or more purebred dogs. In the present study, a TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR assay was developed and evaluated for rapid genotyping and large-scale screening of the mutation. Furthermore, a genotyping survey was carried out in a population of the three most popular breeds in Japan (Toy Poodles, Chihuahuas and Miniature Dachshunds) to determine the current mutant allele frequency. The assay separated all the genotypes of canine PRCD rapidly, indicating its suitability for large-scale surveys. The results of the survey showed that the mutant allele frequency in Toy Poodles was high enough (approximately 0.09) to allow the establishment of measures for the prevention and control of this disorder in breeding kennels. The mutant allele was detected in Chihuahuas for the first time, but the frequency was lower (approximately 0.02) than that in Toy Poodles. The mutant allele was not detected in Miniature Dachshunds. This assay will allow the selective breeding of dogs from the two most popular breeds (Toy Poodle and Chihuahua) in Japan and effective prevention or control of the disorder. PMID:26549343

  20. Human minisatellite alleles detectable only after PCR amplification.

    PubMed

    Armour, J A; Crosier, M; Jeffreys, A J

    1992-01-01

    We present evidence that a proportion of alleles at two human minisatellite loci is undetected by standard Southern blot hybridization. In each case the missing allele(s) can be identified after PCR amplification and correspond to tandem arrays too short to detect by hybridization. At one locus, there is only one undetected allele (population frequency 0.3), which contains just three repeat units. At the second locus, there are at least five undetected alleles (total population frequency 0.9) containing 60-120 repeats; they are not detected because these tandem repeats give very poor signals when used as a probe in standard Southern blot hybridization, and also cross-hybridize with other sequences in the genome. Under these circumstances only signals from the longest tandemly repeated alleles are detectable above the nonspecific background. The structures of these loci have been compared in human and primate DNA, and at one locus the short human allele containing three repeat units is shown to be an intermediate state in the expansion of a monomeric precursor allele in primates to high copy number in the longer human arrays. We discuss the implications of such loci for studies of human populations, minisatellite isolation by cloning, and the evolution of highly variable tandem arrays.

  1. [Distribution of DRD4 and DAT1 alleles from dopaminergic system in a mixed Chilean population].

    PubMed

    Vieyra, Gonzalo; Moraga, Mauricio; Henríquez, Hugo; Aboitiz, Francisco; Rothhammer, Francisco

    2003-02-01

    Genes for dopamine receptor DRD4 and dopamine transporter DAT1 are highly polymorphic. Two alleles of these genes, namely the DRD4.7 and the DAT1*9 are frequently associated to the attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. In Europe, the allele for DRD4 receptor with four repetitions (DRD4.4) has the highest frequency, with a median of 69%, followed by DRD4.7, with a frequency of 15%. South American indigenous populations have higher frequencies for DRD4.7 (61%) than for DRD4.4 (29%). The ten repetition allele for DAT1 transporter has a high frequency among Europeans (72%) and Amerindians (100%). The allele DAT1*9 is the second most frequent allele. To study the frequency of DRD4 and DAT1 alleles in a Chilean population sample. One hundred serum samples were obtained from blood donors in two public hospitals in Santiago. Polymorphic regions for DRD4 and DAT1 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The allele DRD4.4 had a frequency of 59% and DRD4.7 a frequency of 27%. The allele DAT1*10 had a frequency of 74%, followed by DAT 1*9, with a frequency of 23%. In a Chilean population sample, the frequency of DRD4 and DAT1 alleles was very similar to that of European populations.

  2. Estimated frequency of the canine hyperuricosuria mutation in different dog breeds.

    PubMed

    Karmi, N; Brown, E A; Hughes, S S; McLaughlin, B; Mellersh, C S; Biourge, V; Bannasch, D L

    2010-01-01

    Hyperuricosuria is a condition that predisposes dogs to urate urolithiasis. A mutation that causes canine hyperuricosuria was previously identified in 3 unrelated dog breeds. The occurrence of the mutation in additional breeds was not determined. Identify additional breeds that have the hyperuricosuria mutation and estimate the mutant allele frequency in those breeds. Three thousand five hundred and thirty dogs from 127 different breeds were screened for the hyperuricosuria mutation. DNA samples were genotyped by pyrosequencing and allele-specific polymerase chain reaction methods. Mutant allele frequencies that range from 0.001 to 0.15 were identified in the American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Shepherd, German Shepherd Dog, Giant Schnauzer, Parson (Jack) Russell Terrier, Labrador Retriever, Large Munsterlander, Pomeranian, South African Boerboel, and Weimaraner breeds. The hyperuricosuria mutation has been identified in several unrelated dog breeds. The mutant allele frequencies vary among breeds and can be used to determine an appropriate breeding plan for each breed. A DNA test is available and may be used by breeders to decrease the mutant allele frequency in breeds that carry the mutation. In addition, veterinarians may use the test as a diagnostic tool to identify the cause of urate urolithiasis. Copyright © 2010 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

  3. The Maintenance of Single-Locus Polymorphism. IV. Models with Mutation from Existing Alleles

    PubMed Central

    Spencer, H. G.; Marks, R. W.

    1992-01-01

    The ability of viability selection to maintain allelic polymorphism is investigated using a constructionist approach. In extensions to the models we have previously proposed, a population is bombarded with a series of mutations whose fitnesses in conjunction with other alleles are functions of the corresponding fitnesses with a particular allele, the parent allele, already in the population. Allele frequencies are iterated simultaneously, thus allowing alleles to be driven to extinction by selection. Such models allow very high levels of polymorphism to evolve: up to 38 alleles in one case. Alleles that are lethal as homozygotes can evolve to surprisingly high frequencies. The joint evolution of allele frequencies and viabilities highlights the necessity to consider more than the current morphology of a population. Comparisons are made with the neutral theory of evolution and it is suggested that failure to reject neutrality using the Ewens-Watterson test cannot be regarded as evidence for the neutral theory. PMID:1732162

  4. The maintenance of single-locus polymorphism. IV. Models with mutation from existing alleles.

    PubMed

    Spencer, H G; Marks, R W

    1992-01-01

    The ability of viability selection to maintain allelic polymorphism is investigated using a constructionist approach. In extensions to the models we have previously proposed, a population is bombarded with a series of mutations whose fitnesses in conjunction with other alleles are functions of the corresponding fitnesses with a particular allele, the parent allele, already in the population. Allele frequencies are iterated simultaneously, thus allowing alleles to be driven to extinction by selection. Such models allow very high levels of polymorphism to evolve: up to 38 alleles in one case. Alleles that are lethal as homozygotes can evolve to surprisingly high frequencies. The joint evolution of allele frequencies and viabilities highlights the necessity to consider more than the current morphology of a population. Comparisons are made with the neutral theory of evolution and it is suggested that failure to reject neutrality using the Ewens-Watterson test cannot be regarded as evidence for the neutral theory.

  5. Relative frequencies of DRB1*11 alleles and their DRB3 associations in five major population groups in a United States bone marrow registry.

    PubMed

    Tang, T F; Huang, A Y; Pappas, A; Slack, R; Ng, J; Hartzman, R J; Hurley, C K

    2000-08-01

    One hundred sixty-one individuals from each of five US population groups, Caucasians (CAU), African Americans (AFA), Asians/Pacific Islanders (API), Hispanics (HIS), and Native Americans (NAT), were randomly selected from a volunteer bone marrow registry database consisting of 14,452 HLA-DRB1*11 positive individuals. This sampling provided at least an 80% probability of detecting a rare allele that occurred at 1% in the DRB1*11 positive population. Samples were typed for DRB1*11 alleles by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe typing (PCR-SSOP). A total of 10 DRB1*11 alleles out of 27 possible alleles were detected. The distribution and diversity of DRB1*11 alleles varied among populations although DRB1*1101 was the predominant DRB1*11 allele in all populations. Caucasians were the least diversified; only four common alleles (DRB1*1101-*1104) were observed. As well as the four common alleles, other groups also carried one or two other less frequent alleles including DRB1*1105 (API), *1106 (API), *1110 (AFA), *1114 (HIS), *1115 (NAT), and *1117 (AFA). A subset (418) of these individuals were also typed for DRB3 alleles. Most (97.6%) showed a strong association of DRB1*11 with DRB3*0202.

  6. Evaluation of 16 SNPs allele-specific to quantify post hSCT chimerism by SYBR green-based qRT-PCR.

    PubMed

    Almeida, Carlos Arthur Cardoso; Dreyfuss, Juliana Luporini; Azevedo-Shimmoto, Marily Maria; Figueiredo, Maria Stela; de Oliveira, José Salvador Rodrigues

    2013-03-01

    The importance of monitoring post haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (hSCT) chimerism has been defined in numerous publications. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are molecular markers that vary significantly among different populations. Allied to a very sensible technique, SNP assays seem to be very sensitive (0.001%) when post hSCT chimerism is measured. However, well known SNP frequencies are limited to certain populations, mainly in countries where there is a high level of diversity in its population, therefore restricting their use worldwide. Amplification by SYBR green based quantitative real time PCR of eight pairs of allele-specific SNPs (MLH-1, PECAM-1, ICAM-1, SUR-1, HA-1, rs715405, rs713503, rs2296600) was conducted in 88 patient/donor pairs, who underwent allogeneic myeloablative or non-myeloablative hSCT. One informative allele was detected in at least 42% (n=37) of the samples; 20% (n=18) had at least two informative alleles; 10% (n=9) had at least three informative alleles; 9% (n=8) had more than three informative alleles and 18% (n=16) showed no informative allele at all. Overall, the frequency of informative alleles for these SNPs in the Brazilian population was very low. Consequently, the amount of information attained reached 9% of those expected, being able to discriminate only eight pairs of donor/recipient samples with more than three informative alleles, making them useless for the quantification of chimerism in our routine.

  7. Frequency-scanning interferometry using a time-varying Kalman filter for dynamic tracking measurements.

    PubMed

    Jia, Xingyu; Liu, Zhigang; Tao, Long; Deng, Zhongwen

    2017-10-16

    Frequency scanning interferometry (FSI) with a single external cavity diode laser (ECDL) and time-invariant Kalman filtering is an effective technique for measuring the distance of a dynamic target. However, due to the hysteresis of the piezoelectric ceramic transducer (PZT) actuator in the ECDL, the optical frequency sweeps of the ECDL exhibit different behaviors, depending on whether the frequency is increasing or decreasing. Consequently, the model parameters of Kalman filter appear time varying in each iteration, which produces state estimation errors with time-invariant filtering. To address this, in this paper, a time-varying Kalman filter is proposed to model the instantaneous movement of a target relative to the different optical frequency tuning durations of the ECDL. The combination of the FSI method with the time-varying Kalman filter was theoretically analyzed, and the simulation and experimental results show the proposed method greatly improves the performance of dynamic FSI measurements.

  8. Allele frequencies for 13 STRs loci in a Western Anatolia population and their forensic evaluation.

    PubMed

    Baransel Isir, Aysun; Ozkorkmaz, Abdulmuttalip; Pehlivan, Sacide

    2015-01-01

    Numerous studies demonstrated that STRs have become powerful tools in forensic case work. To profile DNA samples from 104 Turkish males for 13 autosomal, STR markers intended for human identification purposes and to estimate the allele frequency distribution in forensic cases in a Turkish population. Thirteen autosomal STR loci, namely D3S1358, D2S1338, D16S539, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, TH01, D13S317, D7S820, CSF1PO, TPOX, D5S818 and FGA, were analysed in a sample of 104 healthy and unrelated Turkish individuals who have been living in the city of İzmir. All loci were amplified by using AmpFlSTR Identifier Kit. Genetic analysis was carried out on an ABI PRISM 310 Genetic Analyser. For each locus, 6-15 alleles were found with frequencies ranging from 0.005-0.514 and heterozygosities ranging from 0.686-0.868. The PIC value was highly significant (0.999). The 13 STR loci in the AmpFlSTR Identifier Kit are suitable for forensic identification and paternity tests due to high heterozygosity. The observed PD value is sufficiently high for human identification purposes. In conclusion, the 13 STR loci seem to be useful markers for personal identification and forensic case work in the Turkish population. The results also demonstrate the importance of region-specific studies.

  9. Allelic Diversity and Geographical Distribution of the Gene Encoding Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein-3 in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Sawaswong, Vorthon; Simpalipan, Phumin; Siripoon, Napaporn; Harnyuttanakorn, Pongchai; Pattaradilokrat, Sittiporn

    2015-04-01

    Merozoite surface proteins (MSPs) of malaria parasites play critical roles during the erythrocyte invasion and so are potential candidates for malaria vaccine development. However, because MSPs are often under strong immune selection, they can exhibit extensive genetic diversity. The gene encoding the merozoite surface protein-3 (MSP-3) of Plasmodium falciparum displays 2 allelic types, K1 and 3D7. In Thailand, the allelic frequency of the P. falciparum msp-3 gene was evaluated in a single P. falciparum population in Tak at the Thailand and Myanmar border. However, no study has yet looked at the extent of genetic diversity of the msp-3 gene in P. falciparum populations in other localities. Here, we genotyped the msp-3 alleles of 63 P. falciparum samples collected from 5 geographical populations along the borders of Thailand with 3 neighboring countries (Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia). Our study indicated that the K1 and 3D7 alleles coexisted, but at different proportions in different Thai P. falciparum populations. K1 was more prevalent in populations at the Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia borders, whilst 3D7 was more prevalent at the Thailand-Laos border. Global analysis of the msp-3 allele frequencies revealed that proportions of K1 and 3D7 alleles of msp-3 also varied in different continents, suggesting the divergence of malaria parasite populations. In conclusion, the variation in the msp-3 allelic patterns of P. falciparum in Thailand provides fundamental knowledge for inferring the P. falciparum population structure and for the best design of msp-3 based malaria vaccines.

  10. Ancestry of the Timorese: age-related macular degeneration associated genotype and allele sharing among human populations from throughout the world

    PubMed Central

    Morrison, Margaux A.; Magalhaes, Tiago R.; Ramke, Jacqueline; Smith, Silvia E.; Ennis, Sean; Simpson, Claire L.; Portas, Laura; Murgia, Federico; Ahn, Jeeyun; Dardenne, Caitlin; Mayne, Katie; Robinson, Rosann; Morgan, Denise J.; Brian, Garry; Lee, Lucy; Woo, Se J.; Zacharaki, Fani; Tsironi, Evangelia E.; Miller, Joan W.; Kim, Ivana K.; Park, Kyu H.; Bailey-Wilson, Joan E.; Farrer, Lindsay A.; Stambolian, Dwight; DeAngelis, Margaret M.

    2015-01-01

    We observed that the third leading cause of blindness in the world, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), occurs at a very low documented frequency in a population-based cohort from Timor-Leste. Thus, we determined a complete catalog of the ancestry of the Timorese by analysis of whole exome chip data and haplogroup analysis of SNP genotypes determined by sequencing the Hypervariable I and II regions of the mitochondrial genome and 17 genotyped YSTR markers obtained from 535 individuals. We genotyped 20 previously reported AMD-associated SNPs in the Timorese to examine their allele frequencies compared to and between previously documented AMD cohorts of varying ethnicities. For those without AMD (average age > 55 years), genotype and allele frequencies were similar for most SNPs with a few exceptions. The major risk allele of HTRA1 rs11200638 (10q26) was at a significantly higher frequency in the Timorese, as well as 3 of the 5 protective CFH (1q32) SNPs (rs800292, rs2284664, and rs12066959). Additionally, the most commonly associated AMD-risk SNP, CFH rs1061170 (Y402H), was also seen at a much lower frequency in the Korean and Timorese populations than in the assessed Caucasian populations (C ~7 vs. ~40%, respectively). The difference in allele frequencies between the Timorese population and the other genotyped populations, along with the haplogroup analysis, also highlight the genetic diversity of the Timorese. Specifically, the most common ancestry groupings were Oceanic (Melanesian and Papuan) and Eastern Asian (specifically Han Chinese). The low prevalence of AMD in the Timorese population (2 of 535 randomly selected participants) may be due to the enrichment of protective alleles in this population at the 1q32 locus. PMID:26217379

  11. Polymorphic SVA retrotransposons at four loci and their association with classical HLA class I alleles in Japanese, Caucasians and African Americans.

    PubMed

    Kulski, Jerzy K; Shigenari, Atsuko; Inoko, Hidetoshi

    2010-04-01

    Polymorphic insertion frequencies of the retrotransposons known as the "SVA" elements were investigated at four loci in the MHC class I genomic region to determine their allele and haplotype frequencies and associations with the HLA-A, -B or -C genes for 100 Japanese, 100 African Americans, 174 Australian Caucasians and 66 reference cell lines obtained from different ethnic groups. The SVA insertions representing different subfamily members varied in frequency between none for SVA-HF in Japanese and 65% for SVA-HB in Caucasians or African Americans with significant differences in frequencies between the three populations at least at three loci. The SVA loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium except for the SVA-HA locus which deviated significantly in African Americans and Caucasians possibly because of a genomic deletion of this locus in individuals with the HLA-A*24 allele. Strong linkage disequilibria and high percentage associations between the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I gene alleles and some of the SVA insertions were detected in all three populations in spite of significant frequency differences for the SVA and HLA class I alleles between the three populations. The highest percentage associations (>86%) were between SVA-HB and HLA-B*08, -B*27, -B*37 to -B*41, -B*52 and -B*53; SVA-HC and HLA-B*07; SVA-HA and HLA-A*03, -A*11 and -A*30; and SVA-HF and HLA-A*03 and HLA-B*47. From pairwise associations in the three populations and the homozygous cell line results, it was possible to deduce the SVA and HLA class I allelic combinations (haplotypes), population differences and the identity by descent of several common HLA-A allelic lineages.

  12. Association between the APOE ε4 Allele and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease in an Ecuadorian Mestizo Population

    PubMed Central

    Calero, Cristian; Vinueza, Rodrigo; Correa, Patricio; Carrera-Gonzalez, Andrea; Villegas, Franklin; Moreta, Germania; Paredes, Rosario

    2017-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease. It has two main pathological hallmarks: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The APOE ε4 allele has been recognized as the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in several populations worldwide, yet the risk varies by region and ethnicity. The aims of this study were to describe APOE allele and genotype frequencies and examine the relationship between the APOE ε4 allele and LOAD risk in an Ecuadorian Mestizo population. We carried out a case-control study comprising 56 individuals clinically diagnosed with probable AD (≥65 years of age) and 58 unrelated healthy control subjects (≥65 years of age). Genotyping was performed using the real-time PCR method. Our data showed that allelic and genotypic frequencies follow the trends observed in most worldwide populations. We also found a high-risk association between APOE ε4 allele carriers and LOAD (OR = 7.286; 95% CI = 2.824–18.799; p < 0.001). Therefore, we concluded that APOE ε4 must be considered an important genetic risk factor for LOAD in the Ecuadorian Mestizo population. Additionally, we suggest that in mixed populations the effects of admixture and ethnic identity should be differentiated when evaluating genetic contributions to Alzheimer's disease risk. PMID:29348964

  13. Allele frequencies of human platelet antigens in Banjar, Bugis, Champa, Jawa and Kelantan Malays in Peninsular Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Wan Syafawati, W U; Norhalifah, H K; Zefarina, Z; Zafarina, Z; Panneerchelvam, S; Norazmi, M N; Chambers, G K; Edinur, H A

    2015-10-01

    The major aims of this study are to characterise and compile allelic data of human platelet antigen (HPA)-1 to -6 and -15 systems in five Malay sub-ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia. HPAs are polymorphic glycoproteins expressed on the surface of platelet membranes and are genetically differentiated across ethnogeographically unrelated populations. Blood samples were obtained with informed consent from 192 volunteers: Banjar (n = 30), Bugis (n = 37), Champa (n = 51), Jawa (n = 39) and Kelantan (n = 35). Genotyping was done using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer method. In general, frequencies of HPAs in the Malay sub-ethnic groups are more similar to those in Asian populations compared with other more distinct populations such as Indians, Australian Aborigines and Europeans. This study provides the first HPA datasets for the selected Malay sub-ethnic groups. Subsequent analyses including previously reported HPA data of Malays, Chinese and Indians revealed details of the genetic relationships and ancestry of various sub-populations in Peninsular Malaysia. Furthermore, the comprehensive HPA allele frequency information from Peninsular Malaysia provided in this report has potential applications for future study of diseases, estimating risks associated with HPA alloimmunization and for developing an efficient HPA-typed donor recruitment strategy. © 2015 British Blood Transfusion Society.

  14. Population differences in allele frequencies at the OLR1 locus may suggest geographic disparities in cardiovascular risk events.

    PubMed

    Predazzi, Irene M; Martínez-Labarga, Cristina; Vecchione, Lucia; Mango, Ruggiero; Ciccacci, Cinzia; Amati, Francesca; Ottoni, Claudio; Crawford, Michael H; Rickards, Olga; Romeo, Francesco; Novelli, Giuseppe

    2010-04-01

    Several studies have demonstrated a link between cardiovascular disease (CVD) susceptibility and the genetic background of populations. Endothelial activation and dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is one of the key steps in the initiation of atherosclerosis. The oxidized low density lipoprotein (lectin-like) receptor 1 (OLR1) gene is the main receptor of ox-LDL. We have previously characterized two polymorphisms (rs3736235 and rs11053646) associated with the risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Given their clinical significance, it is of interest to know the distribution of these variants in populations from different continents. A total of 1229 individuals from 17 different African, Asian and European populations was genotyped for the two considered markers. The high frequencies of ancestral alleles in South-Saharan populations is concordant with the African origin of our species. The results highlight that African populations are closer to Asians, and clearly separated from the Europeans. The results confirm significant genetic structuring among populations and suggest a possible basis for varying susceptibility to CVD among groups correlated with the geographical location of populations linked with the migrations out of Africa, or with different lifestyle.

  15. HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 allele frequencies in Cyrenaica population (Libya) and genetic relationships with other populations.

    PubMed

    Galgani, Andrea; Mancino, Giorgio; Martínez-Labarga, Cristina; Cicconi, Rosella; Mattei, Maurizio; Amicosante, Massimo; Bonanno, Cesira T; Di Sano, Caterina; Gimil, Giuma Salem; Salerno, Alfredo; Colizzi, Vittorio; Montesano, Carla

    2013-01-01

    The frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 alleles in 118 unrelated Libyans from Benghazi (Cyrenaica) were analysed using high resolution typing and compared with other populations. Their relatedness has been tested by correspondence analyses and principal component analysis. The most frequent HLA-A alleles were A(∗)02:01:01:01 (15.7%), A(∗)01:01:01:01 (11.4%) and A(∗)03:01:01:01 (9.3%). For the HLA-B locus, the commonest allele was HLA-B(∗)50:01:01 (14.4%) followed by B(∗)51:01:01 (9.8%) and B(∗)08:01:01 (6.4%). For the HLA-DRB1 locus, the commonest was HLA-DRB1(∗)07:01:01:01 (16.9%) followed by DRB1(∗)03:01:01:01 (13.6%) and DRB1(∗)13:02:01 (9.3%). The most frequent two-locus haplotypes were HLA-A(∗)02:01:01:01-B(∗)07:02:01 (3.0%) and HLA-B(∗)50:01:01-DRB1(∗)07:01:01:01 (9.6%), and three-locus haplotypes were HLA-A(∗)02:01:01:01-B(∗)50:01:01-DRB1(∗)07:01:01:01 (4.2%) and HLA-A(∗)11:01:01-B(∗)52:01:01:01-DRB1(∗)15:02:01 (2.5%). This study is the first on the HLA status of a Libyan population. The results, when compared to similar HLA data obtained previously from African and Mediterranean populations, indicate genetic influences from several ethnic groups. Moreover, the differences in the HLA allele frequencies between the Libyan population and others reveals that significant admixture has occurred between the original Berber inhabitants and neighbouring and more distant populations, even though a strong genetic Berber substratum remains. These data will be of value to future anthropological and disease association studies involving the Libyan population. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Stochastic modelling of shifts in allele frequencies reveals a strongly polygynous mating system in the re-introduced Asiatic wild ass.

    PubMed

    Renan, Sharon; Greenbaum, Gili; Shahar, Naama; Templeton, Alan R; Bouskila, Amos; Bar-David, Shirli

    2015-04-01

    Small populations are prone to loss of genetic variation and hence to a reduction in their evolutionary potential. Therefore, studying the mating system of small populations and its potential effects on genetic drift and genetic diversity is of high importance for their viability assessments. The traditional method for studying genetic mating systems is paternity analysis. Yet, as small populations are often rare and elusive, the genetic data required for paternity analysis are frequently unavailable. The endangered Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus), like all equids, displays a behaviourally polygynous mating system; however, the level of polygyny has never been measured genetically in wild equids. Combining noninvasive genetic data with stochastic modelling of shifts in allele frequencies, we developed an alternative approach to paternity analysis for studying the genetic mating system of the re-introduced Asiatic wild ass in the Negev Desert, Israel. We compared the shifts in allele frequencies (as a measure of genetic drift) that have occurred in the wild ass population since re-introduction onset to simulated scenarios under different proportions of mating males. We revealed a strongly polygynous mating system in which less than 25% of all males participate in the mating process each generation. This strongly polygynous mating system and its potential effect on the re-introduced population's genetic diversity could have significant consequences for the long-term persistence of the population in the Negev. The stochastic modelling approach and the use of allele-frequency shifts can be further applied to systems that are affected by genetic drift and for which genetic data are limited. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Schizophrenia and neurotrophin-3 alleles.

    PubMed

    Jŏnsson, E; Brené, S; Zhang, X R; Nimgaonkar, V L; Tylec, A; Schalling, M; Sedvall, G

    1997-05-01

    Studies of brain anatomy and premorbid functioning indicate that schizophrenia may be of neurodevelopmental origin. In the neurotrophic factor neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene, the A3/147-bp allele in a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism located in the promoter region was found to be associated with schizophrenia in a Japanese study. Another NT-3 polymorphism (Glu63Gly) indicated an association with schizophrenic patients with a putative neurodevelopmental form of the disease. We examined Swedish schizophrenic patients (n = 109) and control subjects (n = 78) for the same two NT-3 polymorphisms, as well as a third silent exonic polymorphism (at Pro55). No significant difference was found between the two groups. However, in a meta-analysis including the present and previous studies of Caucasian subjects, the A3/147-bp allele frequency was found to be significantly higher in the schizophrenic patients. In the present study, carriers of the A3/147 bp allele tended to have an earlier age of onset and to display more extrapyramidal symptoms. In the silent exonic polymorphism (at Pro55), female schizophrenic patients had higher adenine and lower guanine allele frequencies than control female subjects. Together with previous studies, the results provide some support for an association between the NT-3 gene and certain forms of schizophrenia. This warrants further investigation of NT-3 and other neurotrophic factors with additional polymorphisms and larger patient samples.

  18. Inferring Allele Frequency Trajectories from Ancient DNA Indicates That Selection on a Chicken Gene Coincided with Changes in Medieval Husbandry Practices.

    PubMed

    Loog, Liisa; Thomas, Mark G; Barnett, Ross; Allen, Richard; Sykes, Naomi; Paxinos, Ptolemaios D; Lebrasseur, Ophélie; Dobney, Keith; Peters, Joris; Manica, Andrea; Larson, Greger; Eriksson, Anders

    2017-08-01

    Ancient DNA provides an opportunity to infer the drivers of natural selection by linking allele frequency changes to temporal shifts in environment or cultural practices. However, analyses have often been hampered by uneven sampling and uncertainties in sample dating, as well as being confounded by demographic processes. Here, we present a Bayesian statistical framework for quantifying the timing and strength of selection using ancient DNA that explicitly addresses these challenges. We applied this method to time series data for two loci: TSHR and BCDO2, both hypothesised to have undergone strong and recent selection in domestic chickens. The derived variant in TSHR, associated with reduced aggression to conspecifics and faster onset of egg laying, shows strong selection beginning around 1,100 years ago, coincident with archaeological evidence for intensified chicken production and documented changes in egg and chicken consumption. To our knowledge, this is the first example of preindustrial domesticate trait selection in response to a historically attested cultural shift in food preference. For BCDO2, we find support for selection, but demonstrate that the recent rise in allele frequency could also have been driven by gene flow from imported Asian chickens during more recent breed formations. Our findings highlight that traits found ubiquitously in modern domestic species may not necessarily have originated during the early stages of domestication. In addition, our results demonstrate the importance of precise estimation of allele frequency trajectories through time for understanding the drivers of selection. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  19. Close associations between prevalences of dominantly inherited spinocerebellar ataxias with CAG-repeat expansions and frequencies of large normal CAG alleles in Japanese and Caucasian populations.

    PubMed Central

    Takano, H; Cancel, G; Ikeuchi, T; Lorenzetti, D; Mawad, R; Stevanin, G; Didierjean, O; Dürr, A; Oyake, M; Shimohata, T; Sasaki, R; Koide, R; Igarashi, S; Hayashi, S; Takiyama, Y; Nishizawa, M; Tanaka, H; Zoghbi, H; Brice, A; Tsuji, S

    1998-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that the frequencies of normal alleles (ANs) with a relatively large number of CAG repeats (large ANs) are related to the prevalences of the dominant spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs)-SCA types 1, 2, 3 (Machado-Joseph disease), 6, and dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA)-we investigated the relative prevalences of these diseases in 202 Japanese and 177 Caucasian families and distributions of the number of CAG repeats of ANs at these disease loci in normal individuals in each population. The relative prevalences of SCA1 and SCA2 were significantly higher in Caucasian pedigrees (15% and 14%, respectively) than in Japanese pedigrees (3% and 5%, respectively), corresponding to the observation that the frequencies of large ANs of SCA1 (alleles >30 repeats) and of SCA2 (alleles >22 repeats) were significantly higher in Caucasians than in Japanese. The relative prevalences of MJD/SCA3, SCA6, and DRPLA were significantly higher in Japanese pedigrees (43%, 11%, and 20%, respectively) than in Caucasian pedigrees (30%, 5%, and 0%, respectively), corresponding to the observation that the frequencies of large ANs of MJD/SCA3 (>27 repeats), SCA6 (>13 repeats), and DRPLA (>17 repeats) were significantly higher in Japanese than in Caucasians. The close correlations of the relative prevalences of the dominant SCAs with the distributions of large ANs strongly support the assumption that large ANs contribute to generation of expanded alleles (AEs) and the relative prevalences of the dominant SCAs. PMID:9758625

  20. Allelic Diversity and Geographical Distribution of the Gene Encoding Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein-3 in Thailand

    PubMed Central

    Sawaswong, Vorthon; Simpalipan, Phumin; Siripoon, Napaporn; Harnyuttanakorn, Pongchai; Pattaradilokrat, Sittiporn

    2015-01-01

    Merozoite surface proteins (MSPs) of malaria parasites play critical roles during the erythrocyte invasion and so are potential candidates for malaria vaccine development. However, because MSPs are often under strong immune selection, they can exhibit extensive genetic diversity. The gene encoding the merozoite surface protein-3 (MSP-3) of Plasmodium falciparum displays 2 allelic types, K1 and 3D7. In Thailand, the allelic frequency of the P. falciparum msp-3 gene was evaluated in a single P. falciparum population in Tak at the Thailand and Myanmar border. However, no study has yet looked at the extent of genetic diversity of the msp-3 gene in P. falciparum populations in other localities. Here, we genotyped the msp-3 alleles of 63 P. falciparum samples collected from 5 geographical populations along the borders of Thailand with 3 neighboring countries (Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia). Our study indicated that the K1 and 3D7 alleles coexisted, but at different proportions in different Thai P. falciparum populations. K1 was more prevalent in populations at the Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia borders, whilst 3D7 was more prevalent at the Thailand-Laos border. Global analysis of the msp-3 allele frequencies revealed that proportions of K1 and 3D7 alleles of msp-3 also varied in different continents, suggesting the divergence of malaria parasite populations. In conclusion, the variation in the msp-3 allelic patterns of P. falciparum in Thailand provides fundamental knowledge for inferring the P. falciparum population structure and for the best design of msp-3 based malaria vaccines. PMID:25925176

  1. ABO, Rhesus, and Kell Antigens, Alleles, and Haplotypes in West Bengal, India

    PubMed Central

    Basu, Debapriya; Datta, Suvro Sankha; Montemayor, Celina; Bhattacharya, Prasun; Mukherjee, Krishnendu; Flegel, Willy A.

    2018-01-01

    Background Few studies have documented the blood group antigens in the population of eastern India. Frequencies of some common alleles and haplotypes were unknown. We describe phenotype, allele, and haplotype frequencies in the state of West Bengal, India. Methods We tested 1,528 blood donors at the Medical College Hospital, Kolkata. The common antigens of the ABO, Rhesus, and Kell blood group systems were determined by standard serologic methods in tubes. Allele and haplotype frequencies were calculated with an iterative method that yielded maximum-likelihood estimates under the assumption of a Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Results The prevalence of ABO antigens were B (34%), O (32%), A (25%), and AB (9%) with ABO allele frequencies for O = 0.567, A = 0.189, and B = 0.244. The D antigen (RH1) was observed in 96.6% of the blood donors with RH haplotype frequencies, such as for CDe = 0.688809, cde = 0.16983 and CdE = 0.000654. The K antigen (K1) was observed in 12 donors (0.79%) with KEL allele frequencies for K = 0.004 and k = 0.996. Conclusions: For the Bengali population living in the south of West Bengal, we established the frequencies of the major clinically relevant antigens in the ABO, Rhesus, and Kell blood group systems and derived estimates for the underlying ABO and KEL alleles and RH haplotypes. Such blood donor screening will improve the availability of compatible red cell units for transfusion. Our approach using widely available routine methods can readily be applied in other regions, where the sufficient supply of blood typed for the Rh and K antigens is lacking. PMID:29593462

  2. Frequency of genetic polymorphisms of PXR gene in the Brazilian population.

    PubMed

    Moreira, Ricardo P P; Jorge, Alexander A L; Mendonca, Berenice B; Bachega, Tânia A S S

    2011-01-01

    PXR polymorphisms have been implicated in modulating CYP3A4 and PXR expression, potentially accounting for interindividual differences in drug metabolism. The prevalence of PXR polymorphisms varies among ethnic groups and data on the allelic distribution in the highly mixed Brazilian population is lacking. The aim of this study was to analyze genetic variations in the PXR gene in Brazilians and to compare the results to other ethnic groups. DNA samples from 117 healthy Brazilians underwent PCR amplification and sequencing. Eleven polymorphisms were identified, 3 of which are highly associated with differences in CYP3A4 expression. We also identified 1 new synonymous variant in 1.3% of the alleles. Among the functional polymorphisms, -25913 C>T and -6994T>C occurred at a higher frequency comparedtothe Africanalleles (p < 0.05) but at a lower frequency compared to Caucasian alleles. The 8055 C>T allele was found at a similar frequency to those described in Caucasians and Africans (p > 0.05). We observed that functional variants of the PXR were frequent in our sample of the Brazilian population. Our results suggest that PXR gene variants may be of interest in pharmacogenetic studies involving Brazilians.

  3. Type 2 Diabetes Risk Alleles Demonstrate Extreme Directional Differentiation among Human Populations, Compared to Other Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Rong; Corona, Erik; Sikora, Martin; Dudley, Joel T.; Morgan, Alex A.; Moreno-Estrada, Andres; Nilsen, Geoffrey B.; Ruau, David; Lincoln, Stephen E.; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Butte, Atul J.

    2012-01-01

    Many disease-susceptible SNPs exhibit significant disparity in ancestral and derived allele frequencies across worldwide populations. While previous studies have examined population differentiation of alleles at specific SNPs, global ethnic patterns of ensembles of disease risk alleles across human diseases are unexamined. To examine these patterns, we manually curated ethnic disease association data from 5,065 papers on human genetic studies representing 1,495 diseases, recording the precise risk alleles and their measured population frequencies and estimated effect sizes. We systematically compared the population frequencies of cross-ethnic risk alleles for each disease across 1,397 individuals from 11 HapMap populations, 1,064 individuals from 53 HGDP populations, and 49 individuals with whole-genome sequences from 10 populations. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) demonstrated extreme directional differentiation of risk allele frequencies across human populations, compared with null distributions of European-frequency matched control genomic alleles and risk alleles for other diseases. Most T2D risk alleles share a consistent pattern of decreasing frequencies along human migration into East Asia. Furthermore, we show that these patterns contribute to disparities in predicted genetic risk across 1,397 HapMap individuals, T2D genetic risk being consistently higher for individuals in the African populations and lower in the Asian populations, irrespective of the ethnicity considered in the initial discovery of risk alleles. We observed a similar pattern in the distribution of T2D Genetic Risk Scores, which are associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes in the Diabetes Prevention Program cohort, for the same individuals. This disparity may be attributable to the promotion of energy storage and usage appropriate to environments and inconsistent energy intake. Our results indicate that the differential frequencies of T2D risk alleles may contribute to the observed

  4. PoMo: An Allele Frequency-Based Approach for Species Tree Estimation

    PubMed Central

    De Maio, Nicola; Schrempf, Dominik; Kosiol, Carolin

    2015-01-01

    Incomplete lineage sorting can cause incongruencies of the overall species-level phylogenetic tree with the phylogenetic trees for individual genes or genomic segments. If these incongruencies are not accounted for, it is possible to incur several biases in species tree estimation. Here, we present a simple maximum likelihood approach that accounts for ancestral variation and incomplete lineage sorting. We use a POlymorphisms-aware phylogenetic MOdel (PoMo) that we have recently shown to efficiently estimate mutation rates and fixation biases from within and between-species variation data. We extend this model to perform efficient estimation of species trees. We test the performance of PoMo in several different scenarios of incomplete lineage sorting using simulations and compare it with existing methods both in accuracy and computational speed. In contrast to other approaches, our model does not use coalescent theory but is allele frequency based. We show that PoMo is well suited for genome-wide species tree estimation and that on such data it is more accurate than previous approaches. PMID:26209413

  5. Adolescent Sexual Behaviors at Varying Levels of Substance Use Frequency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Floyd, Leah J.; Latimer, William

    2010-01-01

    Combining substance use and sex compounds the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. However, the association between substance use and sexual behaviors may vary by substance and sexual behavior. The current study sought to examine the relationship between alcohol and marijuana use frequency and specific sexual…

  6. Linkage of familial Alzheimer disease to chromosome 14 in two large early-onset pedigrees: effects of marker allele frequencies on lod scores.

    PubMed

    Nechiporuk, A; Fain, P; Kort, E; Nee, L E; Frommelt, E; Polinsky, R J; Korenberg, J R; Pulst, S M

    1993-05-01

    Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease leading to global dementia. In addition to sporadic forms of AD, familial forms (FAD) have been recognized. Mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene on chromosome (CHR) 21 have been shown to cause early-onset AD in a small number of pedigrees. Recently, linkage to markers on CHR 14 has been established in several early-onset FAD pedigrees. We now report lod scores for CHR 14 markers in two large early-onset FAD pedigrees. Pairwise linkage analysis suggested that in these pedigrees the mutation is tightly linked to the loci D14S43 and D14S53. However, assumptions regarding marker allele frequencies had a major and often unpredictable effect on calculated lod scores. Therefore, caution needs to be exercised when single pedigrees are analyzed with marker allele frequencies determined from the literature or from a pool of spouses.

  7. Mutation Rate Variation is a Primary Determinant of the Distribution of Allele Frequencies in Humans

    PubMed Central

    Pritchard, Jonathan K.

    2016-01-01

    The site frequency spectrum (SFS) has long been used to study demographic history and natural selection. Here, we extend this summary by examining the SFS conditional on the alleles found at the same site in other species. We refer to this extension as the “phylogenetically-conditioned SFS” or cSFS. Using recent large-sample data from the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), combined with primate genome sequences, we find that human variants that occurred independently in closely related primate lineages are at higher frequencies in humans than variants with parallel substitutions in more distant primates. We show that this effect is largely due to sites with elevated mutation rates causing significant departures from the widely-used infinite sites mutation model. Our analysis also suggests substantial variation in mutation rates even among mutations involving the same nucleotide changes. In summary, we show that variable mutation rates are key determinants of the SFS in humans. PMID:27977673

  8. Inheritance of Cry1F resistance, cross-resistance and frequency of resistant alleles in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

    PubMed

    Vélez, A M; Spencer, T A; Alves, A P; Moellenbeck, D; Meagher, R L; Chirakkal, H; Siegfried, B D

    2013-12-01

    Transgenic maize, Zea maize L., expressing the Cry1F protein from Bacillus thuringiensis has been registered for Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) control since 2003. Unexpected damage to Cry1F maize was reported in 2006 in Puerto Rico and Cry1F resistance in S. frugiperda was documented. The inheritance of Cry1F resistance was characterized in a S. frugiperda resistant strain originating from Puerto Rico, which displayed >289-fold resistance to purified Cry1F. Concentration-response bioassays of reciprocal crosses of resistant and susceptible parental populations indicated that resistance is recessive and autosomal. Bioassays of the backcross of the F1 generation crossed with the resistant parental strain suggest that a single locus is responsible for resistance. In addition, cross-resistance to Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1Ba, Cry2Aa and Vip3Aa was assessed in the Cry1F-resistant strain. There was no significant cross-resistance to Cry1Aa, Cry1Ba and Cry2Aa, although only limited effects were observed in the susceptible strain. Vip3Aa was highly effective against susceptible and resistant insects indicating no cross-resistance with Cry1F. In contrast, low levels of cross-resistance were observed for both Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac. Because the resistance is recessive and conferred by a single locus, an F1 screening assay was used to measure the frequency of Cry1F-resistant alleles from populations of Florida and Texas in 2010 and 2011. A total frequency of resistant alleles of 0.13 and 0.02 was found for Florida and Texas populations, respectively, indicating resistant alleles could be found in US populations, although there have been no reports of reduced efficacy of Cry1F-expressing plants.

  9. A search for association between schizophrenia and dopamine-related alleles.

    PubMed

    Jönsson, E; Brené, S; Geijer, T; Terenius, L; Tylec, A; Persson, M L; Sedvall, G

    1996-01-01

    Dopamine receptor dysfunction and altered tyrosine hydroxylase activity have both been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic patients and control subjects were examined for allele frequencies in the tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine D2 and D4 receptor genes. No significant differences of allele or genotype frequencies were found between the two groups after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Neither were any significant relationships observed between allele frequencies and a number of clinical variables within the schizophrenic subsample. When no adjustment was made for multiple testing a few significant tendencies were obtained which warrant further research in extended patient and control materials. The results are compatible with the view that the tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine receptor D2 and D4 gene polymorphisms examined are not of major importance in the aetiology or pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

  10. Silvicultural management and the manipulation of rare alleles

    Treesearch

    Paul G. Schaberg; Gary J. Hawley; Donald H. DeHayes; Samuel E. Nijensohn

    2004-01-01

    Because rare alleles provide a means for adaptation to environmental change they are often considered important to long-term forest health. Through the selective removal of trees (and genes), silvicultural management may alter the genetic structure of forests, with rare alleles perhaps being uniquely vulnerable to manipulation due to their low frequencies or...

  11. Dual-pump Kerr Micro-cavity Optical Frequency Comb with varying FSR spacing

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Weiqiang; Chu, Sai T.; Little, Brent E.; Pasquazi, Alessia; Wang, Yishan; Wang, Leiran; Zhang, Wenfu; Wang, Lei; Hu, Xiaohong; Wang, Guoxi; Hu, Hui; Su, Yulong; Li, Feitao; Liu, Yuanshan; Zhao, Wei

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we demonstrate a novel dual-pump approach to generate robust optical frequency comb with varying free spectral range (FSR) spacing in a CMOS-compatible high-Q micro-ring resonator (MRR). The frequency spacing of the comb can be tuned by an integer number FSR of the MRR freely in our dual-pump scheme. The dual pumps are self-oscillated in the laser cavity loop and their wavelengths can be tuned flexibly by programming the tunable filter embedded in the cavity. By tuning the pump wavelength, broadband OFC with the bandwidth of >180 nm and the frequency-spacing varying from 6 to 46-fold FSRs is realized at a low pump power. This approach could find potential and practical applications in many areas, such as optical metrology, optical communication, and signal processing systems, for its excellent flexibility and robustness. PMID:27338250

  12. Increased prevalence of mutant null alleles that cause hereditary fructose intolerance in the American population.

    PubMed

    Coffee, Erin M; Yerkes, Laura; Ewen, Elizabeth P; Zee, Tiffany; Tolan, Dean R

    2010-02-01

    Mutations in the aldolase B gene (ALDOB) impairing enzyme activity toward fructose-1-phosphate cleavage cause hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI). Diagnosis of the disease is possible by identifying known mutant ALDOB alleles in suspected patients; however, the frequencies of mutant alleles can differ by population. Here, 153 American HFI patients with 268 independent alleles were analyzed to identify the prevalence of seven known HFI-causing alleles (A149P, A174D, N334K, Delta4E4, R59Op, A337V, and L256P) in this population. Allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization analysis was performed on polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified genomic DNA from these patients. In the American population, the missense mutations A149P and A174D are the two most common alleles, with frequencies of 44% and 9%, respectively. In addition, the nonsense mutations Delta4E4 and R59Op are the next most common alleles, with each having a frequency of 4%. Together, the frequencies of all seven alleles make up 65% of HFI-causing alleles in this population. Worldwide, these same alleles make up 82% of HFI-causing mutations. This difference indicates that screening for common HFI alleles is more difficult in the American population. Nevertheless, a genetic screen for diagnosing HFI in America can be improved by including all seven alleles studied here. Lastly, identification of HFI patients presenting with classic symptoms and who have homozygous null genotypes indicates that aldolase B is not required for proper development or metabolic maintenance.

  13. Polymorphism of the cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 gene in a European population: characterization of 48 mutations and 53 alleles, their frequencies and evolution.

    PubMed

    Marez, D; Legrand, M; Sabbagh, N; Lo Guidice, J M; Spire, C; Lafitte, J J; Meyer, U A; Broly, F

    1997-06-01

    The polymorphic cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 is involved in the metabolism of various drugs of wide therapeutic use and is a presumed susceptibility factor for certain environmentally-induced diseases. Our aim was to define the mutations and alleles of the CYP2D6 gene and to evaluate their frequencies in the European population. Using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis, 672 unrelated subjects were screened for mutations in the 9 exons of the gene and their exon-intron boundaries. A total of 48 point mutations were identified, of which 29 were novel. Mutations 1749 G-->C, 2938 C-->T and 4268 G-->C represented 52.6%, 34.3% and 52.9% of the mutations in the total population, respectively. Of the eight detrimental mutations detected, the 1934 G-->A, the 1795 Tdel and the 2637 Adel accounted for 65.8%, 6.2% and 4.8% respectively, within the poor metabolizer subgroup. Fifty-three different alleles were characterized from the mutation pattern and by allele-specific sequencing. They are derived from three major alleles, namely the wild-type CYP2D6*1A, the functional CYP2D6*2 and the null CYP2D6*4A. Five allelic variants (CYP2D6*1A, *2, *2B, *4A and *5) account for about 87% of all alleles, while the remaining alleles occur with a frequency of 0.1%-2.7%. These data provide a solid basis for future epidemiological, clinical as well as interethnic studies of the CYP2D6 polymorphism and highlight that the described single strand conformation polymorphism method can be successfully used in designing such studies.

  14. Characterization of the treefrog null allele, 1991

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Guttman, S.I.

    1992-04-01

    Spring peeper (Hyla crucifer) tadpoles collected from the waste storage area during the Biological and Ecological Site Characterization of the Feed Materials Production Center (FEMP) in 1986 and 1987 appeared to be unique. A null (inactive) allele was found at the glucose phosphate isomerase enzyme locus in significant frequencies (approximately 20%) each year; this allele did not appear to occur in the offsite sample collected approximately 15km from the FEMP. Null alleles at this locus have not been reported in other amphibian populations; when they have been found in other organisms they have invariably been lethal in the homozygous condition.

  15. Bayesian Inference of Allele-Specific Gene Expression Indicates Abundant Cis-Regulatory Variation in Natural Flycatcher Populations

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Mi

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Polymorphism in cis-regulatory sequences can lead to different levels of expression for the two alleles of a gene, providing a starting point for the evolution of gene expression. Little is known about the genome-wide abundance of genetic variation in gene regulation in natural populations but analysis of allele-specific expression (ASE) provides a means for investigating such variation. We performed RNA-seq of multiple tissues from population samples of two closely related flycatcher species and developed a Bayesian algorithm that maximizes data usage by borrowing information from the whole data set and combines several SNPs per transcript to detect ASE. Of 2,576 transcripts analyzed in collared flycatcher, ASE was detected in 185 (7.2%) and a similar frequency was seen in the pied flycatcher. Transcripts with statistically significant ASE commonly showed the major allele in >90% of the reads, reflecting that power was highest when expression was heavily biased toward one of the alleles. This would suggest that the observed frequencies of ASE likely are underestimates. The proportion of ASE transcripts varied among tissues, being lowest in testis and highest in muscle. Individuals often showed ASE of particular transcripts in more than one tissue (73.4%), consistent with a genetic basis for regulation of gene expression. The results suggest that genetic variation in regulatory sequences commonly affects gene expression in natural populations and that it provides a seedbed for phenotypic evolution via divergence in gene expression. PMID:28453623

  16. Allelic clustering and ancestry-dependent frequencies of rs6232, rs6234, and rs6235 PCSK1 SNPs in a Northern Ontario population sample.

    PubMed

    Sirois, Francine; Kaefer, Nadine; Currie, Krista A; Chrétien, Michel; Nkongolo, Kabwe K; Mbikay, Majambu

    2012-10-01

    The PCSK1 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1) locus encodes proprotein convertase 1/3, an endoprotease that converts prohormones and proneuropeptides to their active forms. Spontaneous loss-of-function mutations in the coding sequence of its gene have been linked to obesity in humans. Minor alleles of two common non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs6232 (T > C, N221D) and rs6235 (C > G, S690T), have been associated with increased risk of obesity in European populations. In this study, we compared the frequencies of the rs6232 and rs6234 (G > C, Q665E) SNPs in Aboriginal and Caucasian populations of Northern Ontario. The two SNPs were all relatively less frequent in Aboriginals: The minor allele frequency of the rs6232 SNP was 0.01 in Aboriginals and 0.08 in Caucasians (P < 4.10(-6)); for the rs6234 SNP, it was 0.20 and 0.32, respectively (P < 0.001). Resequencing revealed that the rs6234 SNP variation was tightly linked to that of the rs6235 SNP, as previously reported. Most interestingly, all carriers of the rs6232 SNP variation also carried the rs6234/rs6235 SNP clustered variations, but not the reverse, suggesting the former occurred later on an allele already carrying the latter. These data indicate that, in Northern Ontario Aboriginals, the triple-variant PCSK1 allele is relatively rare and might be of lesser significance for obesity risk in this population.

  17. Rapid genotyping assays for the 4-base pair deletion of canine MDR1/ABCB1 gene and low frequency of the mutant allele in Border Collie dogs.

    PubMed

    Mizukami, Keijiro; Chang, Hye-Sook; Yabuki, Akira; Kawamichi, Takuji; Hossain, Mohammad A; Rahman, Mohammad M; Uddin, Mohammad M; Yamato, Osamu

    2012-01-01

    P-glycoprotein, encoded by the MDR1 or ABCB1 gene, is an integral component of the blood-brain barrier as an efflux pump for xenobiotics crucial in limiting drug uptake into the central nervous system. Dogs homozygous for a 4-base pair deletion of the canine MDR1 gene show altered expression or function of P-glycoprotein, resulting in neurotoxicosis after administration of the substrate drugs. In the present study, the usefulness of microchip electrophoresis for genotyping assays detecting this deletion mutation was evaluated. Mutagenically separated polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) and real-time PCR assays were newly developed and evaluated. Furthermore, a genotyping survey was carried out in a population of Border Collies dogs in Japan to determine the allele frequency in this breed. Microchip electrophoresis showed advantages in detection sensitivity and time saving over other modes of electrophoresis. The MS-PCR assay clearly discriminated all genotypes. Real-time PCR assay was most suitable for a large-scale survey due to its high throughput and rapidity. The genotyping survey demonstrated that the carrier and mutant allele frequencies were 0.49% and 0.25%, respectively, suggesting that the mutant allele frequency in Border Collies is markedly low compared to that in the susceptible dog breeds such as rough and smooth Collies.

  18. Simulation of introgression of the polled allele into the Holstein breed via conventional breeding versus gene editing

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The objective of this study was to simulate the introgression of the polled allele into a dairy cattle population and compare the impact of using the methods of conventional breeding versus gene editing to increase the frequency of the polled allele. The rate of minor allele frequency (MAF) change, ...

  19. An integrative time-varying frequency detection and channel sounding method for dynamic plasma sheath

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Lei; Yao, Bo; Zhao, Lei; Liu, Xiaotong; Yang, Min; Liu, Yanming

    2018-01-01

    The plasma sheath-surrounded hypersonic vehicle is a dynamic and time-varying medium and it is almost impossible to calculate time-varying physical parameters directly. The in-fight detection of the time-varying degree is important to understand the dynamic nature of the physical parameters and their effect on re-entry communication. In this paper, a constant envelope zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequence based on time-varying frequency detection and channel sounding method is proposed to detect the plasma sheath electronic density time-varying property and wireless channel characteristic. The proposed method utilizes the CAZAC sequence, which has excellent autocorrelation and spread gain characteristics, to realize dynamic time-varying detection/channel sounding under low signal-to-noise ratio in the plasma sheath environment. Theoretical simulation under a typical time-varying radio channel shows that the proposed method is capable of detecting time-variation frequency up to 200 kHz and can trace the channel amplitude and phase in the time domain well under -10 dB. Experimental results conducted in the RF modulation discharge plasma device verified the time variation detection ability in practical dynamic plasma sheath. Meanwhile, nonlinear phenomenon of dynamic plasma sheath on communication signal is observed thorough channel sounding result.

  20. Diversity Outbred Mice at 21: Maintaining Allelic Variation in the Face of Selection

    PubMed Central

    Chesler, Elissa J.; Gatti, Daniel M.; Morgan, Andrew P.; Strobel, Marge; Trepanier, Laura; Oberbeck, Denesa; McWeeney, Shannon; Hitzemann, Robert; Ferris, Martin; McMullan, Rachel; Clayshultle, Amelia; Bell, Timothy A.; de Villena, Fernando Pardo-Manuel; Churchill, Gary A.

    2016-01-01

    Multi-parent populations (MPPs) capture and maintain the genetic diversity from multiple inbred founder strains to provide a resource for high-resolution genetic mapping through the accumulation of recombination events over many generations. Breeding designs that maintain a large effective population size with randomized assignment of breeders at each generation can minimize the impact of selection, inbreeding, and genetic drift on allele frequencies. Small deviations from expected allele frequencies will have little effect on the power and precision of genetic analysis, but a major distortion could result in reduced power and loss of important functional alleles. We detected strong transmission ratio distortion in the Diversity Outbred (DO) mouse population on chromosome 2, caused by meiotic drive favoring transmission of the WSB/EiJ allele at the R2d2 locus. The distorted region harbors thousands of polymorphisms derived from the seven non-WSB founder strains and many of these would be lost if the sweep was allowed to continue. To ensure the utility of the DO population to study genetic variation on chromosome 2, we performed an artificial selection against WSB/EiJ alleles at the R2d2 locus. Here, we report that we have purged the WSB/EiJ allele from the drive locus while preserving WSB/EiJ alleles in the flanking regions. We observed minimal disruption to allele frequencies across the rest of the autosomal genome. However, there was a shift in haplotype frequencies of the mitochondrial genome and an increase in the rate of an unusual sex chromosome aneuploidy. The DO population has been restored to genome-wide utility for genetic analysis, but our experience underscores that vigilant monitoring of similar genetic resource populations is needed to ensure their long-term utility. PMID:27694113

  1. Diversity Outbred Mice at 21: Maintaining Allelic Variation in the Face of Selection.

    PubMed

    Chesler, Elissa J; Gatti, Daniel M; Morgan, Andrew P; Strobel, Marge; Trepanier, Laura; Oberbeck, Denesa; McWeeney, Shannon; Hitzemann, Robert; Ferris, Martin; McMullan, Rachel; Clayshultle, Amelia; Bell, Timothy A; Manuel de Villena, Fernando Pardo; Churchill, Gary A

    2016-12-07

    Multi-parent populations (MPPs) capture and maintain the genetic diversity from multiple inbred founder strains to provide a resource for high-resolution genetic mapping through the accumulation of recombination events over many generations. Breeding designs that maintain a large effective population size with randomized assignment of breeders at each generation can minimize the impact of selection, inbreeding, and genetic drift on allele frequencies. Small deviations from expected allele frequencies will have little effect on the power and precision of genetic analysis, but a major distortion could result in reduced power and loss of important functional alleles. We detected strong transmission ratio distortion in the Diversity Outbred (DO) mouse population on chromosome 2, caused by meiotic drive favoring transmission of the WSB/EiJ allele at the R2d2 locus. The distorted region harbors thousands of polymorphisms derived from the seven non-WSB founder strains and many of these would be lost if the sweep was allowed to continue. To ensure the utility of the DO population to study genetic variation on chromosome 2, we performed an artificial selection against WSB/EiJ alleles at the R2d2 locus. Here, we report that we have purged the WSB/EiJ allele from the drive locus while preserving WSB/EiJ alleles in the flanking regions. We observed minimal disruption to allele frequencies across the rest of the autosomal genome. However, there was a shift in haplotype frequencies of the mitochondrial genome and an increase in the rate of an unusual sex chromosome aneuploidy. The DO population has been restored to genome-wide utility for genetic analysis, but our experience underscores that vigilant monitoring of similar genetic resource populations is needed to ensure their long-term utility. Copyright © 2016 by the Genetics Society of America.

  2. Allele frequencies of combined DNA index system (CODIS) and non-CODIS short tandem repeat loci in Goiás, Central Brazil.

    PubMed

    Rodovalho, R G; Santos, G S; Cavalcanti, L M; Moura, B F S M; Rodrigues, E L; Lima, P R; Gigonzac, M A D; Vieira, T C

    2015-07-03

    In studies of human identification, obtaining a high standard of outcomes and satisfactory conclusions are directly related to the use of highly polymorphic molecular markers. In addition to the combined DNA index system (CODIS) group, it is also important to implement non-CODIS markers into the analysis, as they increase the power of discrimination. During the identification process, it is essential to consider the genetic variation among distinct groups of populations, as the allele frequencies are directly associated with the power of discrimination. However, the population of Goiás, a State located in Central Brazil, is characterized by a highly mixed population due to its diverse ethnic origins. In this study, a survey of the allelic frequencies in the Goiás population was carried out using a molecular assembly composed of 21 autosomal loci both from and external to the CODIS group. The new data, for some of the markers used, were statistically similar to those from previous studies. This consistency means that the use of these markers might serve as a parameter for future population comparisons. The results from these analyses further our knowledge of the study of human identification.

  3. HLA-A, B and DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in volunteer bone marrow donors from the north of Parana State.

    PubMed

    Bardi, Marlene Silva; Jarduli, Luciana Ribeiro; Jorge, Adylson Justino; Camargo, Rossana Batista Oliveira Godoy; Carneiro, Fernando Pagotto; Gelinski, Jair Roberto; Silva, Roseclei Assunção Feliciano; Lavado, Edson Lopes

    2012-01-01

    Knowledge of allele and haplotype frequencies of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is important in the search for unrelated bone marrow donors. The Brazilian population is very heterogeneous and the HLA system is highly informative of populations because of the high level of polymorphisms. The aim of this study was to characterize the immunogenetic profile of ethnic groups (Caucasians, Afro-Brazilians and Asians) in the north of Parana State. A study was carried out of 3978 voluntary bone marrow donors registered in the Brazilian National Bone Marrow Donor Registry and typed for the HLA-A, B and DRB1 (low resolution) loci. The alleles were characterized by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotides method using the LabType SSO kit (One Lambda, CA, USA). The ARLEQUIN v.3.11 computer program was used to calculate allele and haplotype frequencies The most common alleles found in Caucasians were HLA-A*02, 24, 01; HLA-B*35, 44, 51; DRB1*11, 13, 07; for Afro-Brazilians they were HLA-A*02, 03, 30; HLA-B*35, 15, 44; DRB1*13, 11, 03; and for Asians they were: HLA-A*24, 02, 26; HLA-B*40, 51, 52; DRB1*04, 15, 09. The most common haplotype combinations were: HLA-A*01, B*08, DRB1*03 and HLA-A*29, B*44, DRB1*07 for Caucasians; HLA-A*29, B*44, DRB1*07 and HLA-A*01, B*08 and DRB1*03 for Afro-Brazilians; and HLA-A*24, B*52, DRB1*15 and HLA-A*24, B*40 and DRB1*09 for Asians. There is a need to target and expand bone marrow donor campaigns in the north of Parana State. The data of this study may be used as a reference by the Instituto Nacional de Cancer/Brazilian National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to evaluate the immunogenetic profile of populations in specific regions and in the selection of bone marrow donors.

  4. HLA-A, B and DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in volunteer bone marrow donors from the north of Parana State

    PubMed Central

    Bardi, Marlene Silva; Jarduli, Luciana Ribeiro; Jorge, Adylson Justino; Camargo, Rossana Batista Oliveira Godoy; Carneiro, Fernando Pagotto; Gelinski, Jair Roberto; Silva, Roseclei Assunção Feliciano; Lavado, Edson Lopes

    2012-01-01

    Background Knowledge of allele and haplotype frequencies of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is important in the search for unrelated bone marrow donors. The Brazilian population is very heterogeneous and the HLA system is highly informative of populations because of the high level of polymorphisms. Aim The aim of this study was to characterize the immunogenetic profile of ethnic groups (Caucasians, Afro-Brazilians and Asians) in the north of Parana State. Methods A study was carried out of 3978 voluntary bone marrow donors registered in the Brazilian National Bone Marrow Donor Registry and typed for the HLA-A, B and DRB1 (low resolution) loci. The alleles were characterized by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotides method using the LabType SSO kit (One Lambda, CA, USA). The ARLEQUIN v.3.11 computer program was used to calculate allele and haplotype frequencies Results The most common alleles found in Caucasians were HLA-A*02, 24, 01; HLA-B*35, 44, 51; DRB1*11, 13, 07; for Afro-Brazilians they were HLA-A*02, 03, 30; HLA-B*35, 15, 44; DRB1*13, 11, 03; and for Asians they were: HLA-A*24, 02, 26; HLA-B*40, 51, 52; DRB1*04, 15, 09. The most common haplotype combinations were: HLA-A*01, B*08, DRB1*03 and HLA-A*29, B*44, DRB1*07 for Caucasians; HLA-A*29, B*44, DRB1*07 and HLA-A*01, B*08 and DRB1*03 for Afro-Brazilians; and HLA-A*24, B*52, DRB1*15 and HLA-A*24, B*40 and DRB1*09 for Asians. Conclusion There is a need to target and expand bone marrow donor campaigns in the north of Parana State. The data of this study may be used as a reference by the Instituto Nacional de Cancer/Brazilian National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to evaluate the immunogenetic profile of populations in specific regions and in the selection of bone marrow donors PMID:23049380

  5. NF-κB1 Rs28362491 Mutant Allele Frequencies along the Silk Road and Beyond.

    PubMed

    Pordel, Safoora; Nemati, Kazem; Karimi, Mohammad Hossein; Doroudchi, Mehrnoosh

    2018-03-01

    In the human evolutionary history, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) frequencies are valuable in terms of finding connections between different populations. Due to the pronounced role of the immune system in combating pathogens and environmental stressors, polymorphisms in the immune genes are subject to selection pressure of the diseases as well. The functional polymorphisms in NF-κB1 promoter (-94 ins/del) are associated with different diseases; therefore, we aimed to establish the frequencies of NF-κB1 rs28362491 alleles in a population of Southwestern Iranians in comparison with the world populations. We assessed the polymorphism of -94 ATTG ins/del (rs28362491) in 201 Iranian healthy blood donors from Fars Province, central Iran in a one year period between 2015 and 2016 by PCR-RFLP method using DNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The frequency of ins/ins homozygote genotype was found to be 46.97%. The frequency of heterozygote individuals was 42.42% and the percentage of del/del homozygote genotype was 10.61%. We observed a genetic similarity based on the genotype frequencies of NF-κB1 -94 ins/del ATTG polymorphism between our sample of Iranians with American Jewish, Turkish, American non-Jewish, Chinese-Uyghurs and Germans. The results confirmed genetic interrelation of Iranians with some ancient neighbors and their admixture with countries along the Silk Road. We suggest that mapping the distribution of NF-κB1-94 ATTG ins/del along with HLA genes may help to better define the relations between human populations and design population-specific vaccines for pathogens with a high rate of variation.

  6. High Susceptibility to Cry1Ac and Low Resistance Allele Frequency Reduce the Risk of Resistance of Helicoverpa armigers to Bt Soybean in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Dourado, Patrick M; Bacalhau, Fabiana B; Amado, Douglas; Carvalho, Renato A; Martinelli, Samuel; Head, Graham P; Omoto, Celso

    2016-01-01

    The Old World bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), was recently introduced into Brazil, where it has caused extensive damage to cotton and soybean crops. MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean, which expresses the Bt protein Cry1Ac, was recently deployed in Brazil, providing high levels of control against H. armigera. To assess the risk of resistance to the Cry1Ac protein expressed by MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean in Brazil, we conducted studies to evaluate the baseline susceptibility of H. armigera to Cry1Ac, in planta efficacy including the assessment of the high-dose criterion, and the initial resistance allele frequency based on an F2 screen. The mean Cry1Ac lethal concentration (LC50) ranged from 0.11 to 1.82 μg·mL-1 of diet among all H. armigera field populations collected from crop seasons 2013/14 to 2014/15, which indicated about 16.5-fold variation. MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean exhibited a high level of efficacy against H. armigera and most likely met the high dose criterion against this target species in leaf tissue dilution bioassays up to 50 times. A total of 212 F2 family lines of H. armigera were established from field collections sampled from seven locations across Brazil and were screened for the presence of MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean resistance alleles. None of the 212 families survived on MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean leaf tissue (estimated allele frequency = 0.0011). The responses of H. armigera to Cry1Ac protein, high susceptibility to MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean, and low frequency of resistance alleles across the main soybean-producing regions support the assumptions of a high-dose/refuge strategy. However, maintenance of reasonable compliance with the refuge recommendation will be essential to delay the evolution of resistance in H. armigera to MON 87701 × MON 89788 soybean in Brazil.

  7. Brief communication: Molecular characterization of O alleles at the ABO locus in Chilean Aymara and Huilliche Indians.

    PubMed

    Llop, Elena; Henríquez, Hugo; Moraga, Mauricio; Castro, Mario; Rothhammer, Francisco

    2006-12-01

    A molecular characterization of alleles O1, O1variant (O1v), and the mutation G542A of the ABO blood group was performed in two Amerindian populations of Chile, the Aymara (n = 84) and the Huilliche (n = 75). In addition, a sample of 82 individuals of Santiago belonging to the mixed Chilean population was typed for comparative purposes. The polymorphisms which allow for molecular differentiation of different alleles of the O blood group were studied in genomic DNA. The mutations G188, G261-, G542A, T646A, and C771T, described for alleles O1, O1v, and G542A, were determined using the PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) technique. All individuals studied were group O homozygotes for the deletion G261-, which defines the O1 alleles. Results obtained indicate that allele O1v exhibits frequencies of 0.65, 0.81, and 0.60 in Aymara, Huilliche, and Santiago populations, respectively. The frequencies of allele O1(G542A) were 0.119, 0.113, and 0.079 in the same populations. Frequencies for alleles O1 and O1v obtained in the Chilean populations studied concur with the results obtained by other authors, respecting the greater frequency of allele O1v as well as with its heterogeneous distribution in aboriginal South American populations. In Chilean populations, Allele G542A exhibits lower frequencies than those described for indigenous populations from Brazil and may be used as an Amerind admixture marker. 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) alleles in the Quechua, a high altitude South American native population.

    PubMed

    Rupert, J L; Devine, D V; Monsalve, M V; Hochachka, P W

    1999-01-01

    Recently it was reported that an allelic variant of the gene encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was significantly over-represented in a cohort of elite British mountaineers. It was proposed that this may be evidence for a specific genetic factor influencing the human capacity for physical performance. The implication that this allele could enhance performance at high altitude prompted us to determine its frequency in Quechua speaking natives living at altitudes greater than 3000m on the Andean Altiplano in South America. We found that the frequency of the putative performance allele in the Quechuas, although significantly higher than in Caucasians, was not different from lowland Native American populations. This observation suggests that, although the higher frequency of the 'performance allele' may have facilitated the migration of the ancestral Quechua to the highlands, the ACE insertion allele has not been subsequently selected for in this high altitude population.

  9. Magnetization Switching of a Co /Pt Multilayered Perpendicular Nanomagnet Assisted by a Microwave Field with Time-Varying Frequency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suto, Hirofumi; Kanao, Taro; Nagasawa, Tazumi; Mizushima, Koichi; Sato, Rie

    2018-05-01

    Microwave-assisted magnetization switching (MAS) is attracting attention as a method for reversing nanomagnets with a high magnetic anisotropy by using a small-amplitude magnetic field. We experimentally study MAS of a perpendicularly magnetized nanomagnet by applying a microwave magnetic field with a time-varying frequency. Because the microwave field frequency can follow the nonlinear decrease of the resonance frequency, larger magnetization excitation than that in a constant-frequency microwave field is induced, which enhances the MAS effect. The switching field decreases almost linearly as the start value of the time-varying microwave field frequency increases, and it becomes smaller than the minimum switching field in a constant-frequency microwave field. To obtain this enhancement of the MAS effect, the end value of the time-varying microwave field frequency needs to be almost the same as or lower than the critical frequency for MAS in a constant-frequency microwave field. In addition, the frequency change typically needs to take 1 ns or longer to make the rate of change slow enough for the magnetization to follow the frequency change. This switching behavior is qualitatively explained by the theory based on the macrospin model.

  10. Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in Southern Iran: E4 allele in the lowest reported amounts.

    PubMed

    Bazrgar, Masood; Karimi, Mehran; Fathzadeh, Mohsen; Senemar, Sara; Peiravian, Farah; Shojaee, Ashraf; Saadat, Mostafa

    2008-12-01

    Apolipoprotein E (apoE) with three major alleles E2, E3 and E4 is one of the critical genes in lipid metabolism. Common apoE alleles are in association with an increase in risk for central nervous and cardiovascular diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, hyperlipoproteinemia and stroke. ApoE3 is known as the most frequent allele in all populations, while association of apoE gene polymorphism with reported diseases have mostly been related to other two major alleles especially apoE4. To determine of apoE alleles frequencies in Southern Iran and comparison of those frequencies with other populations. DNA was extracted from the whole blood of 198 healthy unrelated candidates from population of Fars Province, Southern Iran, for apoE genotyping who were checked up by a physician. The frequencies of apoE alleles were compared with other populations by chi(2) test. The frequencies of E2, E3 and E4 were 0.063, 0.886 and 0.051 respectively. These values were similar to those reported from populations of Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, India, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Sardinia Islands of Italy and two Iranian populations but were different from South of Italy and Caucasians in other Europe regions, American, American-Indian, African, East Asian and Saudi populations (P < 0.05). The frequency of E4 allele as a genetic risk factor for some multifactorial diseases in the population of Southern Iran is in the lowest reported amounts in the world. Iranian population has Caucasoid origin but differs from some Caucasian populations in Europe and America. The results of present study are in agreement with the historical evidences which show admixture of Iranian population with other populations and some studies based on genetic polymorphisms in the population of Southern Iran.

  11. Development of allele-specific primer PCR for a swine TLR2 SNP and comparison of the frequency among several pig breeds of Japan and the Czech Republic.

    PubMed

    Muneta, Yoshihiro; Minagawa, Yu; Kusumoto, Masahiro; Shinkai, Hiroki; Uenishi, Hirohide; Splichal, Igor

    2012-05-01

    In the present study, we have developed an allele-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (ASP-PCR) for genotyping a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of swine Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) (C406G), which is related to the prevalence of pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. We also compared the allele frequency among several pig breeds of Japan and the Czech Republic. Allele-specific primers were constructed by introducing 1-base mismatch sequence before the SNP site. The swine TLR2 C406G mutation was successfully determined by the ASP-PCR using genomic DNA samples in Japan as previously genotyped by a sequencing method. Using the PCR condition determined, genomic DNA samples from pig blood obtained from 110 pigs from 7 different breeds in the Czech Republic were genotyped by the ASP-PCR. The genotyping results from the ASP-PCR were completely matched with the results from the sequencing method. The allele frequency of the swine TLR2 C406G mutation was 27.5% in the Czech Republic and 3.6% in Japan. The C406G mutation was only found in the Landrace breed in Japan, and was almost exclusively found in the Landrace breed in the Czech Republic as well. These results indicated the usefulness of ASP-PCR for detecting a specific SNP for swine TLR2.

  12. Allele-specific primer polymerase chain reaction for a single nucleotide polymorphism (C1205T) of swine toll-like receptor 5 and comparison of the allelic frequency among several pig breeds in Japan and the Czech Republic.

    PubMed

    Muneta, Yoshihiro; Minagawa, Yu; Kusumoto, Masahiro; Shinkai, Hiroki; Uenishi, Hirohide; Splichal, Igor

    2012-06-01

    In the present study, an allele-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (ASP-PCR) for genotyping a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of swine Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) (C1205T; P402L) that is related to the impaired recognition of Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis (SC) was developed. The allele frequencies in several pig breeds in Japan and the Czech Republic were also compared. The swine TLR5 C1205T mutation was successfully determined by ASP-PCR using genomic DNA samples in Japan that had previously been genotyped by a sequencing method. Using the PCR condition determined, genomic DNA samples from blood obtained from 110 pigs from seven different breeds in the Czech Republic were genotyped by the ASP-PCR. The genotyping results from the ASP-PCR completely matched the results from the sequencing method. The allele frequency of the swine TLR5 C1205T mutation was 27.5% in the Landrace breed of the Czech Republic compared with 50.0% in Japanese Landrace. In Japan, the C1205T mutation was found only in the Landrace breed, whereas in the Czech Republic it was found in both the Landrace and Piétrain breeds. These results indicate the usefulness of ASP-PCR for detecting a specific SNP for swine TLR5 affecting ligand recognition. They also suggest the possibility of genetically improving pigs to enhance their resistance against SC infection by eliminating or selecting this specific SNP of swine TLR5. © 2012 The Societies and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  13. Measurement of the human allele frequency spectrum demonstrates greater genetic drift in East Asians than in Europeans.

    PubMed

    Keinan, Alon; Mullikin, James C; Patterson, Nick; Reich, David

    2007-10-01

    Large data sets on human genetic variation have been collected recently, but their usefulness for learning about history and natural selection has been limited by biases in the ways polymorphisms were chosen. We report large subsets of SNPs from the International HapMap Project that allow us to overcome these biases and to provide accurate measurement of a quantity of crucial importance for understanding genetic variation: the allele frequency spectrum. Our analysis shows that East Asian and northern European ancestors shared the same population bottleneck expanding out of Africa but that both also experienced more recent genetic drift, which was greater in East Asians.

  14. Recommendations of the DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) on quality control of autosomal Short Tandem Repeat allele frequency databasing (STRidER).

    PubMed

    Bodner, Martin; Bastisch, Ingo; Butler, John M; Fimmers, Rolf; Gill, Peter; Gusmão, Leonor; Morling, Niels; Phillips, Christopher; Prinz, Mechthild; Schneider, Peter M; Parson, Walther

    2016-09-01

    The statistical evaluation of autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) genotypes is based on allele frequencies. These are empirically determined from sets of randomly selected human samples, compiled into STR databases that have been established in the course of population genetic studies. There is currently no agreed procedure of performing quality control of STR allele frequency databases, and the reliability and accuracy of the data are largely based on the responsibility of the individual contributing research groups. It has been demonstrated with databases of haploid markers (EMPOP for mitochondrial mtDNA, and YHRD for Y-chromosomal loci) that centralized quality control and data curation is essential to minimize error. The concepts employed for quality control involve software-aided likelihood-of-genotype, phylogenetic, and population genetic checks that allow the researchers to compare novel data to established datasets and, thus, maintain the high quality required in forensic genetics. Here, we present STRidER (http://strider.online), a publicly available, centrally curated online allele frequency database and quality control platform for autosomal STRs. STRidER expands on the previously established ENFSI DNA WG STRbASE and applies standard concepts established for haploid and autosomal markers as well as novel tools to reduce error and increase the quality of autosomal STR data. The platform constitutes a significant improvement and innovation for the scientific community, offering autosomal STR data quality control and reliable STR genotype estimates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Allele Age Under Non-Classical Assumptions is Clarified by an Exact Computational Markov Chain Approach.

    PubMed

    De Sanctis, Bianca; Krukov, Ivan; de Koning, A P Jason

    2017-09-19

    Determination of the age of an allele based on its population frequency is a well-studied problem in population genetics, for which a variety of approximations have been proposed. We present a new result that, surprisingly, allows the expectation and variance of allele age to be computed exactly (within machine precision) for any finite absorbing Markov chain model in a matter of seconds. This approach makes none of the classical assumptions (e.g., weak selection, reversibility, infinite sites), exploits modern sparse linear algebra techniques, integrates over all sample paths, and is rapidly computable for Wright-Fisher populations up to N e  = 100,000. With this approach, we study the joint effect of recurrent mutation, dominance, and selection, and demonstrate new examples of "selective strolls" where the classical symmetry of allele age with respect to selection is violated by weakly selected alleles that are older than neutral alleles at the same frequency. We also show evidence for a strong age imbalance, where rare deleterious alleles are expected to be substantially older than advantageous alleles observed at the same frequency when population-scaled mutation rates are large. These results highlight the under-appreciated utility of computational methods for the direct analysis of Markov chain models in population genetics.

  16. Increased frequency of co-existing JAK2 exon-12 or MPL exon-10 mutations in patients with low JAK2(V617F) allelic burden.

    PubMed

    Nussenzveig, Roberto H; Pham, Ha T; Perkins, Sherrie L; Prchal, Josef T; Agarwal, Archana M; Salama, Mohamed E

    2016-01-01

    The frequency of co-existing JAK2(V617F)/MPL and JAK2(V617F)/JAK2 exon-12 mutations has not been previously investigated in MPNs. Poor survival was reported in primary myelofibrosis with low JAK2(V617F) allelic burden. However, mutational status of JAK2 exon-12 or MPL were not reported in these patients. This study developed a cost-effective multiplex high resolution melt assay that screens for mutations in JAK2 gene exons-12 and -14 ((V617F)) and MPL gene exon-10. Co-existing mutations with JAK2(V617F) were detected in 2.9% (6/208; two JAK2 exon-12 and four MPL exon-10) patient specimens with known JAK2(V617F) (allelic-burden range: 0.1-96.8%). Co-existing mutations were detected in specimens with < 12% JAK2(V617F) allelic burden. Current WHO guidelines do not recommend further testing once JAK2(V617F) mutation is detected in MPNs. The findings, however, indicate that quantification of JAK2(V617F) allele burden may be clinically relevant in MPNs and in those with low allelic burden additional testing for JAK2 exon-12 and MPL exon-10 mutation should be pursued.

  17. India Allele Finder: a web-based annotation tool for identifying common alleles in next-generation sequencing data of Indian origin.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jimmy F; James, Francis; Shukla, Anju; Girisha, Katta M; Paciorkowski, Alex R

    2017-06-27

    We built India Allele Finder, an online searchable database and command line tool, that gives researchers access to variant frequencies of Indian Telugu individuals, using publicly available fastq data from the 1000 Genomes Project. Access to appropriate population-based genomic variant annotation can accelerate the interpretation of genomic sequencing data. In particular, exome analysis of individuals of Indian descent will identify population variants not reflected in European exomes, complicating genomic analysis for such individuals. India Allele Finder offers improved ease-of-use to investigators seeking to identify and annotate sequencing data from Indian populations. We describe the use of India Allele Finder to identify common population variants in a disease quartet whole exome dataset, reducing the number of candidate single nucleotide variants from 84 to 7. India Allele Finder is freely available to investigators to annotate genomic sequencing data from Indian populations. Use of India Allele Finder allows efficient identification of population variants in genomic sequencing data, and is an example of a population-specific annotation tool that simplifies analysis and encourages international collaboration in genomics research.

  18. Mutation intolerant genes and targets of FMRP are enriched for nonsynonymous alleles in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Leonenko, Ganna; Richards, Alexander L; Walters, James T; Pocklington, Andrew; Chambert, Kimberly; Al Eissa, Mariam M; Sharp, Sally I; O'Brien, Niamh L; Curtis, David; Bass, Nicholas J; McQuillin, Andrew; Hultman, Christina; Moran, Jennifer L; McCarroll, Steven A; Sklar, Pamela; Neale, Benjamin M; Holmans, Peter A; Owen, Michael J; Sullivan, Patrick F; O'Donovan, Michael C

    2017-10-01

    Risk of schizophrenia is conferred by alleles occurring across the full spectrum of frequencies from common SNPs of weak effect through to ultra rare alleles, some of which may be moderately to highly penetrant. Previous studies have suggested that some of the risk of schizophrenia is attributable to uncommon alleles represented on Illumina exome arrays. Here, we present the largest study of exomic variation in schizophrenia to date, using samples from the United Kingdom and Sweden (10,011 schizophrenia cases and 13,791 controls). Single variants, genes, and gene sets were analyzed for association with schizophrenia. No single variant or gene reached genome-wide significance. Among candidate gene sets, we found significant enrichment for rare alleles (minor allele frequency [MAF] < 0.001) in genes intolerant of loss-of-function (LoF) variation and in genes whose messenger RNAs bind to fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). We further delineate the genetic architecture of schizophrenia by excluding a role for uncommon exomic variants (0.01 ≤ MAF ≥ 0.001) that confer a relatively large effect (odds ratio [OR] > 4). We also show risk alleles within this frequency range exist, but confer smaller effects and should be identified by larger studies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Estimated allele substitution effects underlying genomic evaluation models depend on the scaling of allele counts.

    PubMed

    Bouwman, Aniek C; Hayes, Ben J; Calus, Mario P L

    2017-10-30

    Genomic evaluation is used to predict direct genomic values (DGV) for selection candidates in breeding programs, but also to estimate allele substitution effects (ASE) of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Scaling of allele counts influences the estimated ASE, because scaling of allele counts results in less shrinkage towards the mean for low minor allele frequency (MAF) variants. Scaling may become relevant for estimating ASE as more low MAF variants will be used in genomic evaluations. We show the impact of scaling on estimates of ASE using real data and a theoretical framework, and in terms of power, model fit and predictive performance. In a dairy cattle dataset with 630 K SNP genotypes, the correlation between DGV for stature from a random regression model using centered allele counts (RRc) and centered and scaled allele counts (RRcs) was 0.9988, whereas the overall correlation between ASE using RRc and RRcs was 0.27. The main difference in ASE between both methods was found for SNPs with a MAF lower than 0.01. Both the ratio (ASE from RRcs/ASE from RRc) and the regression coefficient (regression of ASE from RRcs on ASE from RRc) were much higher than 1 for low MAF SNPs. Derived equations showed that scenarios with a high heritability, a large number of individuals and a small number of variants have lower ratios between ASE from RRc and RRcs. We also investigated the optimal scaling parameter [from - 1 (RRcs) to 0 (RRc) in steps of 0.1] in the bovine stature dataset. We found that the log-likelihood was maximized with a scaling parameter of - 0.8, while the mean squared error of prediction was minimized with a scaling parameter of - 1, i.e., RRcs. Large differences in estimated ASE were observed for low MAF SNPs when allele counts were scaled or not scaled because there is less shrinkage towards the mean for scaled allele counts. We derived a theoretical framework that shows that the difference in ASE due to shrinkage is heavily influenced by the

  20. Exact Calculation of the Joint Allele Frequency Spectrum for Isolation with Migration Models.

    PubMed

    Kern, Andrew D; Hey, Jody

    2017-09-01

    Population genomic datasets collected over the past decade have spurred interest in developing methods that can utilize massive numbers of loci for inference of demographic and selective histories of populations. The allele frequency spectrum (AFS) provides a convenient statistic for such analysis, and, accordingly, much attention has been paid to predicting theoretical expectations of the AFS under a number of different models. However, to date, exact solutions for the joint AFS of two or more populations under models of migration and divergence have not been found. Here, we present a novel Markov chain representation of the coalescent on the state space of the joint AFS that allows for rapid, exact calculation of the joint AFS under isolation with migration (IM) models. In turn, we show how our Markov chain method, in the context of composite likelihood estimation, can be used for accurate inference of parameters of the IM model using SNP data. Lastly, we apply our method to recent whole genome datasets from African Drosophila melanogaster . Copyright © 2017 Kern and Hey.

  1. Frequencies of CYP2D6 mutant alleles in a normal Japanese population and metabolic activity of dextromethorphan O-demethylation in different CYP2D6 genotypes

    PubMed Central

    Kubota, T; Yamaura, Y; Ohkawa, N; Hara, H; Chiba, K

    2000-01-01

    Aims To determine the frequencies of 11 CYP2D6 mutant alleles (CYP2D6*2,*3,*4,*5,*8,*10,*11,*12,*14,*17 and *18), and their relation to the metabolic capacity of CYP2D6 in Japanese subjects. Methods One hundred and sixty-two unrelated healthy Japanese subjects were genotyped with the polymerase chain reaction amplification method and 35 subjects were phenotyped with dextromethorphan. Results The frequencies of CYP2D6*2,*5, *10 and *14 were 12.9, 6.2, 38.6 and 2.2% in our Japanese subjects, respectively. CYP2D6*3, *4, *8, *11, *12, *17 and *18 were not detected. The mean log metabolic ratio of dextromethorphan in subjects with genotypes predicting intermediate metabolizers was significantly greater than that of heterozygotes for functional and defective alleles. Conclusions CYP2D6*5 and CYP2D6*14 are the major defective alleles found in Japanese subjects. In addition, CYP2D6*10 may play a more important role than previously thought for the treatment of Japanese patients with drugs metabolized by CYP2D6. PMID:10886115

  2. Pupillary responses during lexical decisions vary with word frequency but not emotional valence.

    PubMed

    Kuchinke, Lars; Võ, Melissa L-H; Hofmann, Markus; Jacobs, Arthur M

    2007-08-01

    Pupillary responses were examined during a lexical decision task (LDT). Word frequency (high and low frequency words) and emotional valence (positive, neutral and negative words) were varied as experimental factors incidental to the subjects. Both variables significantly affected lexical decision performance and an interaction effect was observed. The behavioral results suggest that manipulating word frequency may partly account for the heterogeneous literature findings regarding emotional valence effects in the LDT. In addition, a difference between high and low frequency words was observed in the pupil data as reflected by higher peak pupil dilations for low frequency words, whereas pupillary responses to emotionally valenced words did not differ. This result was further supported by means of a principal component analysis on the pupil data, in which a late component was shown only to be affected by word frequency. Consistent with previous findings, word frequency was found to affect the resource allocation towards processing of the letter string, while emotionally valenced words tend to facilitate processing.

  3. Are ‘Endurance’ Alleles ‘Survival’ Alleles? Insights from the ACTN3 R577X Polymorphism

    PubMed Central

    Fiuza-Luces, Carmen; Ruiz, Jonatan R.; Rodríguez-Romo, Gabriel; Santiago, Catalina; Gómez-Gallego, Félix; Yvert, Thomas; Cano-Nieto, Amalia; Garatachea, Nuria

    2011-01-01

    Exercise phenotypes have played a key role for ensuring survival over human evolution. We speculated that some genetic variants that influence exercise phenotypes could be associated with exceptional survival (i.e. reaching ≥100years of age). Owing to its effects on muscle structure/function, a potential candidate is the Arg(R)577Ter(X) polymorphism (rs1815739) in ACTN3, the structural gene encoding the skeletal muscle protein α-actinin-3. We compared the ACTN3 R577X genotype/allele frequencies between the following groups of ethnically-matched (Spanish) individuals: centenarians (cases, n = 64; 57 female; age range: 100–108 years), young healthy controls (n = 283, 67 females, 216 males; 21±2 years), and humans who are at the two end-points of exercise capacity phenotypes, i.e. muscle endurance (50 male professional road cyclists) and muscle power (63 male jumpers/sprinters). Although there were no differences in genotype/allele frequencies between centenarians (RR:28.8%; RX:47.5%; XX:23.7%), and controls (RR:31.8%; RX:49.8%; XX:18.4%) or endurance athletes (RR:28.0%; RX:46%; XX:26.0%), we observed a significantly higher frequency of the X allele (P = 0.019) and XX genotype (P = 0.011) in centenarians compared with power athletes (RR:47.6%; RX:36.5%;XX:15.9%). Notably, the frequency of the null XX (α-actinin-3 deficient) genotype in centenarians was the highest ever reported in non-athletic Caucasian populations. In conclusion, despite there were no significant differences with the younger, control population, overall the ACTN3 genotype of centenarians resembles that of world-class elite endurance athletes and differs from that of elite power athletes. Our preliminary data would suggest a certain ‘survival’ advantage brought about by α-actinin-3 deficiency and the ‘endurance’/oxidative muscle phenotype that is commonly associated with this condition. PMID:21407828

  4. Distribution of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles in Lak population of Iran.

    PubMed

    Varzi, Ali Mohammad; Shahsavar, Farhad; Tarrahi, Mohammad Javad

    2016-07-01

    Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are the most polymorphic loci in the human genome and encode the highly polymorphic molecules critically involved in immune responses. Anthropological studies based on highly polymorphic HLA genes provide useful information for bone marrow donor registry, forensic medicine, disease association studies, as well as designing peptide vaccines against tumors, and infectious or autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 allele frequencies in 100 unrelated Lak individuals from Lorestan province of Iran. Finally, we compared the results with those previously described in four other Iranian populations. Commercial HLA-Type kits were used for determination of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 allele frequencies. Differences between populations in the distribution of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles were estimated by χ2 test with Yate's correction and Fisher's exact test. The most frequent HLA-DRB1 alleles were (*)1103=4 (23%), (*)1502 (9.5%), (*)0701 (9%), (*)0301 (8.5%), (*)1101 (7.5%) and (*)1501 (6%) while HLA-DQB1(*)0301 (40%), (*)0201 (15%), (*)0502 (10.5%), (*)0303 (10%), (*)0602=3 (9.5%), and (*)0501 (7.5%) were the most frequent alleles in Lak population. HLA-DRB1(*)0409, (*)0804, (*)1102, (*)1112, (*)1405, and HLA-DQB1(*)0503, (*)0604 were the least observed frequencies in Lak population. Our results based on HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 allele frequencies showed that the Lak population possesses the previously reported general features of the Lur and Kurd populations but still with unique, decreased or increased frequencies of several alleles. In other words, the Lak population is close to Lurs Khorramabadi and Kurd but far from Lurs Kohkiloyeh/Boyerahmad and Bakhtiari. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. [Study on correlation between HLA-A, B, DR alleles and Duchenne muscular dystrophy].

    PubMed

    Chen, Wei; Xiao, Lulu; Zhang, Cheng; Wu, Hong-ling

    2007-10-01

    To analyze the polymorphism of HLA-A, B and DR alleles of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients in Han nationality of South China and to discuss the role of immune and genetic factors in the pathogenesis of DMD and muscular fiber necrosis. Polymerase chain reaction-reverse sequence specific oligonucleotide (PCR-RSSO) and National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) were used to analyze the polymorphism of HLA-A,B and DR alleles of 113 DMD patients and 406 normal controls in Han nationality of South China. The frequencies of HLA-A24, A30 alleles in DMD group were 11.25% and 5.46% respectively, indicating notable difference (P=0.001, < 0.01) from 22.16% and 0.87% of control group; the frequencies of HLA-B13, B15, B61 and B62 alleles in DMD group were 12.26%, 16.92%, 0.44% and 0.44%, indicating a notable difference (P=0.016, < 0.01, 0.001) from 6.76%, 1.49%, 4.79% and 5.05% of control group; the frequencies of HLA-DR04, DR07, DR12 alleles in DMD group were 17.45%, 6.40% and 19.62%, indicating a notable difference (P=0.018, < 0.01, 0.012) from 10.67%, 2.24% and 11.92% of control group. There are significant differences in the HLA gene frequencies between DMD patients and normal controls. These results suggest that HLA genotype relates to the muscular necrosis and the pathogenesis of DMD.

  6. Novel rapid genotyping assays for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in Border Collie dogs and high frequency of the mutant allele in Japan.

    PubMed

    Mizukami, Keijiro; Chang, Hye-Sook; Yabuki, Akira; Kawamichi, Takuji; Kawahara, Natsuko; Hayashi, Daisuke; Hossain, Mohammad A; Rahman, Mohammad M; Uddin, Mohammad M; Yamato, Osamu

    2011-11-01

    Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) constitutes a group of recessively inherited lysosomal storage diseases that primarily affect neuronal cells. Such diseases share certain clinical and pathologic features in human beings and animals. Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in Border Collie dogs was first detected in Australia in the 1980s, and the pathogenic mutation was shown to be a nonsense mutation (c.619C>T) in exon 4 in canine CLN5 gene. In the present study, novel rapid genotyping assays including polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism, PCR primer-induced restriction analysis, mutagenically separated PCR, and real-time PCR with TaqMan minor groove binder probes, were developed. The utility of microchip electrophoresis was also evaluated. Furthermore, a genotyping survey was carried out in a population of Border Collies in Japan using these assays to determine the current allele frequency in Japan, providing information to control and prevent this disease in the next stage. All assays developed in the current study are available to discriminate these genotypes, and microchip electrophoresis showed a timesaving advantage over agarose gel electrophoresis. Of all assays, real-time PCR was the most suitable for large-scale examination because of its high throughput. The genotyping survey demonstrated that the carrier frequency was 8.1%. This finding suggested that the mutant allele frequency of NCL in Border Collies is high enough in Japan that measures to control and prevent the disease would be warranted. The genotyping assays developed in the present study could contribute to the prevention of NCL in Border Collies.

  7. Molecular identification of rare FY*Null and FY*X alleles in Caucasian thalassemic family from Sardinia.

    PubMed

    Manfroi, Silvia; Scarcello, Antonio; Pagliaro, Pasqualepaolo

    2015-10-01

    Molecular genetic studies on Duffy blood group antigens have identified mutations underlying rare FY*Null and FY*X alleles. FY*Null has a high frequency in Blacks, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, while its frequency is not defined in Caucasians. FY*X allele, associated with Fy(a-b+w) phenotype, has a frequency of 2-3.5% in Caucasian people while it is absent in Blacks. During the project of extensive blood group genotyping in patients affected by hemoglobinopathies, we identified FY*X/FY*Null and FY*A/FY*Null genotypes in a Caucasian thalassemic family from Sardinia. We speculate on the frequency of FY*X and FY*Null alleles in Caucasian and Black people; further, we focused on the association of FY*X allele with weak Fyb antigen expression on red blood cells and its identification performing high sensitivity serological typing methods or genotyping. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Prevalent HLA Class II Alleles in Mexico City Appear to Confer Resistance to the Development of Amebic Liver Abscess.

    PubMed

    Hernández, Eric G; Granados, Julio; Partida-Rodríguez, Oswaldo; Valenzuela, Olivia; Rascón, Edgar; Magaña, Ulises; Escamilla-Tilch, Mónica; López-Reyes, Alberto; Nieves-Ramírez, Miriam; González, Enrique; Morán, Patricia; Rojas, Liliana; Valadez, Alicia; Luna, Alexandra; Estrada, Francisco J; Maldonado, Carmen; Ximénez, Cecilia

    2015-01-01

    Amebiasis is an endemic disease and a public health problem throughout Mexico, although the incidence rates of amebic liver abscess (ALA) vary among the geographic regions of the country. Notably, incidence rates are high in the northwestern states (especially Sonora with a rate of 12.57/100,000 inhabitants) compared with the central region (Mexico City with a rate of 0.69/100,000 inhabitants). These data may be related to host genetic factors that are partially responsible for resistance or susceptibility. Therefore, we studied the association of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles with resistance or susceptibility to ALA in two Mexican populations, one each from Mexico City and Sonora. Ninety ALA patients were clinically diagnosed by serology and sonography. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. To establish the genetic identity of both populations, 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) were analyzed with multiplexed PCR, and the allelic frequencies of HLA were studied by PCR-SSO using LUMINEX technology. The allele frequencies obtained were compared to an ethnically matched healthy control group (146 individuals). We observed that both affected populations differed genetically from the control group. We also found interesting trends in the population from Mexico City. HLA-DQB1*02 allele frequencies were higher in ALA patients compared to the control group (0.127 vs 0.047; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 2.9, 95% CI= 1.09-8.3). The less frequent alleles in ALA patients were HLA-DRB1*08 (0.118 vs 0.238 in controls; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 0.42, 95% CI= 0.19-0.87) and HLA-DQB1*04 (0.109 vs 0.214; p= 0.02; pc= NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.20-0.94). The haplotype HLA-DRB1*08/-DQB1*04 also demonstrated a protective trend against the development of this disease (0.081 vs. 0.178; p=0.02; pc=NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.16-0.93). These trends suggest that the prevalent alleles in the population of Mexico City may be associated with protection against the development of ALA.

  9. Prevalent HLA Class II Alleles in Mexico City Appear to Confer Resistance to the Development of Amebic Liver Abscess

    PubMed Central

    Hernández, Eric G.; Granados, Julio; Partida-Rodríguez, Oswaldo; Valenzuela, Olivia; Rascón, Edgar; Magaña, Ulises; Escamilla-Tilch, Mónica; López-Reyes, Alberto; Nieves-Ramírez, Miriam; González, Enrique; Morán, Patricia; Rojas, Liliana; Valadez, Alicia; Luna, Alexandra; Estrada, Francisco J.; Maldonado, Carmen; Ximénez, Cecilia

    2015-01-01

    Amebiasis is an endemic disease and a public health problem throughout Mexico, although the incidence rates of amebic liver abscess (ALA) vary among the geographic regions of the country. Notably, incidence rates are high in the northwestern states (especially Sonora with a rate of 12.57/100,000 inhabitants) compared with the central region (Mexico City with a rate of 0.69/100,000 inhabitants). These data may be related to host genetic factors that are partially responsible for resistance or susceptibility. Therefore, we studied the association of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles with resistance or susceptibility to ALA in two Mexican populations, one each from Mexico City and Sonora. Ninety ALA patients were clinically diagnosed by serology and sonography. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. To establish the genetic identity of both populations, 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) were analyzed with multiplexed PCR, and the allelic frequencies of HLA were studied by PCR-SSO using LUMINEX technology. The allele frequencies obtained were compared to an ethnically matched healthy control group (146 individuals). We observed that both affected populations differed genetically from the control group. We also found interesting trends in the population from Mexico City. HLA-DQB1*02 allele frequencies were higher in ALA patients compared to the control group (0.127 vs 0.047; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 2.9, 95% CI= 1.09-8.3). The less frequent alleles in ALA patients were HLA-DRB1*08 (0.118 vs 0.238 in controls; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 0.42, 95% CI= 0.19-0.87) and HLA-DQB1*04 (0.109 vs 0.214; p= 0.02; pc= NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.20-0.94). The haplotype HLA-DRB1*08/-DQB1*04 also demonstrated a protective trend against the development of this disease (0.081 vs. 0.178; p=0.02; pc=NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.16-0.93). These trends suggest that the prevalent alleles in the population of Mexico City may be associated with protection against the development of ALA

  10. A study of human neutrophil antigen genotype frequencies in Hong Kong.

    PubMed

    Tam, K; Tang, I; Ho, J; Yeung, W; Lee, C K; Ip, P; Kwok, J

    2017-12-27

    Alloantibodies against human neutrophil antigens (HNA) are associated with a variety of clinical conditions. Over the past decade, the allelic and genotypic frequencies of the five HNA systems have been evaluated. Although the HNA system is less polymorphic than human leukocyte antigens (HLA), significant differences in the genotypic and allele frequencies still exist in different populations, even those living in close proximity. To delineate HNA genotypic and allele frequencies to provide vital information on estimating the risk of HNA-associated diseases for our local population. Using a validated, in-house-developed assay, genotyping for HNA-1, HNA-3, HLA-4 and HNA-5 was performed on 300 samples from Chinese blood donors from Hong Kong. In addition, the frequency of the HNA-2 c.843A > T allele was also determined. The allele frequencies of HNA-1a, -1b and -1c alleles were 67·8, 31·5 and 0%, respectively, whereas the frequencies of HNA-3a and HNA-3b were 71·0 and 29·0%, respectively. The frequencies of HNA-4a and -4b alleles were 99·5 and 0·5%, respectively, and for HNA-5a and -5b, alleles were 85·2 and 14·8%, respectively. Homozygotes for the HNA-2 c.843 TT variant were absent in our population, whereas only <4% of the population were c.843AT heterozygote carriers. This is the first study to define HNA genotype and allele frequencies using a validated modified in-house PCR-SSP method in the Hong Kong Chinese blood donor population. Our approach provides a cost-effective assay for conducting routine HNA typing and facilitates the incorporation of these assays into routine clinical service. Our results are comparable with those reported in the Guangzhou Chinese population, but the allele frequencies in our Hong Kong Chinese population are significantly different from the reported European frequencies, confirming that a geographical difference exists for HNA allele frequencies. © 2017 British Blood Transfusion Society.

  11. Bearing fault diagnosis under unknown time-varying rotational speed conditions via multiple time-frequency curve extraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Huan; Baddour, Natalie; Liang, Ming

    2018-02-01

    Under normal operating conditions, bearings often run under time-varying rotational speed conditions. Under such circumstances, the bearing vibrational signal is non-stationary, which renders ineffective the techniques used for bearing fault diagnosis under constant running conditions. One of the conventional methods of bearing fault diagnosis under time-varying speed conditions is resampling the non-stationary signal to a stationary signal via order tracking with the measured variable speed. With the resampled signal, the methods available for constant condition cases are thus applicable. However, the accuracy of the order tracking is often inadequate and the time-varying speed is sometimes not measurable. Thus, resampling-free methods are of interest for bearing fault diagnosis under time-varying rotational speed for use without tachometers. With the development of time-frequency analysis, the time-varying fault character manifests as curves in the time-frequency domain. By extracting the Instantaneous Fault Characteristic Frequency (IFCF) from the Time-Frequency Representation (TFR) and converting the IFCF, its harmonics, and the Instantaneous Shaft Rotational Frequency (ISRF) into straight lines, the bearing fault can be detected and diagnosed without resampling. However, so far, the extraction of the IFCF for bearing fault diagnosis is mostly based on the assumption that at each moment the IFCF has the highest amplitude in the TFR, which is not always true. Hence, a more reliable T-F curve extraction approach should be investigated. Moreover, if the T-F curves including the IFCF, its harmonic, and the ISRF can be all extracted from the TFR directly, no extra processing is needed for fault diagnosis. Therefore, this paper proposes an algorithm for multiple T-F curve extraction from the TFR based on a fast path optimization which is more reliable for T-F curve extraction. Then, a new procedure for bearing fault diagnosis under unknown time-varying speed

  12. HLA-DR2-associated DRB1 and DRB5 alleles and haplotypes in Koreans.

    PubMed

    Song, E Y; Kang, S J; Lee, Y J; Park, M H

    2000-09-01

    There are considerable racial differences in the distribution of HLA-DR2-associated DRB1 and DRB5 alleles and the characteristics of linkage disequilibrium between these alleles. In this study, the frequencies of DR2-associated DRB1 and DRB5 alleles and related haplotypes were analyzed in 186 DR2-positive individuals out of 800 normal Koreans registered for unrelated bone marrow donors. HLA class I antigen typing was performed by the serological method and DRB1 and DRB5 genotyping by the PCR-single strand conformational polymorphism method. Only 3 alleles were detected for DR2-associated DRB1 and DRB5 genes, respectively: DRB1(*)1501 (gene frequency 8.0%), (*)1502 (3.2%), (*)1602 (0.9%); DRB5(*)0101 (8.0%), (*)0102 (3.2%), and (*)0202 (0.9%). DRB1-DRB5 haplotype analysis showed an exclusive association between these alleles: DRB1*1501-DRB5*0101 (haplotype frequency 8.0%), DRB1(*)1502-DRB5(*)0102 (3.2%), and DRB1(*)1602-DRB5(*)0202 (0.9%). The 5 most common DR2-associated A-B-DRB1 haplotypes occurring at frequencies of > or = 0.5% were A24-B52-DRB1(*)1502 (1.8%), A2-B62-DRB1(*)1501, A2-B54-DRB1(*)1501, A26-B61-DRB1(*)1501, and A24-B51-DRB1(*)1501. The remarkable homogeneity in the haplotypic associations between DR2-associated DRB1 and DRB5 alleles in Koreans would be advantageous for organ transplantation compared with other ethnic groups showing considerable heterogeneity in the distribution of DRB1-DRB5 haplotypes.

  13. Association between diabetes type 1 and DQB1 alleles in a case-control study conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay.

    PubMed

    Mimbacas, Adriana; Pérez-Bravo, Francisco; Hidalgo, Pedro C; Javiel, Gerardo; Pisciottano, Carmen; Grignola, Rosario; Jorge, Ana María; Gallino, Juan Pablo; Gasagoite, Jackeline; Cardoso, Horacio

    2003-03-31

    We studied HLA DQB1 allele frequencies and the relative risk (RR) of various genotypes in 72 type 1 diabetic patients and 40 control individuals in Uruguay. This is a tri-racial (Caucasian, Black and Indo-American) mixed population. The products of the polymerase chain reaction amplifications were hybridized with oligonucleotides by allele-specific oligonucleotide reverse or dot blot methods. Significant differences between these two groups were observed only for allele DQB1*0302 (35%, RR = 7.34, P<0.001). The frequency of the alleles carrying a non-aspartic acid residue at position 57 was significantly higher in the diabetic patients (85 vs 53%, P<0.001). In contrast, the frequency of Asp alleles was negatively associated with type 1 diabetes (RR = 0.20, P<0.001). The genotype DQB1*0302/DQB1*0201 (33%, RR = 5.41, P<0.05) was positively associated with this disease. The genotype frequencies associated with type 1 diabetes in our population were significantly different from what is known for Caucasian and Black populations as well as compared with another admixed population, from Chile.

  14. SNPitty: An Intuitive Web Application for Interactive B-Allele Frequency and Copy Number Visualization of Next-Generation Sequencing Data.

    PubMed

    van Riet, Job; Krol, Niels M G; Atmodimedjo, Peggy N; Brosens, Erwin; van IJcken, Wilfred F J; Jansen, Maurice P H M; Martens, John W M; Looijenga, Leendert H; Jenster, Guido; Dubbink, Hendrikus J; Dinjens, Winand N M; van de Werken, Harmen J G

    2018-03-01

    Exploration and visualization of next-generation sequencing data are crucial for clinical diagnostics. Software allowing simultaneous visualization of multiple regions of interest coupled with dynamic heuristic filtering of genetic aberrations is, however, lacking. Therefore, the authors developed the web application SNPitty that allows interactive visualization and interrogation of variant call format files by using B-allele frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms and single-nucleotide variants, coverage metrics, and copy numbers analysis results. SNPitty displays variant alleles and allelic imbalances with a focus on loss of heterozygosity and copy number variation using genome-wide heterozygous markers and somatic mutations. In addition, SNPitty is capable of generating predefined reports that summarize and highlight disease-specific targets of interest. SNPitty was validated for diagnostic interpretation of somatic events by showcasing a serial dilution series of glioma tissue. Additionally, SNPitty is demonstrated in four cancer-related scenarios encountered in daily clinical practice and on whole-exome sequencing data of peripheral blood from a Down syndrome patient. SNPitty allows detection of loss of heterozygosity, chromosomal and gene amplifications, homozygous or heterozygous deletions, somatic mutations, or any combination thereof in regions or genes of interest. Furthermore, SNPitty can be used to distinguish molecular relationships between multiple tumors from a single patient. On the basis of these data, the authors demonstrate that SNPitty is robust and user friendly in a wide range of diagnostic scenarios. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Association of the apolipoprotein E {epsilon}4 allele with clinical subtypes of autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer`s Disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zubenko, G.S.; Stiffler, S.; Kopp, U.

    1994-09-15

    Consistent with previous reports, we observed a significant association of the APOE {epsilon}4 allele with Alzheimer`s Disease (AD) in a series of 91 autopsy-confirmed cases. The {epsilon}4 allele frequency was higher in cases with a family history of AD-like dementia (0.54 {+-} 0.07), although the {epsilon}4 allele frequency in the AD cases with a negative family history (0.38 {+-} 0.05) remained significantly greater than that for the non-AD control group (0.13 {+-} 0.03). A similar increase in {epsilon}4 allele frequency (0.54 {+-} 0.07) was observed in the AD cases with amyloid angiopathy, compared to those who did not have amyloidmore » angiopathy (0.35 {+-} 0.04). Contrary to previous reports, no effect of the dosage of the {epsilon}4 allele was found on the age of onset of dementia among the AD cases and, contrary to reports suggesting an association of {epsilon}4 and atherosclerosis, the {epsilon}4 allele frequency was similar in cases with or without concurrent brain infarcts. Modest but consistent correlations were observed between the dosage of {epsilon}4 alleles and the cortical density of senile plaques, but not neurofibrillary tangles. The last finding suggests that the pathogenic events mediated by the {epsilon}4 allele may be more directly involved in the formation of senile plaques, the identifying lesions in AD, than neurofibrillary tangles. A robust association of both the presence of an {epsilon}4 allele and a family history of AD-like dementia with concurrent amyloid angiopathy occurred within our sample of AD cases. This association arose from an interaction of the {epsilon}4 allele with a separate familial factor for which a family history of dementia served as a surrogate. These results suggest that amyloid angiopathy may be a common or central feature of a form of familial AD that is associated with the transmission of the APOE {epsilon}4 allele. 22 refs., 2 figs., 5 tabs.« less

  16. Genetic variation among the Mapuche Indians from the Patagonian region of Argentina: mitochondrial DNA sequence variation and allele frequencies of several nuclear genes.

    PubMed

    Ginther, C; Corach, D; Penacino, G A; Rey, J A; Carnese, F R; Hutz, M H; Anderson, A; Just, J; Salzano, F M; King, M C

    1993-01-01

    DNA samples from 60 Mapuche Indians, representing 39 maternal lineages, were genetically characterized for (1) nucleotide sequences of the mtDNA control region; (2) presence or absence of a nine base duplication in mtDNA region V; (3) HLA loci DRB1 and DQA1; (4) variation at three nuclear genes with short tandem repeats; and (5) variation at the polymorphic marker D2S44. The genetic profile of the Mapuche population was compared to other Amerinds and to worldwide populations. Two highly polymorphic portions of the mtDNA control region, comprising 650 nucleotides, were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and directly sequenced. The 39 maternal lineages were defined by two or three generation families identified by the Mapuches. These 39 lineages included 19 different mtDNA sequences that could be grouped into four classes. The same classes of sequences appear in other Amerinds from North, Central, and South American populations separated by thousands of miles, suggesting that the origin of the mtDNA patterns predates the migration to the Americas. The mtDNA sequence similarity between Amerind populations suggests that the migration throughout the Americas occurred rapidly relative to the mtDNA mutation rate. HLA DRB1 alleles 1602 and 1402 were frequent among the Mapuches. These alleles also occur at high frequency among other Amerinds in North and South America, but not among Spanish, Chinese or African-American populations. The high frequency of these alleles throughout the Americas, and their specificity to the Americas, supports the hypothesis that Mapuches and other Amerind groups are closely related.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  17. Haptoglobin genotyping of Vietnamese: global distribution of HP del, complete deletion allele of the HP gene.

    PubMed

    Soejima, Mikiko; Agusa, Tetsuro; Iwata, Hisato; Fujihara, Junko; Kunito, Takashi; Takeshita, Haruo; Lan, Vi Thi Mai; Minh, Tu Binh; Takahashi, Shin; Trang, Pham Thi Kim; Viet, Pham Hung; Tanabe, Shinsuke; Koda, Yoshiro

    2015-01-01

    The haptoglobin (HP) gene deletion allele (HP(del)) is responsible for anhaptoglobinemia and a genetic risk factor for anaphylaxis reaction after transfusion due to production of the anti-HP antibody. The distribution of this allele has been explored by several groups including ours. Here, we studied the frequency of HP(del) in addition to the distribution of common HP genotypes in 293 Vietnamese. The HP(del) was encountered with the frequency of 0.020. The present result suggested that this deletion allele is restricted to East and Southeast Asians. Thus, this allele seems to be a potential ancestry informative marker for these populations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The link between some alleles on human leukocyte antigen system and autism in children.

    PubMed

    Mostafa, Gehan A; Shehab, Abeer A; Al-Ayadhi, Laila Y

    2013-02-15

    The reason behind the initiation of autoimmunity to brain in some patients with autism is not well understood. There is an association between some autoimmune disorders and specific alleles of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. Thus, we examined the frequency of some HLA-DRB1 alleles in 100 autistic children and 100 healthy matched-children by differential hybridization with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. The risk of association between acquisition or absence of these alleles and autism and also a history of autoimmune diseases in autistic relatives was studied. Autistic children had significantly higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 allele than controls (P<0.001). In contrast, autistic children had significantly lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 allele than controls (P<0.001). Acquisition of HLA-DRB1*011 and absence of HLA-DRB1*3 had significant risk for association with autism (odds ratio: 3.21 and 0.17, respectively; 95% CI: 1.65-6.31 and 0.06-0.45, respectively). HLA-DRB1*11 had a significant risk for association with a family history of autoimmunity in autistic children (odds ratio: 5.67; 95% CI: 2.07-16.3). In conclusions, the link of some HLA alleles to autism and to family history of autoimmunity indicates the possible contributing role of these alleles to autoimmunity in some autistic children. Despite a relatively small sample size, we are the first to report a probable protective association of HLA-DRB1*03 allele with autism. It warrants a replication study of a larger sample to validate the HLA-DRB1 genetic association with autism. This is important to determine whether therapeutic modulations of the immune function are legitimate avenues for novel therapy in selected cases of autism. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. SSR allelic variation in almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.).

    PubMed

    Xie, Hua; Sui, Yi; Chang, Feng-Qi; Xu, Yong; Ma, Rong-Cai

    2006-01-01

    Sixteen SSR markers including eight EST-SSR and eight genomic SSRs were used for genetic diversity analysis of 23 Chinese and 15 international almond cultivars. EST- and genomic SSR markers previously reported in species of Prunus, mainly peach, proved to be useful for almond genetic analysis. DNA sequences of 117 alleles of six of the 16 SSR loci were analysed to reveal sequence variation among the 38 almond accessions. For the four SSR loci with AG/CT repeats, no insertions or deletions were observed in the flanking regions of the 98 alleles sequenced. Allelic size variation of these loci resulted exclusively from differences in the structures of repeat motifs, which involved interruptions or occurrences of new motif repeats in addition to varying number of AG/CT repeats. Some alleles had a high number of uninterrupted repeat motifs, indicating that SSR mutational patterns differ among alleles at a given SSR locus within the almond species. Allelic homoplasy was observed in the SSR loci because of base substitutions, interruptions or compound repeat motifs. Substitutions in the repeat regions were found at two SSR loci, suggesting that point mutations operate on SSRs and hinder the further SSR expansion by introducing repeat interruptions to stabilize SSR loci. Furthermore, it was shown that some potential point mutations in the flanking regions are linked with new SSR repeat motif variation in almond and peach.

  20. CYP3A4 allelic variants with amino acid substitutions in exons 7 and 12: evidence for an allelic variant with altered catalytic activity.

    PubMed

    Sata, F; Sapone, A; Elizondo, G; Stocker, P; Miller, V P; Zheng, W; Raunio, H; Crespi, C L; Gonzalez, F J

    2000-01-01

    To determine the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in three racial groups and to assess functions of the variant alleles by complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) expression. A bacterial artificial chromosome that contains the complete CgammaP3A4 gene was isolated and the exons and surrounding introns were directly sequenced to develop primers to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplify and sequence the gene from lymphocyte DNA. DNA samples from Chinese, black, and white subjects were screened. Mutating the affected amino acid in the wild-type cDNA and expressing the variant enzyme with use of the baculovirus system was used to functionally evaluate the variant allele having a missense mutation. To investigate the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in humans, all 13 exons and the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene in three racial groups were sequenced and four alleles were identified. An A-->G point mutation in the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene, designated CgammaP3A4*1B, was found in the three different racial groups. The frequency of this allele in a white population was 4.2%, whereas it was 66.7% in black subjects. The CgammaP3A4*1B allele was not found in Chinese subjects. A second variant allele, designated CgammaP3A4*2, having a Ser222Pro change, was found at a frequency of 2.7% in the white population and was absent in the black subjects and Chinese subjects analyzed. Baculovirus-directed cDNA expression revealed that the CYP3A4*2 P450 had a lower intrinsic clearance for the CYP3A4 substrate nifedipine compared with the wild-type enzyme but was not significantly different from the wild-type enzyme for testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation. Another rare allele, designated CgammaP3A4*3, was found in a single Chinese subject who had a Met445Thr change in the conserved heme-binding region of the P450. These are the first examples of potential function polymorphisms resulting from missense mutations in

  1. HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1 and -DQB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in the Serbian population.

    PubMed

    Andric, Zorana; Popadic, Dusan; Jovanovic, Barbara; Jaglicic, Ivana; Bojic, Svetlana; Simonovic, Ruzica

    2014-03-01

    This study provides the first published detailed analysis of five loci polymorphisms as well as reports of two, three and five loci haplotype frequencies in the Serbian population in a sample of 1992 volunteer bone marrow donors recruited from different part of the country. Typing was performed by PCR SSO method combined with PCR SSP techniques to resolve ambiguities. In total, 16 HLA-A, 28 HLA-B, 14 HLA-C, 13 HLA-DRB1 and 5 HLA-DQB1 allelic groups were identified. The most frequent in allele groups are HLA-A(∗)02 (29.5%), HLA-A(∗)01 (14.2%), HLA-B(∗)35 (13.1%), HLA-B(∗)51 (12.8%), HLA-C(∗)07 (24.8%), HLA-DRB1(∗)11 (16.9%), HLA-DRB1(∗)13 (13.2%), HLA-DQB1(∗)03 (33.3%) and DQB1(∗)05 (33.0%). The most frequent three- and five-loci haplotypes were A(∗)01-B(∗)08-DRB1(∗)03 (5.9%) and A(∗)02-B(∗)18-DRB1(∗)11 (1.9%), A(∗)01-B(∗)08-C(∗)07-DRB1(∗)03-DQB1(∗)02 (6.6%) followed by A(∗)02-B(∗)18-C(∗)07-DRB1(∗)11-DQB1(∗)03 (2.5%), then A(∗)33-B(∗)14-C(∗)08-DRB1(∗)01-DQB1(∗)05 and A(∗)02-B(∗)35-C(∗)04-DRB1(∗)16-DQB1(∗)05 (2.2% both), respectively. The results of cluster analysis showed that the Serbian population is closely related to the populations living in central Balkan and neighboring European regions. The level of allelic diversity found in this study are relevant to facilitate searching for unrelated matched donor and provide a healthy control population from our region that should be useful in the future disease association study. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Time, frequency, and time-varying Granger-causality measures in neuroscience.

    PubMed

    Cekic, Sezen; Grandjean, Didier; Renaud, Olivier

    2018-05-20

    This article proposes a systematic methodological review and an objective criticism of existing methods enabling the derivation of time, frequency, and time-varying Granger-causality statistics in neuroscience. The capacity to describe the causal links between signals recorded at different brain locations during a neuroscience experiment is indeed of primary interest for neuroscientists, who often have very precise prior hypotheses about the relationships between recorded brain signals. The increasing interest and the huge number of publications related to this topic calls for this systematic review, which describes the very complex methodological aspects underlying the derivation of these statistics. In this article, we first present a general framework that allows us to review and compare Granger-causality statistics in the time domain, and the link with transfer entropy. Then, the spectral and the time-varying extensions are exposed and discussed together with their estimation and distributional properties. Although not the focus of this article, partial and conditional Granger causality, dynamical causal modelling, directed transfer function, directed coherence, partial directed coherence, and their variant are also mentioned. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Association of apolipoprotein E allele {epsilon}4 with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer`s disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lucotte, G.; David, F.; Berriche, S.

    1994-09-15

    Apolipoprotein E, type {epsilon}4 allele (ApoE {epsilon}4), is associated with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer`s disease (AD) in French patients. The association is highly significant (0.45 AD versus 0.12 controls for {epsilon}4 allele frequencies). These data support the involvement of ApoE {epsilon}4 allele as a very important risk factor for the clinical expression of AD. 22 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

  4. Stepwise positive association between APOA5 minor allele frequencies and increasing plasma triglyceride quartiles in random patients with hypertriglyceridemia of unclarified origin.

    PubMed

    Hadarits, Ferenc; Kisfali, Péter; Mohás, Márton; Maász, Anita; Sümegi, Katalin; Szabó, Melinda; Hetyésy, Katalin; Valasek, Andrea; Janicsek, Ingrid; Wittmann, István; Melegh, Béla

    2011-03-01

    Apolipoprotein A5 (ApoA5) gene and its protein product play a central role in the complex regulation of circulating triglyceride levels in humans. Naturally occurring variants of the apolipoprotein A5 gene have been associated with increased triglyceride levels and have been found to confer risk for cardiovascular diseases. In our study, four polymorphisms, the T-1131C, IVS3+G476A, T1259C, and C56G alleles of APOA5 were analyzed in a total of 436 patients by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. The randomly selected patients were classified into four quartile (q) groups based on triglyceride levels (q1: TG<1.31 mmol/l; q2: 1.31-2.90 mmol/l; q3: 2.91-4.85 mmol/l; q4: TG>4.85 mmol/l). We observed significant stepwise increasing association between the four APOA5 minor allele carrier frequencies and plasma triglyceride quartiles: -1131C (q1: 4.44%; q2: 8.95%; q3: 12.9%; q4: 20.6%), IVS3 + 476A (q1: 4.44%; q2: 5.79%; q3: 11.1%; q4: 19.7%), 1259C (q1: 4.44%; q2: 6.84%; q3: 11.1%; q4: 20.6%) and 56G (q1: 5.64%; q2: 6.31%; q3: 11.16%; q4: 11.9%). The serum total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels also showed allele-dependent differences in the quartiles. The findings presented here revealed a special arrangement of APOA5 minor alleles in patients with different serum triglyceride ranges in Hungarians.

  5. Stabilizing selection on microsatellite allele length at arginine vasopressin 1a receptor and oxytocin receptor loci

    PubMed Central

    Kallio, Eva R.; Koskela, Esa; Lonn, Eija

    2017-01-01

    The loci arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (avpr1a) and oxytocin receptor (oxtr) have evolutionarily conserved roles in vertebrate social and sexual behaviour. Allelic variation at a microsatellite locus in the 5′ regulatory region of these genes is associated with fitness in the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Given the low frequency of long and short alleles at these microsatellite loci in wild bank voles, we used breeding trials to determine whether selection acts against long and short alleles. Female bank voles with intermediate length avpr1a alleles had the highest probability of breeding, while male voles whose avpr1a alleles were very different in length had reduced probability of breeding. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between male and female oxtr genotypes, where potential breeding pairs with dissimilar length alleles had reduced probability of breeding. These data show how genetic variation at microsatellite loci associated with avpr1a and oxtr is associated with fitness, and highlight complex patterns of selection at these loci. More widely, these data show how stabilizing selection might act on allele length frequency distributions at gene-associated microsatellite loci. PMID:29237850

  6. Efficient simulation and likelihood methods for non-neutral multi-allele models.

    PubMed

    Joyce, Paul; Genz, Alan; Buzbas, Erkan Ozge

    2012-06-01

    Throughout the 1980s, Simon Tavaré made numerous significant contributions to population genetics theory. As genetic data, in particular DNA sequence, became more readily available, a need to connect population-genetic models to data became the central issue. The seminal work of Griffiths and Tavaré (1994a , 1994b , 1994c) was among the first to develop a likelihood method to estimate the population-genetic parameters using full DNA sequences. Now, we are in the genomics era where methods need to scale-up to handle massive data sets, and Tavaré has led the way to new approaches. However, performing statistical inference under non-neutral models has proved elusive. In tribute to Simon Tavaré, we present an article in spirit of his work that provides a computationally tractable method for simulating and analyzing data under a class of non-neutral population-genetic models. Computational methods for approximating likelihood functions and generating samples under a class of allele-frequency based non-neutral parent-independent mutation models were proposed by Donnelly, Nordborg, and Joyce (DNJ) (Donnelly et al., 2001). DNJ (2001) simulated samples of allele frequencies from non-neutral models using neutral models as auxiliary distribution in a rejection algorithm. However, patterns of allele frequencies produced by neutral models are dissimilar to patterns of allele frequencies produced by non-neutral models, making the rejection method inefficient. For example, in some cases the methods in DNJ (2001) require 10(9) rejections before a sample from the non-neutral model is accepted. Our method simulates samples directly from the distribution of non-neutral models, making simulation methods a practical tool to study the behavior of the likelihood and to perform inference on the strength of selection.

  7. The interleukin-10-1082 'A' allele and abdominal aortic aneurysms.

    PubMed

    Bown, Matthew J; Lloyd, Geraint M; Sandford, Rebecca M; Thompson, John R; London, Nicholas J M; Samani, Nilesh J; Sayers, Robert D

    2007-10-01

    Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are caused by inflammatory processes in the wall of the aorta resulting in degradation of structural proteins. This inflammatory process is mediated, in part, by cytokines, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a predominantly anti-inflammatory cytokine. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene that affects transcription has been associated with AAA in a small study. The aim of this study was to determine whether this polymorphism is associated with AAA and also examine its effect on the growth of small AAA. A case control study was performed. A total of 389 patients with AAA and 404 healthy controls were recruited. IL-10-1082 polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based methods. In the case of patients with small AAA (<5.5 cm), serial size measurements were recorded to determine mean growth rate. There was a statistically significant difference both in allele and genotype frequencies between the case and control groups with the IL-10-1082 'A' allele being more common in the AAA group (P = .006). In the AAA group, genotype frequencies were as follows: GG 84, GA 201, and AA 104. In the control group, the genotype frequencies were GG 118, GA 205, and AA 81. The odds ratio for the 'A' allele as a risk factor for AAA was 1.50 (95% confidence interval 1.09 to 2.07). Regression modeling revealed that the IL-10-1082 genotype was, however, not independently associated with AAA if age, tobacco use, hypertension, and history of coronary or peripheral artery disease was taken into account. There was a trend towards lower plasma IL-10 level in IL-10 AA carriers, but the IL-10 'A' allele did not have any discernible effect on the growth of small AAA. This study demonstrates that the IL-10-1082 'A' allele is associated with AAA, although this association is likely to be secondary to an association between IL-10-1082 genotype and other markers of cardiovascular disease rather than AAA per se.

  8. Distribution of HLA-DQA1 alleles in Arab and Pakistani individuals from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

    PubMed

    Tahir, M A; al Khayat, A Q; al Shamali, F; Budowle, B; Novick, G E

    1997-03-14

    PCR-based typing of the HLA-DQA1 locus, using allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes and reverse dot blot methodology was used to determine allelic distributions and construct a database for Arab and Pakistani individuals living in Dubai. Genotype and allelic frequencies were calculated, and the data were tested for departures from Hardy-Weinberg (HWE) equilibrium. The most frequent HLA-DQA1 alleles among Dubaian Arabs are DQA1 4 and 1.2. Among Pakistanis, the most frequent allele is also DQA1 4. No significant deviations from HWE were detected.

  9. Allele frequency distribution for the variable number of tandem repeat locus D10S28 in Tamil Nadu (south India) population.

    PubMed

    Pandian, S K; Kumar, S; Krishnan, M; Dharmalingam, K; Damodaran, C

    1995-09-01

    Allele frequencies were determined in unrelated individuals of Tamil speaking population from the Madras City (Tamil Nadu, South India) area for the polymorphic DNA locus D10S28 using the probe TBQ7. Membranes hybridized with the probe YNH24 were subjected to deprobing and were subsequently hybridized with random priming - labeled, purified inserts of TBQ7. The sizes of the fragments were grouped to 100 bp as well as to arbitrary fixed bins (Federal Bureau of Investigation / Royal Canadian Mounted Police). There were 14 bins in the latter with the most common bin being 11 (1789-1924 bp) with a frequency of 9.8%. We observed a heterozygosity of 92% comparable to Caucasian populations. The data presented here can be used as the basis for utilizing this variable number of tandem repeats (TNTR) DNA marker for paternity determinations and forensic investigations.

  10. Rapid detection of the CYP2A6*12 hybrid allele by Pyrosequencing technology.

    PubMed

    Koontz, Deborah A; Huckins, Jacqueline J; Spencer, Antonina; Gallagher, Margaret L

    2009-08-24

    Identification of CYP2A6 alleles associated with reduced enzyme activity is important in the study of inter-individual differences in drug metabolism. CYP2A6*12 is a hybrid allele that results from unequal crossover between CYP2A6 and CYP2A7 genes. The 5' regulatory region and exons 1-2 are derived from CYP2A7, and exons 3-9 are derived from CYP2A6. Conventional methods for detection of CYP2A6*12 consist of two-step PCR protocols that are laborious and unsuitable for high-throughput genotyping. We developed a rapid and accurate method to detect the CYP2A6*12 allele by Pyrosequencing technology. A single set of PCR primers was designed to specifically amplify both the CYP2A6*1 wild-type allele and the CYP2A6*12 hybrid allele. An internal Pyrosequencing primer was used to generate allele-specific sequence information, which detected homozygous wild-type, heterozygous hybrid, and homozygous hybrid alleles. We first validated the assay on 104 DNA samples that were also genotyped by conventional two-step PCR and by cycle sequencing. CYP2A6*12 allele frequencies were then determined using the Pyrosequencing assay on 181 multi-ethnic DNA samples from subjects of African American, European Caucasian, Pacific Rim, and Hispanic descent. Finally, we streamlined the Pyrosequencing assay by integrating liquid handling robotics into the workflow. Pyrosequencing results demonstrated 100% concordance with conventional two-step PCR and cycle sequencing methods. Allele frequency data showed slightly higher prevalence of the CYP2A6*12 allele in European Caucasians and Hispanics. This Pyrosequencing assay proved to be a simple, rapid, and accurate alternative to conventional methods, which can be easily adapted to the needs of higher-throughput studies.

  11. The functional importance of sequence versus expression variability of MHC alleles in parasite resistance.

    PubMed

    Axtner, Jan; Sommer, Simone

    2012-12-01

    Understanding selection processes driving the pronounced allelic polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes and its functional associations to parasite load have been the focus of many recent wildlife studies. Two main selection scenarios are currently debated which explain the susceptibility or resistance to parasite infections either by the effects of (1) specific MHC alleles which are selected frequency-dependent in space and time or (2) a heterozygote or divergent allele advantage. So far, most studies have focused only on structural variance in co-evolutionary processes although this might not be the only trait subject to natural selection. In the present study, we analysed structural variance stretching from exon1 through exon3 of MHC class II DRB genes as well as genotypic expression variance in relation to the gastrointestinal helminth prevalence and infection intensity in wild yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis). We found support for the functional importance of specific alleles both on the sequence and expression level. By resampling a previously investigated study population we identified specific MHC alleles affected by temporal shifts in parasite pressure and recorded associated changes in allele frequencies. The allele Apfl-DRB*23 was associated with resistance to infections by the oxyurid nematode Syphacia stroma and at the same time with susceptibility to cestode infection intensity. In line with our expectation, MHC mRNA transcript levels tended to be higher in cestode-infected animals carrying the allele Apfl-DRB*23. However, no support for a heterozygote or divergent allele advantage on the sequence or expression level was detected. The individual amino acid distance of genotypes did not explain individual differences in parasite loads and the genetic distance had no effect on MHC genotype expression. For ongoing studies on the functional importance of expression variance in parasite resistance, allele

  12. Adaptation of Drosophila to a novel laboratory environment reveals temporally heterogeneous trajectories of selected alleles.

    PubMed

    Orozco-terWengel, Pablo; Kapun, Martin; Nolte, Viola; Kofler, Robert; Flatt, Thomas; Schlötterer, Christian

    2012-10-01

    The genomic basis of adaptation to novel environments is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology that has gained additional importance in the light of the recent global change discussion. Here, we combined laboratory natural selection (experimental evolution) in Drosophila melanogaster with genome-wide next generation sequencing of DNA pools (Pool-Seq) to identify alleles that are favourable in a novel laboratory environment and traced their trajectories during the adaptive process. Already after 15 generations, we identified a pronounced genomic response to selection, with almost 5000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP; genome-wide false discovery rates < 0.005%) deviating from neutral expectation. Importantly, the evolutionary trajectories of the selected alleles were heterogeneous, with the alleles falling into two distinct classes: (i) alleles that continuously rise in frequency; and (ii) alleles that at first increase rapidly but whose frequencies then reach a plateau. Our data thus suggest that the genomic response to selection can involve a large number of selected SNPs that show unexpectedly complex evolutionary trajectories, possibly due to nonadditive effects. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Inference of population splits and mixtures from genome-wide allele frequency data.

    PubMed

    Pickrell, Joseph K; Pritchard, Jonathan K

    2012-01-01

    Many aspects of the historical relationships between populations in a species are reflected in genetic data. Inferring these relationships from genetic data, however, remains a challenging task. In this paper, we present a statistical model for inferring the patterns of population splits and mixtures in multiple populations. In our model, the sampled populations in a species are related to their common ancestor through a graph of ancestral populations. Using genome-wide allele frequency data and a Gaussian approximation to genetic drift, we infer the structure of this graph. We applied this method to a set of 55 human populations and a set of 82 dog breeds and wild canids. In both species, we show that a simple bifurcating tree does not fully describe the data; in contrast, we infer many migration events. While some of the migration events that we find have been detected previously, many have not. For example, in the human data, we infer that Cambodians trace approximately 16% of their ancestry to a population ancestral to other extant East Asian populations. In the dog data, we infer that both the boxer and basenji trace a considerable fraction of their ancestry (9% and 25%, respectively) to wolves subsequent to domestication and that East Asian toy breeds (the Shih Tzu and the Pekingese) result from admixture between modern toy breeds and "ancient" Asian breeds. Software implementing the model described here, called TreeMix, is available at http://treemix.googlecode.com.

  14. Frequencies of immune hypersensitivity reaction-associated HLA class I alleles in healthy South African Indian and mixed ancestry populations determined by a novel real-time PCR assay.

    PubMed

    Loubser, S; Paximadis, M; Gentle, N; Puren, A; Gray, C M; Tiemessen, C T

    2014-10-01

    We have determined the frequencies of human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B*57:01, HLA-B*35:05, HLA-C*04 and HLA-C*08 in healthy individuals of South African Indian (SAI) ethnicity (n = 50) and South African mixed (SAM) ancestry (n = 50) using real-time allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) assay. HLA-B*57:01 associates with immune hypersensitivity reaction (IHR) in individuals exposed to abacavir (ABC), while nevirapine (NVP) IHR associates with HLA-B*35:05, HLA-C*04 and HLA-C*08. Real-time AS-PCR assays typically use less DNA, are more cost-effective and rapid compared with conventional genotyping methods, such as sequence-based typing (SBT). The assay was developed using samples of known HLA class I genotype and subsequently applied to the SAI and SAM samples. HLA-B*57:01 was detected in SAM and SAI populations at frequencies of 8.0% and 12.0%, respectively, while HLA-B*35:05 was not found in SAI individuals, but was present in 6.0% of SAM individuals. HLA-C*04 was detected in 22.0% and 24.0% of SAM and SAI individuals, respectively, while 10.0% and 8.0% of SAM and SAI individuals, respectively, were HLA-C*08 positive. This study reports the development of a novel real-time AS-PCR assay to identify HLA class I alleles associated with ABC and NVP IHR and has established the frequencies of these alleles present in healthy SAI and SAM populations. Using South African demographic data, our hypothetical analysis suggests that a substantial number of individuals would benefit from the assay. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Genotypic and allelic frequencies of gene polymorphisms associated with meat tenderness in Nellore beef cattle.

    PubMed

    Carvalho, M E; Eler, J P; Bonin, M N; Rezende, F M; Biase, F H; Meirelles, F V; Regitano, L C A; Coutinho, L L; Balieiro, J C C; Ferraz, J B S

    2017-02-16

    The objectives of this study were to characterize the allelic and genotypic frequencies of polymorphisms in the µ-calpain and calpastatin genes, and to assess their association with meat tenderness and animal growth in Nellore cattle. We evaluated 605 Nellore animals at 24 months of age, on average, at slaughter. The polymorphisms were determined for the molecular markers CAPN316, CAPN530, CAPN4751, CAPN4753, and UOGACAST1. Analyses of meat tenderness at 7, 14, and 21 days of maturation were performed in samples of longissimus thoracis obtained between the 12th and 13th rib and sheared using a Warner Bratzler Shear Force. Significant effects were observed for meat tenderness at days 7, 14, and 21 of maturation for the marker CAPN4751, at day 21 for the marker CAPN4753, and at days 14 and 21 for the marker UOGCAST1. For genotypic combinations of markers, the results were significant for the combination CAPN4751/UOGCAST1 in the three maturation periods and CAPN4753/UOGCAST1 at days 14 and 21 of maturation.

  16. Allele frequency distribution for 15 autosomal STR loci in two Muslim populations of Tamilnadu, India.

    PubMed

    Eaaswarkhanth, M; Roy, Soma; Haque, Ikramul

    2007-11-01

    Allele frequencies of the 15 autosomal STR loci: D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D3S1358, THO1, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D5S818, and FGA were determined in two endogamous Muslim populations (Dawoodi Bohra Muslims from Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims) residing in Tamilnadu, India. The Loci D7S820, CSF1PO, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D13S317, D16S539, D5S818, and FGA in Dawoodi Bohra Muslims from Shiite Muslims, and CSF1PO, D19S433, TPOX, and D16S539 in Sunni Muslims were found to deviate significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The power of discrimination of the analyzed markers was found to be high for the populations, thereby facilitating the validation and efficiency of these STR markers in human identification.

  17. PCR/oligonucleotide probe typing of HLA class II alleles in a Filipino population reveals an unusual distribution of HLA haplotypes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bugawan, T.L.; Chang, J.D.; Erlich, H.A.

    1994-02-01

    The authors have analyzed the distribution of HLA class II alleles and haplotypes in a Filipino population by PCR amplification of the DRB1, DQB1, and DPB1 second-exon sequences from buccal swabs obtained from 124 family members and 53 unrelated individuals. The amplified DNA was typed by using nonradioactive sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. Twenty-two different DRB1 alleles, including the novel Filipino *1105, and 46 different DRB1/DQB1 haplotypes, including the unusual DRB1*0405-DQB1*0503, were identified. An unusually high frequency (f = .383) of DPB1*0101, a rare allele in other Asian populations, was also observed. In addition, an unusual distribution of DRB1 alleles and haplotypesmore » was seen in this population, with DR2 (f = .415) and DRB1*1502-DQB1*0502 (f = .233) present at high frequencies. This distribution of DRB1 alleles differs from the typical HLA population distribution, in which the allele frequencies are more evenly balanced. The distribution of HLA class II alleles and haplotypes in this Filipino population is different from that of other Asian and Pacific groups: of those populations studied to date, the Indonesian population is the most similar. DRB1*1502-DQB1*0502 was in strong linkage disequilibrium (D[prime] = .41) with DPB 1*0101 (f = .126, for the extended haplotype), which is consistent with selection for this DR, DQ, DP haplotype being responsible for the high frequency of these three class II alleles in this populations. 30 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.« less

  18. Complex and multi-allelic copy number variation in human disease

    PubMed Central

    McCarroll, Steven A.

    2015-01-01

    Hundreds of copy number variants are complex and multi-allelic, in that they have many structural alleles and have rearranged multiple times in the ancestors who contributed chromosomes to current humans. Not only are the relationships of these multi-allelic CNVs (mCNVs) to phenotypes generally unknown, but many mCNVs have not yet been described at the basic levels—alleles, allele frequencies, structural features—that support genetic investigation. To date, most reported disease associations to these variants have been ascertained through candidate gene studies. However, only a few associations have reached the level of acceptance defined by durable replications in many cohorts. This likely stems from longstanding challenges in making precise molecular measurements of the alleles individuals have at these loci. However, approaches for mCNV analysis are improving quickly, and some of the unique characteristics of mCNVs may assist future association studies. Their various structural alleles are likely to have different magnitudes of effect, creating a natural allelic series of growing phenotypic impact and giving investigators a set of natural predictions and testable hypotheses about the extent to which each allele of an mCNV predisposes to a phenotype. Also, mCNVs’ low-to-modest correlation to individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may make it easier to distinguish between mCNVs and nearby SNPs as the drivers of an association signal, and perhaps, make it possible to preliminarily screen candidate loci, or the entire genome, for the many mCNV–disease relationships that remain to be discovered. PMID:26163405

  19. Allele and genotype frequencies of polymorphisms in cytokine genes in ethnic Russian individuals from Moscow, Russia.

    PubMed

    Shadrina, Alexandra; Voronina, Elena; Zolotukhin, Igor; Filipenko, Maxim

    2017-02-01

    Two hundred and twenty eight ethnic Russian individuals from Moscow, Russia, were genotyped at 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms CCL2 A-2578G; VEGFA C-2578A, G-634C, and C+936T; TNF G+419A and G-308A; IL1A G-889A; IL1RN T+1018C; IL6G-174C and G-572C; IFNG T+874A; IL1B C-511T; IL10 A+1082G; TGFB1 C-509T. Genotypes were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan probes and polymerase chain reaction followed by melting analysis of dual-labeled probe. Genotype distribution was in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all studied polymorphisms. Genotype data are available in the Allele Frequencies Net Database under identifier AFND 3367 and the population name "Russia Moscow Cytokine". Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Multimer Formation Explains Allelic Suppression of PRDM9 Recombination Hotspots.

    PubMed

    Baker, Christopher L; Petkova, Pavlina; Walker, Michael; Flachs, Petr; Mihola, Ondrej; Trachtulec, Zdenek; Petkov, Petko M; Paigen, Kenneth

    2015-09-01

    Genetic recombination during meiosis functions to increase genetic diversity, promotes elimination of deleterious alleles, and helps assure proper segregation of chromatids. Mammalian recombination events are concentrated at specialized sites, termed hotspots, whose locations are determined by PRDM9, a zinc finger DNA-binding histone methyltransferase. Prdm9 is highly polymorphic with most alleles activating their own set of hotspots. In populations exhibiting high frequencies of heterozygosity, questions remain about the influences different alleles have in heterozygous individuals where the two variant forms of PRDM9 typically do not activate equivalent populations of hotspots. We now find that, in addition to activating its own hotspots, the presence of one Prdm9 allele can modify the activity of hotspots activated by the other allele. PRDM9 function is also dosage sensitive; Prdm9+/- heterozygous null mice have reduced numbers and less active hotspots and increased numbers of aberrant germ cells. In mice carrying two Prdm9 alleles, there is allelic competition; the stronger Prdm9 allele can partially or entirely suppress chromatin modification and recombination at hotspots of the weaker allele. In cell cultures, PRDM9 protein variants form functional heteromeric complexes which can bind hotspots sequences. When a heteromeric complex binds at a hotspot of one PRDM9 variant, the other PRDM9 variant, which would otherwise not bind, can still methylate hotspot nucleosomes. We propose that in heterozygous individuals the underlying molecular mechanism of allelic suppression results from formation of PRDM9 heteromers, where the DNA binding activity of one protein variant dominantly directs recombination initiation towards its own hotspots, effectively titrating down recombination by the other protein variant. In natural populations with many heterozygous individuals, allelic competition will influence the recombination landscape.

  1. Multimer Formation Explains Allelic Suppression of PRDM9 Recombination Hotspots

    PubMed Central

    Baker, Christopher L.; Petkova, Pavlina; Walker, Michael; Flachs, Petr; Mihola, Ondrej; Trachtulec, Zdenek; Petkov, Petko M.; Paigen, Kenneth

    2015-01-01

    Genetic recombination during meiosis functions to increase genetic diversity, promotes elimination of deleterious alleles, and helps assure proper segregation of chromatids. Mammalian recombination events are concentrated at specialized sites, termed hotspots, whose locations are determined by PRDM9, a zinc finger DNA-binding histone methyltransferase. Prdm9 is highly polymorphic with most alleles activating their own set of hotspots. In populations exhibiting high frequencies of heterozygosity, questions remain about the influences different alleles have in heterozygous individuals where the two variant forms of PRDM9 typically do not activate equivalent populations of hotspots. We now find that, in addition to activating its own hotspots, the presence of one Prdm9 allele can modify the activity of hotspots activated by the other allele. PRDM9 function is also dosage sensitive; Prdm9 +/- heterozygous null mice have reduced numbers and less active hotspots and increased numbers of aberrant germ cells. In mice carrying two Prdm9 alleles, there is allelic competition; the stronger Prdm9 allele can partially or entirely suppress chromatin modification and recombination at hotspots of the weaker allele. In cell cultures, PRDM9 protein variants form functional heteromeric complexes which can bind hotspots sequences. When a heteromeric complex binds at a hotspot of one PRDM9 variant, the other PRDM9 variant, which would otherwise not bind, can still methylate hotspot nucleosomes. We propose that in heterozygous individuals the underlying molecular mechanism of allelic suppression results from formation of PRDM9 heteromers, where the DNA binding activity of one protein variant dominantly directs recombination initiation towards its own hotspots, effectively titrating down recombination by the other protein variant. In natural populations with many heterozygous individuals, allelic competition will influence the recombination landscape. PMID:26368021

  2. Novel microsatellite markers for the oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and effects of null alleles on population genetics analyses.

    PubMed

    Song, W; Cao, L-J; Wang, Y-Z; Li, B-Y; Wei, S-J

    2017-06-01

    The oriental fruit moth (OFM) Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is an important economic pest of stone and pome fruits worldwide. We sequenced the OFM genome using next-generation sequencing and characterized the microsatellite distribution. In total, 56,674 microsatellites were identified, with 11,584 loci suitable for primer design. Twenty-seven polymorphic microsatellites, including 24 loci with trinucleotide repeat and three with pentanucleotide repeat, were validated in 95 individuals from four natural populations. The allele numbers ranged from 4 to 40, with an average value of 13.7 per locus. A high frequency of null alleles was observed in most loci developed for the OFM. Three marker panels, all of the loci, nine loci with the lowest null allele frequencies, and nine loci with the highest null allele frequencies, were established for population genetics analyses. The null allele influenced estimations of genetic diversity parameters but not the OFM's genetic structure. Both a STRUCTURE analysis and a discriminant analysis of principal components, using the three marker panels, divided the four natural populations into three groups. However, more individuals were incorrectly assigned by the STRUCTURE analysis when the marker panel with the highest null allele frequency was used compared with the other two panels. Our study provides empirical research on the effects of null alleles on population genetics analyses. The microsatellites developed will be valuable markers for genetic studies of the OFM.

  3. Time-frequency analysis of time-varying modulated signals based on improved energy separation by iterative generalized demodulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Zhipeng; Chu, Fulei; Zuo, Ming J.

    2011-03-01

    Energy separation algorithm is good at tracking instantaneous changes in frequency and amplitude of modulated signals, but it is subject to the constraints of mono-component and narrow band. In most cases, time-varying modulated vibration signals of machinery consist of multiple components, and have so complicated instantaneous frequency trajectories on time-frequency plane that they overlap in frequency domain. For such signals, conventional filters fail to obtain mono-components of narrow band, and their rectangular decomposition of time-frequency plane may split instantaneous frequency trajectories thus resulting in information loss. Regarding the advantage of generalized demodulation method in decomposing multi-component signals into mono-components, an iterative generalized demodulation method is used as a preprocessing tool to separate signals into mono-components, so as to satisfy the requirements by energy separation algorithm. By this improvement, energy separation algorithm can be generalized to a broad range of signals, as long as the instantaneous frequency trajectories of signal components do not intersect on time-frequency plane. Due to the good adaptability of energy separation algorithm to instantaneous changes in signals and the mono-component decomposition nature of generalized demodulation, the derived time-frequency energy distribution has fine resolution and is free from cross term interferences. The good performance of the proposed time-frequency analysis is illustrated by analyses of a simulated signal and the on-site recorded nonstationary vibration signal of a hydroturbine rotor during a shut-down transient process, showing that it has potential to analyze time-varying modulated signals of multi-components.

  4. Identification of the Rare, Four Repeat Allele of IL-4 Intron-3 VNTR Polymorphism in Indian Populations.

    PubMed

    Verma, Henu Kumar; Jha, Aditya Nath; Khodiar, Prafulla Kumar; Patra, Pradeep Kumar; Bhaskar, Lakkakula Venkata Kameswara Subrahmanya

    2016-06-01

    Cytokines are cell signaling molecules which upon release by cells facilitate the recruitment of immune-modulatory cells towards the sites of inflammation. Genetic variations in cytokine genes are shown to regulate their production and affect the risk of infectious as well as autoimmune diseases. Intron-3 of interleukin-4 gene (IL-4) harbors 70-bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) that may alter the expression level of IL-4 gene. To determine the distribution of IL-4 70-bp VNTR polymorphism in seven genetically heterogeneous populations of Chhattisgarh, India and their comparison with the finding of other Indian and world populations. A total of 371 healthy unrelated individuals from 5 caste and 2 tribal populations were included in the present study. The IL-4 70-bp VNTR genotyping was carried out using PCR and electrophoresis. Overall, 3 alleles of IL-4 70-bp VNTR (a2, a3 and a4) were detected. The results demonstrated the variability of the IL-4 70-bp VNTR polymorphism in Chhattisgarh populations. Allele a3 was the most common allele at the 70-bp VNTR locus in all populations followed by a2 allele. This study reports the presence four repeat allele a4 at a low frequency in the majority of the Chhattisgarh populations studied. Further, the frequency of the minor allele (a2) in Chhattisgarh populations showed similarity with the frequencies of European populations but not with the East Asian populations where the a2 allele is a major allele. Our study provides a baseline for future research into the role of the IL-4 locus in diseases linked to inflammation in Indian populations.

  5. A European allele map of the C282Y mutation of hemochromatosis: Celtic versus Viking origin of the mutation?

    PubMed

    Lucotte, Gérard; Dieterlen, Florent

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this new meta-analysis (to the end of 2002) is to compile the Y allele frequencies of the C282Y mutation of hereditary hemochromatosis (HFE gene) for 63 European populations, representing a total of 10,708 unrelated people concerning control samples. A new allele map of C282Y frequencies in Europe was constructed. The highest European frequencies are observed in the Celtic populations in Ireland, in the United Kingdom, and in France, but elevated frequencies are also observed in Scandinavia.

  6. A study of the association of childhood asthma with HLA alleles in the population of Siliguri, West Bengal, India.

    PubMed

    Lama, M; Chatterjee, M; Chaudhuri, T K

    2014-09-01

    Asthma is a heterogeneous disease for which a strong genetic basis is firmly established. It is a complex disorder influenced by gene-environment interaction. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes have been shown to be consistently associated with asthma and its related phenotypes in various populations. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of the selected HLA classes I and II allelic groups in asthmatic and control groups. HLA typing was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific typing (PCR-SSP) method. The allele frequency was estimated by direct counting. Frequency of each HLA allelic group was compared between asthmatic group and control group using χ(2) test. P-value was corrected by multiplying with the number of the allelic groups studied. Odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for each allelic group were calculated using graphpad instat 3.10. The results of this study showed a significantly higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 in asthmatics than in controls (11.43% vs 3.64%, OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.61-8.85, P = 0.0025, Pcorr  < 0.05). Analysis of HLA alleles in low and high total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level in asthmatics revealed no significant association. HLA-DRB1*03 may be implicated in the susceptibility to asthma in the pediatric population. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Frequency-varying synchronous micro-vibration suppression for a MSFW with application of small-gain theorem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Cong; Fan, Yahong; Huang, Ziyuan; Han, Bangcheng; Fang, Jiancheng

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a novel synchronous micro-vibration suppression method on the basis of the small gain theorem to reduce the frequency-varying synchronous micro-vibration forces for a magnetically suspended flywheel (MSFW). The proposed synchronous micro-vibration suppression method not only eliminates the synchronous current fluctuations to force the rotor spinning around the inertia axis, but also considers the compensation caused by the displacement stiffness in the permanent-magnet (PM)-biased magnetic bearings. Moreover, the stability of the proposed control system is exactly analyzed by using small gain theorem. The effectiveness of the proposed micro-vibration suppression method is demonstrated via the direct measurement of the disturbance forces for a MSFW. The main merit of the proposed method is that it provides a simple and practical method in suppressing the frequency varying micro-vibration forces and preserving the nominal performance of the baseline control system.

  8. Reduced Height (Rht) Alleles Affect Wheat Grain Quality.

    PubMed

    Casebow, Richard; Hadley, Caroline; Uppal, Rajneet; Addisu, Molla; Loddo, Stefano; Kowalski, Ania; Griffiths, Simon; Gooding, Mike

    2016-01-01

    The effects of dwarfing alleles (reduced height, Rht) in near isogenic lines on wheat grain quality are characterised in field experiments and related to effects on crop height, grain yield and GA-sensitivity. Alleles included those that conferred GA-insensitivity (Rht-B1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1b, Rht-D1c) as well as those that retained GA-sensitivity (rht(tall), Rht8, Rht8 + Ppd-D1a, Rht12). Full characterisation was facilitated by including factors with which the effects of Rht alleles are known to interact for grain yield (i.e. system, [conventional or organic]; tillage intensity [plough-based, minimum or zero]; nitrogen fertilizer level [0-450 kg N/ha]; and genetic backgrounds varying in height [cvs Maris Huntsman, Maris Widgeon, and Mercia]. Allele effects on mean grain weight and grain specific weight were positively associated with final crop height: dwarfing reduced these quality criteria irrespective of crop management or GA-sensitivity. In all but two experiments the effects of dwarfing alleles on grain nitrogen and sulphur concentrations were closely and negatively related to effects on grain yield, e.g. a quadratic relationship between grain yield and crop height manipulated by the GA-insensitive alleles was mirrored by quadratic relationships for nitrogen and sulphur concentrations: the highest yields and most dilute concentrations occurred around 80cm. In one of the two exceptional experiments the GA-insensitive Rht-B1b and Rht-B1c significantly (P<0.05) reduced grain nitrogen concentration in the absence of an effect on yield, and in the remaining experiment the GA-sensitive Rht8 significantly reduced both grain yield and grain nitrogen concentration simultaneously. When Rht alleles diluted grain nitrogen concentration, N:S ratios and SDS-sedimentation volumes were often improved. Hagberg falling number (HFN) was negatively related to crop height but benefits from dwarfing were only seen for GA-insensitive alleles. For HFN, therefore, there was the

  9. REVIEW-ARTICLE Intermediate alleles of Huntington's disease HTT gene in different populations worldwide: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Apolinário, T A; Paiva, C L A; Agostinho, L A

    2017-04-05

    Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a dynamic mutation due to the expansion of CAG repeats in the HTT gene (4p16.3). The considered normal alleles have less than 27 CAG repeats. Intermediate alleles (IAs) show 27 to 35 CAG repeats and expanded alleles have more than 35 repeats. The IAs apparently have shown a normal phenotype. However, there are some reported associations between individuals that bear an IA and clinical HD signs, such as behavioral disturbs. The association of IAs with the presence of clinical signs gives clinical relevance to these patients. We emphasized the importance of determining the frequency of IA alleles in the general population as well as in HD families. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review, in order to investigate the frequency of IAs in the overall chromosomes of different ethnic groups and of families with HD history worldwide as well as the frequency of individuals who bear the intermediate alleles. We searched indexed articles from the following electronic databases: U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (PubMed), Pubmed Central (PMC) and Virtual Health Library (VHL). Therefore, 488 articles were obtained and, of these, 33 had been published in more than one database. We accepted the article of only one database and ended up with 455 articles for this review. The frequency of IAs within the chromosomes of the general population ranged from 0.45 to 8.7% and of individuals with family history of HD ranged from 0.05 to 5.1%. The higher frequency of IAs in the general population (8.7%) was found in one Brazilian cohort.

  10. Delimiting Allelic Imbalance of TYMS by Allele-Specific Analysis.

    PubMed

    Balboa-Beltrán, Emilia; Cruz, Raquel; Carracedo, Angel; Barros, Francisco

    2015-07-01

    Allelic imbalance of thymidylate synthase (TYMS) is attributed to polymorphisms in the 5'- and 3'-untranslated region (UTR). These polymorphisms have been related to the risk of suffering different cancers, for example leukemia, breast or gastric cancer, and response to different drugs, among which are methotrexate glutamates, stavudine, and specifically 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), as TYMS is its direct target. A vast literature has been published in relation to 5-FU, even suggesting the sole use of these polymorphisms to effectively manage 5-FU dosage. Estimates of the extent to which these polymorphisms influence in TYMS expression have in the past been based on functional analysis by luciferase assays and quantification of TYMS mRNA, but both these studies, as the association studies with cancer risk or with toxicity or response to 5-FU, are very contradictory. Regarding functional assays, the artificial genetic environment created in luciferase assay and the problems derived from quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCRs), for example the use of a reference gene, may have distorted the results. To avoid these sources of interference, we have analyzed the allelic imbalance of TYMS by allelic-specific analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients.Allelic imbalance in PBMCs, taken from 40 patients with suspected myeloproliferative haematological diseases, was determined by fluorescent fragment analysis (for the 3'-UTR polymorphism), Sanger sequencing and allelic-specific qPCR in multiplex (for the 5'-UTR polymorphisms).For neither the 3'- nor the 5'-UTR polymorphisms did the observed allelic imbalance exceed 1.5 fold. None of the TYMS polymorphisms is statistically associated with allelic imbalance.The results acquired allow us to deny the previously established assertion of an influence of 2 to 4 fold of the rs45445694 and rs2853542 polymorphisms in the expression of TYMS and narrow its allelic imbalance to 1.5 fold, in our population

  11. Forensic applicability of multi-allelic InDels with mononucleotide homopolymer structures.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shu; Zhu, Qiang; Chen, Xiaogang; Zhao, Yuancun; Zhao, Xiaohong; Yang, Yiwen; Gao, Zehua; Fang, Ting; Wang, Yufang; Zhang, Ji

    2018-04-27

    Insertion/deletion polymorphisms (InDels), which possess the characteristics of low mutation rates and a short amplicon size, have been regarded as promising markers for forensic DNA analysis. InDels can be classified as bi-allelic or multi-allelic, depending on the number of alleles. Many studies have explored the use of bi-allelic InDels in forensic applications, such as individual identification and ancestry inference. However, multi-allelic InDels have received relatively little attention. In this study, InDels with 2-6 alleles and a minor allele frequency ≥0.01, in Chinese Southern Han (CHS), were retrieved from the 1000 Genomes Project Phase III. Based on the structural analysis of all retrieved InDels, 17 multi-allelic markers with mononucleotide homopolymer structures were selected and combined in one multiplex PCR reaction system. Sensitivity, species specificity and applicability in forensic case work of the multiplex were analyzed. A total of 218 unrelated individuals from a Chinese Han population were genotyped. The combined discriminatory power (CDP), the combined match probability (CMP) and the cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) were 0.9999999999609, 3.91E-13 and 0.9956, respectively. The results demonstrated that this InDel multiplex panel was highly informative in the investigated population and most of the 26 populations of the 1000 Genomes Project. The data also suggested that multi-allelic InDel markers with monomeric base pair expansions are useful for forensic applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  12. Association of the HLA-B*52 allele with non-progression to AIDS in Brazilian HIV-1-infected individuals.

    PubMed

    Teixeira, S L M; de Sá, N B R; Campos, D P; Coelho, A B; Guimarães, M L; Leite, T C N F; Veloso, V G; Morgado, M G

    2014-04-01

    Several human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles are associated with the susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection and/or AIDS progression. Of these, the HLA-B alleles are considered the strongest genetic determinant of disease outcome. We evaluated the influence of the HLA-B alleles on AIDS progression among HIV-1-positive individuals from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who were categorized as rapid progressors (RPs), typical progressors (TPs) or long-term non-progressors (LTNPs). In this study, significant differences in HLA-B allele frequencies were observed among the three progression groups for the B*48, B*49 and B*52 alleles. After controlling for other factors associated with AIDS progression, the presence of the B*52 allele was shown to be a significant protective factor (hazard ratio (HR) 0.49 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27-0.90) P<0.03). Although no direct association was observed between the presence of the B*27 or B*57 allele and the LTNP profile compared with the TP or RP groups, the adjusted model confirmed that these alleles are protective factors against AIDS progression (HR 0.62 (95% CI 0.38-0.99) P<0.05), as previously described. These data corroborate the existence of significant differences in HLA-B allele frequencies among the distinct AIDS progression profiles and further elucidate the role of HLA alleles in the outcome of HIV infections in diverse populations.

  13. Dietary adaptation of FADS genes in Europe varied across time and geography.

    PubMed

    Ye, Kaixiong; Gao, Feng; Wang, David; Bar-Yosef, Ofer; Keinan, Alon

    2017-05-26

    Fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes encode rate-limiting enzymes for the biosynthesis of omega-6 and omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs). This biosynthesis is essential for individuals subsisting on LCPUFA-poor diets (for example, plant-based). Positive selection on FADS genes has been reported in multiple populations, but its cause and pattern in Europeans remain unknown. Here we demonstrate, using ancient and modern DNA, that positive selection acted on the same FADS variants both before and after the advent of farming in Europe, but on opposite (that is, alternative) alleles. Recent selection in farmers also varied geographically, with the strongest signal in southern Europe. These varying selection patterns concur with anthropological evidence of varying diets, and with the association of farming-adaptive alleles with higher FADS1 expression and thus enhanced LCPUFA biosynthesis. Genome-wide association studies reveal that farming-adaptive alleles not only increase LCPUFAs, but also affect other lipid levels and protect against several inflammatory diseases.

  14. Time-Varying Distortions of Binaural Information by Bilateral Hearing Aids: Effects of Nonlinear Frequency Compression.

    PubMed

    Brown, Andrew D; Rodriguez, Francisco A; Portnuff, Cory D F; Goupell, Matthew J; Tollin, Daniel J

    2016-10-03

    In patients with bilateral hearing loss, the use of two hearing aids (HAs) offers the potential to restore the benefits of binaural hearing, including sound source localization and segregation. However, existing evidence suggests that bilateral HA users' access to binaural information, namely interaural time and level differences (ITDs and ILDs), can be compromised by device processing. Our objective was to characterize the nature and magnitude of binaural distortions caused by modern digital behind-the-ear HAs using a variety of stimuli and HA program settings. Of particular interest was a common frequency-lowering algorithm known as nonlinear frequency compression, which has not previously been assessed for its effects on binaural information. A binaural beamforming algorithm was also assessed. Wide dynamic range compression was enabled in all programs. HAs were placed on a binaural manikin, and stimuli were presented from an arc of loudspeakers inside an anechoic chamber. Stimuli were broadband noise bursts, 10-Hz sinusoidally amplitude-modulated noise bursts, or consonant-vowel-consonant speech tokens. Binaural information was analyzed in terms of ITDs, ILDs, and interaural coherence, both for whole stimuli and in a time-varying sense (i.e., within a running temporal window) across four different frequency bands (1, 2, 4, and 6 kHz). Key findings were: (a) Nonlinear frequency compression caused distortions of high-frequency envelope ITDs and significantly reduced interaural coherence. (b) For modulated stimuli, all programs caused time-varying distortion of ILDs. (c) HAs altered the relationship between ITDs and ILDs, introducing large ITD-ILD conflicts in some cases. Potential perceptual consequences of measured distortions are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

  15. The association between oxcarbazepine-induced maculopapular eruption and HLA-B alleles in a Northern Han Chinese population

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background We investigated the association between oxcarbazepine (OXC)-induced maculopapular eruption (MPE) and HLA-B alleles in a northern Han Chinese population, and conducted an analysis of clinical risk factors for OXC-MPE. Methods Forty-two northern Han Chinese patients who had been treated with OXC in Changchun, China were genotyped. Among them were 14 cases with OXC-induced MPE; the remaining 28 were OXC-tolerant. The HLA-B allele frequencies of the normal control group were found in the Allele Frequency Net Database. Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer( PCR-SSP )was used for HLA-B*1502 testing and direct sequencing for four-digit genotype determination. Results Four-digit allele sequencing showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of the HLA-B*1502 allele between the OXC-MPE and OXC-tolerant controls (3.6% versus 7.5%, OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.04–3.40, P = 0.65), as well as between OXC-MPE and normal controls (3.6% versus 2.4%, OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 0.20–11.73, P = 0.49). However, a significant difference in the frequency of HLA-B*3802 alleles was found between the MPE group and normal controls (10.7% versus 1.9%, OR = 6.329, 95% CI = 1.783-22.460, P = 0.018). There was no significant difference in terms of age, gender, or final OXC dose between the OXC-MPE and OXC-tolerant groups. Conclusions There was no significant association between OXC-MPE and HLA-B*1502 in the northern Han Chinese population in our study. Instead, HLA-B*3802 was found to be a potential risk factor for OXC-MPE. PMID:23829937

  16. Frequency of APOE, MTHFR and ACE polymorphisms in the Zambian population

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Polymorphisms within the apolipoprotein-E (APOE), Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) genes has been associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and other complex diseases in various populations. The aim of the study was to analyze the allelic and genotypic frequencies of APOE, MTHFR C677T and ACE I/D gene polymorphisms in the Zambian population. Results The allele frequencies of APOE polymorphism in the Zambian populations were 13.8%, 59.5% and 26.7% for the ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles respectively. MTHFR C677T and ACE I/D allele frequencies were 8.6% and 13.8% for the T and D minor alleles respectively. The ε2ε2 genotype and TT genotype were absent in the Zambian population. The genetic distances between Zambian and other African and non-African major populations revealed an independent variability of these polymorphisms. Conclusion We found that the APOE ε3 allele and the I allele of the ACE were significantly high in our study population while there were low frequencies observed for the MTHFR 677 T and ACE D alleles. Our analysis of the APOE, MTHFR and ACE polymorphisms may provide valuable insight into the understanding of the disease risk in the Zambian population. PMID:24679048

  17. Systematic Functional Interrogation of Rare Cancer Variants Identifies Oncogenic Alleles | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Cancer.gov

    Cancer genome characterization efforts now provide an initial view of the somatic alterations in primary tumors. However, most point mutations occur at low frequency, and the function of these alleles remains undefined. We have developed a scalable systematic approach to interrogate the function of cancer-associated gene variants. We subjected 474 mutant alleles curated from 5,338 tumors to pooled in vivo tumor formation assays and gene expression profiling. We identified 12 transforming alleles, including two in genes (PIK3CB, POT1) that have not been shown to be tumorigenic.

  18. HLA-B*57:01 allele prevalence in HIV-infected North American subjects and the impact of allele testing on the incidence of abacavir-associated hypersensitivity reaction in HLA-B*57:01-negative subjects.

    PubMed

    Small, Catherine Butkus; Margolis, David A; Shaefer, Mark S; Ross, Lisa L

    2017-04-11

    The presence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele in HIV-infected subjects is associated with a higher risk of abacavir-associated hypersensitivity reaction (ABC HSR). HLA-B*57:01 allele prevalence varies in different populations, but HLA-B*57:01 testing with immunological confirmation has had a negative predictive value for ABC HSR between 97 and 100%. In the ASSURE study (EPZ113734), the HLA-B*57:01 prevalence in virologically suppressed, antiretroviral treatment-experienced, HIV-infected subjects from the United States, including Puerto Rico, was assessed. Three hundred eighty-five subjects were screened; 13 were HLA-B*57:01 positive and 372 were negative. Only HLA-B*57:01-negative, abacavir-naive subjects were eligible to enroll into the ASSURE trial. Eleven of the 13 subjects who possessed the HLA-B*57:01 allele were white, the other 2 were African-American. There was no geographic clustering of HLA-B*57:01-positive subjects, and the incidence correlated roughly with those states with the greatest numbers of subjects screened. Similarly, there was no statistically significant correlation between subjects who possessed or lacked the allele and age, gender, ethnicity or CD4+ T-cell numbers. The incidence of ABC HSR following abacavir initiation was also evaluated. Only 1 of 199 HLA-B*57:01-negative subjects (an African-American male) randomized to receive abacavir-containing treatment developed symptoms consistent with suspected ABC HSR; ABC HSR was not immunologically confirmed. These findings confirm the utility of HLA-B*57:01 allele testing to reduce the frequency of ABC HSR. The prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 positivity was higher in white than in African-American subjects. In HLA-B*57:01-negative subjects, suspected ABC HSR is very rare, but should lead to discontinuation of abacavir when ABC HSR cannot be definitively excluded from the differential diagnosis. The ASSURE (EPZ113734) study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov registration on April 8th 2010 and the

  19. HLA-DRB1 Alleles Are Associated with the Susceptibility to Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease in Chinese Han Population

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Congcong; Wei, Lei; Luo, Feifei; Li, Yi; Li, Jiaobiao; Zhu, Feiqi; Kang, Ping; Xu, Rensi; Xiao, LuLu; Liu, Zhuolin; Xu, Pingyi

    2012-01-01

    Immune disorders may play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently, polymorphisms in the HLA-DR region have been found to be associated with sporadic PD in European ancestry populations. However, polymorphisms in the HLA complex are highly variable with ethnic and geographic origin. To explore the relationships between polymorphisms of the HLA-DR region and sporadic PD in Chinese Han population, we genotyped 567 sporadic PD patients and 746 healthy controls in two independent series for the HLA-DRB1 locus with Polymerase chain reaction-sequence based typing(PCR-SBT). The χ2 test was used to evaluate the distribution of allele frequencies between the patients and healthy controls. The impact of HLA-DRB1 alleles on PD risk was estimated by unconditional logistic regression. We found a significant higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*0301 in sporadic PD patients than in healthy controls and a positive association, which was independent of onset age, between HLA-DRB1*0301 and PD risk. Conversely, a lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*0406 was found in sporadic PD patients than in healthy controls, with a negative association between HLA-DRB1*0406 and PD risk. Furthermore, a meta-analysis involving 195205 individuals was conducted to summarize the frequencies of these two alleles in populations from various ethnic regions, we found a higher frequency of HLA-DRB1*0301, but a lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*0406 in European ancestry populations than that in Asians, this was consistent with the higher prevalence of sporadic PD in European ancestry populations. Based on these results, we speculate that HLA-DRB1 alleles are associated with the susceptibility to sporadic PD in Chinese Han population, among them HLA-DRB1*0301 is a risk allele while the effect of HLA-DRB1*0406 deserves debate. PMID:23139797

  20. The Predicted Cross Value for Genetic Introgression of Multiple Alleles

    PubMed Central

    Han, Ye; Cameron, John N.; Wang, Lizhi; Beavis, William D.

    2017-01-01

    We consider the plant genetic improvement challenge of introgressing multiple alleles from a homozygous donor to a recipient. First, we frame the project as an algorithmic process that can be mathematically formulated. We then introduce a novel metric for selecting breeding parents that we refer to as the predicted cross value (PCV). Unlike estimated breeding values, which represent predictions of general combining ability, the PCV predicts specific combining ability. The PCV takes estimates of recombination frequencies as an input vector and calculates the probability that a pair of parents will produce a gamete with desirable alleles at all specified loci. We compared the PCV approach with existing estimated-breeding-value approaches in two simulation experiments, in which 7 and 20 desirable alleles were to be introgressed from a donor line into a recipient line. Results suggest that the PCV is more efficient and effective for multi-allelic trait introgression. We also discuss how operations research can be used for other crop genetic improvement projects and suggest several future research directions. PMID:28122824

  1. Comment: CAPN10 alleles are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez, Alejandro; Abril, Eduardo; Roca, Alfredo; Aragón, Maria José; Figueroa, Maria José; Velarde, Pilar; Royo, José Luis; Real, Luis Miguel; Ruiz, Agustín

    2002-08-01

    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by chronic anovulation infertility, hyperandrogenemia, and frequently insulin resistance. This study investigated whether polymorphisms in the CAPN10 gene are related with PCOS etiology. The allelic frequencies and genotypes of CAPN10 polymorphisms UCSNP-44, 43, 19, and 63 were determined in 55 well characterized women with polycystic ovaries and 93 unrelated healthy controls using spectrofluorimetric analyses and real-time PCR. Our data indicate that CAPN10 UCSNP-44 allele is associated with PCOS in the Spanish population (P = 0.01). These results support a role of Calpain 10 gene in PCOS susceptibility in humans.

  2. A rare FANCA gene variation as a breast cancer susceptibility allele in an Iranian population

    PubMed Central

    Abbasi, Sakineh; Rasouli, Mina

    2017-01-01

    Fanconi Anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure and Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA) is also a potential breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene. A novel allele with tandem duplication of 13 base pair sequence in promoter region was identified. To investigate whether the 13 base pair sequence of tandem duplication in promoter region of the FANCA gene is of high penetrance in patients with breast cancer and to determine if the presence of the duplicated allele was associated with an altered risk of breast cancer, the present study screened DNA in blood samples from 304 breast cancer patients and 295 normal individuals as controls. The duplication allele had a frequency of 35.4 and 21.2% in patients with breast cancer and normal controls, respectively. There was a significant increase in the frequency of the duplication allele in patients with familial breast cancer compared with controls (45.1%, P=0.001). Furthermore, the estimated risk of breast cancer in individuals with a homozygote [odds ratio (OR), 4.093; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.957–8.561] or heterozygote duplicated genotype (OR, 3.315; 95% CI, 1.996–5.506) was higher compared with the corresponding normal homozygote genotype. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the higher the frequency of the duplicated allele, the higher the risk of breast cancer. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to report FANCA gene duplication in patients with breast cancer. PMID:28440412

  3. A rare FANCA gene variation as a breast cancer susceptibility allele in an Iranian population.

    PubMed

    Abbasi, Sakineh; Rasouli, Mina

    2017-06-01

    Fanconi Anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure and Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA) is also a potential breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene. A novel allele with tandem duplication of 13 base pair sequence in promoter region was identified. To investigate whether the 13 base pair sequence of tandem duplication in promoter region of the FANCA gene is of high penetrance in patients with breast cancer and to determine if the presence of the duplicated allele was associated with an altered risk of breast cancer, the present study screened DNA in blood samples from 304 breast cancer patients and 295 normal individuals as controls. The duplication allele had a frequency of 35.4 and 21.2% in patients with breast cancer and normal controls, respectively. There was a significant increase in the frequency of the duplication allele in patients with familial breast cancer compared with controls (45.1%, P=0.001). Furthermore, the estimated risk of breast cancer in individuals with a homozygote [odds ratio (OR), 4.093; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.957‑8.561] or heterozygote duplicated genotype (OR, 3.315; 95% CI, 1.996‑5.506) was higher compared with the corresponding normal homozygote genotype. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the higher the frequency of the duplicated allele, the higher the risk of breast cancer. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to report FANCA gene duplication in patients with breast cancer.

  4. Frequency of 8 CFTR gene mutations in cystic fibrosis patients in Minas Gerais, Brazil, diagnosed by neonatal screening.

    PubMed

    Perone, C; Medeiros, G S; del Castillo, D M; de Aguiar, M J B; Januário, J N

    2010-02-01

    The nature and frequency of cystic fibrosis mutations in Brazil is not uniform due to the highly varied ethnic composition of the population. The average frequency of the F508del mutation has been reported to be 48.6%. Other common mutations in Brazil are G542X, R1162X, and N1303K. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of 8 mutations (F508del, G542X, R1162X, N1303K, W1282X, G85E, 3120+1G>A, and 711+1G>T) in a sample of 111 newborn patients with cystic fibrosis diagnosed by the Cystic Fibrosis Neonatal Screening Program of Minas Gerais State. The mutations were tested by allele-specific oligonucleotide PCR with specially designed primers. An allele frequency of 48.2% was observed for the F508del mutation, and allele frequencies of 5.41, 4.50, 4.05, and 3.60% were found for the R1162X, G542X, 3120+1G>A, and G85E mutations, respectively. The genotypes obtained were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These data demonstrate that the 8-mutation panel studied here has extensive coverage (68%) for the cystic fibrosis mutations in Minas Gerais. These data improve our knowledge of cystic fibrosis in Brazil, particularly in this region. In addition, this investigation contributed to the establishment of a sensitive and population-specific mutation panel, which can be helpful for molecular diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

  5. Allelic distribution of human leucocyte antigen in historical and recently diagnosed tuberculosis patients in Southern Italy.

    PubMed

    Ruggiero, Giuseppina; Cosentini, Elena; Zanzi, Delia; Sanna, Veronica; Terrazzano, Giuseppe; Matarese, Giuseppe; Sanduzzi, Alessandro; Perna, Francesco; Zappacosta, Serafino

    2004-03-01

    This study addresses the analysis of the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) allele distribution in 54 historical and in 68 recently diagnosed tuberculosis (TB) patients. The historical cohort was characterized by the presence of large fibrocavernous lesions effectively treated with therapeutic pneumothorax during the period 1950-55. Patients and healthy controls enrolled in the study were from the Campania region of southern Italy. No significant association between HLA alleles and TB in the population of recently diagnosed TB patients was observed. On the contrary, among the historical TB patients there was a strong association with an increased frequency of the HLA-DR4 allele alone and/or in the presence of the HLA-B14 allele (P = 0.000004; Pc = 0.0008), as well as with a decreased frequency of the HLA-A2+,-B14-,DR4- allele association (P = 0.00005; Pc = 0.01). In order to exclude any interference from age-related factors, these results were confirmed by comparing the historical cohort of TB patients with an age-matched healthy control population of the same ethnic origin (P = 0.00004; Pc = 0.008; and P = 0.0001; and Pc = 0.02, respectively).

  6. Null alleles are ubiquitous at microsatellite loci in the Wedge Clam (Donax trunculus)

    PubMed Central

    Cuesta, Jose Antonio; Drake, Pilar; Macpherson, Enrique; Bernatchez, Louis

    2017-01-01

    Recent studies have reported an unusually high frequency of nonamplifying alleles at microsatellite loci in bivalves. Null alleles have been associated with heterozygous deficits in many studies. While several studies have tested for its presence using different analytical tools, few have empirically tested for its consequences in estimating population structure and differentiation. We characterised 16 newly developed microsatellite loci and show that null alleles are ubiquitous in the wedge clam, Donax trunculus. We carried out several tests to demonstrate that the large heterozygous deficits observed in the newly characterised loci were most likely due to null alleles. We tested the robustness of microsatellite genotyping for population assignment by showing that well-recognised biogeographic regions of the south Atlantic and south Mediterranean coast of Spain harbour genetically different populations. PMID:28439464

  7. Quantification of sound instability in embouchure tremor based on the time-varying fundamental frequency.

    PubMed

    Lee, André; Voget, Jakob; Furuya, Shinichi; Morise, Masanori; Altenmüller, Eckart

    2016-05-01

    Task-specific tremor in musicians is an involuntary oscillating muscular activity mostly of the hand or the embouchure, which predominantly occurs while playing the instrument. In contrast to arm or hand tremors, which have been examined and objectified based on movement kinematics and muscular activity, embouchure tremor has not yet been investigated. To quantify and describe embouchure tremor we analysed sound production and investigated the fluctuation of the time-varying fundamental frequency of sustained notes. A comparison between patients with embouchure tremor and healthy controls showed a significantly higher fluctuation of the fundamental frequency for the patients in the high pitch with a tremor frequency range between 3 and 8 Hz. The present findings firstly provide further information about a scarcely described movement disorder and secondly further evaluate a new quantification method for embouchure tremor, which has recently been established for embouchure dystonia.

  8. High-Resolution Analyses of Human Leukocyte Antigens Allele and Haplotype Frequencies Based on 169,995 Volunteers from the China Bone Marrow Donor Registry Program

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Xiao-Yang; Zhu, Fa-Ming; Li, Jian-Ping; Mao, Wei; Zhang, De-Mei; Liu, Meng-Li; Hei, Ai-Lian; Dai, Da-Peng; Jiang, Ping; Shan, Xiao-Yan; Zhang, Bo-Wei; Zhu, Chuan-Fu; Shen, Jie; Deng, Zhi-Hui; Wang, Zheng-Lei; Yu, Wei-Jian; Chen, Qiang; Qiao, Yan-Hui; Zhu, Xiang-Ming; Lv, Rong; Li, Guo-Ying; Li, Guo-Liang; Li, Heng-Cong; Zhang, Xu; Pei, Bin; Jiao, Li-Xin; Shen, Gang; Liu, Ying; Feng, Zhi-Hui; Su, Yu-Ping; Xu, Zhao-Xia; Di, Wen-Ying; Jiang, Yao-Qin; Fu, Hong-Lei; Liu, Xiang-Jun; Liu, Xiang; Zhou, Mei-Zhen; Du, Dan; Liu, Qi; Han, Ying; Zhang, Zhi-Xin; Cai, Jian-Ping

    2015-01-01

    Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a widely used and effective therapy for hematopoietic malignant diseases and numerous other disorders. High-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype frequency distributions not only facilitate individual donor searches but also determine the probability with which a particular patient can find HLA-matched donors in a registry. The frequencies of the HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 alleles and haplotypes were estimated among 169,995 Chinese volunteers using the sequencing-based typing (SBT) method. Totals of 191 HLA-A, 244 HLA-B, 146 HLA-C, 143 HLA-DRB1 and 47 HLA-DQB1 alleles were observed, which accounted for 6.98%, 7.06%, 6.46%, 9.11% and 7.91%, respectively, of the alleles in each locus in the world (IMGT 3.16 Release, Apr. 2014). Among the 100 most common haplotypes from the 169,995 individuals, nine distinct haplotypes displayed significant regionally specific distributions. Among these, three were predominant in the South China region (i.e., the 20th, 31st, and 81sthaplotypes), another three were predominant in the Southwest China region (i.e., the 68th, 79th, and 95th haplotypes), one was predominant in the South and Southwest China regions (the 18th haplotype), one was relatively common in the Northeast and North China regions (the 94th haplotype), and one was common in the Northeast, North and Northwest China (the 40th haplotype). In conclusion, this is the first to analyze high-resolution HLA diversities across the entire country of China, based on a detailed and complete data set that covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Specifically, we also evaluated the HLA matching probabilities within and between geographic regions and analyzed the regional differences in the HLA diversities in China. We believe that the data presented in this study might be useful for unrelated HLA-matched donor searches, donor registry planning, population genetic studies, and anthropogenesis

  9. Reduced Height (Rht) Alleles Affect Wheat Grain Quality

    PubMed Central

    Casebow, Richard; Hadley, Caroline; Uppal, Rajneet; Addisu, Molla; Loddo, Stefano; Kowalski, Ania; Griffiths, Simon; Gooding, Mike

    2016-01-01

    The effects of dwarfing alleles (reduced height, Rht) in near isogenic lines on wheat grain quality are characterised in field experiments and related to effects on crop height, grain yield and GA-sensitivity. Alleles included those that conferred GA-insensitivity (Rht-B1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1b, Rht-D1c) as well as those that retained GA-sensitivity (rht(tall), Rht8, Rht8 + Ppd-D1a, Rht12). Full characterisation was facilitated by including factors with which the effects of Rht alleles are known to interact for grain yield (i.e. system, [conventional or organic]; tillage intensity [plough-based, minimum or zero]; nitrogen fertilizer level [0–450 kg N/ha]; and genetic backgrounds varying in height [cvs Maris Huntsman, Maris Widgeon, and Mercia]. Allele effects on mean grain weight and grain specific weight were positively associated with final crop height: dwarfing reduced these quality criteria irrespective of crop management or GA-sensitivity. In all but two experiments the effects of dwarfing alleles on grain nitrogen and sulphur concentrations were closely and negatively related to effects on grain yield, e.g. a quadratic relationship between grain yield and crop height manipulated by the GA-insensitive alleles was mirrored by quadratic relationships for nitrogen and sulphur concentrations: the highest yields and most dilute concentrations occurred around 80cm. In one of the two exceptional experiments the GA-insensitive Rht-B1b and Rht-B1c significantly (P<0.05) reduced grain nitrogen concentration in the absence of an effect on yield, and in the remaining experiment the GA-sensitive Rht8 significantly reduced both grain yield and grain nitrogen concentration simultaneously. When Rht alleles diluted grain nitrogen concentration, N:S ratios and SDS-sedimentation volumes were often improved. Hagberg falling number (HFN) was negatively related to crop height but benefits from dwarfing were only seen for GA-insensitive alleles. For HFN, therefore, there was the

  10. SCREENING LOW FREQUENCY SNPS FROM GENOME WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY REVEALS A NEW RISK ALLELE FOR PROGRESSION TO AIDS

    PubMed Central

    Le Clerc, Sigrid; Coulonges, Cédric; Delaneau, Olivier; Van Manen, Danielle; Herbeck, Joshua T.; Limou, Sophie; An, Ping; Martinson, Jeremy J.; Spadoni, Jean-Louis; Therwath, Amu; Veldink, Jan H.; van den Berg, Leonard H.; Taing, Lieng; Labib, Taoufik; Mellak, Safa; Montes, Matthieu; Delfraissy, Jean-François; Schächter, François; Winkler, Cheryl; Froguel, Philippe; Mullins, James I.; Schuitemaker, Hanneke; Zagury, Jean-François

    2011-01-01

    Background Seven genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been published in AIDS and only associations in the HLA region on chromosome 6 and CXCR6 have passed genome-wide significance. Methods We reanalyzed the data from three previously published GWAS, targeting specifically low frequency SNPs (minor allele frequency (MAF)<5%). Two groups composed of 365 slow progressors (SP) and 147 rapid progressors (RP) from Europe and the US were compared with a control group of 1394 seronegative individuals using Eigenstrat corrections. Results Of the 8584 SNPs with MAF<5% in cases and controls (Bonferroni threshold=5.8×10−6), four SNPs showed statistical evidence of association with the SP phenotype. The best result was for HCP5 rs2395029 (p=8.54×10−15, OR=3.41) in the HLA locus, in partial linkage disequilibrium with two additional chromosome 6 associations in C6orf48 (p=3.03×10−10, OR=2.9) and NOTCH4 (9.08×10−07, OR=2.32). The fourth association corresponded to rs2072255 located in RICH2 (p=3.30×10−06, OR=0.43) in chromosome 17. Using HCP5 rs2395029 as a covariate, the C6orf48 and NOTCH4 signals disappeared, but the RICH2 signal still remained significant. Conclusion Besides the already known chromosome 6 associations, the analysis of low frequency SNPs brought up a new association in the RICH2 gene. Interestingly, RICH2 interacts with BST-2 known to be a major restriction factor for HIV-1 infection. Our study has thus identified a new candidate gene for AIDS molecular etiology and confirms the interest of singling out low frequency SNPs in order to exploit GWAS data. PMID:21107268

  11. Fault detection for singular switched linear systems with multiple time-varying delay in finite frequency domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhai, Ding; Lu, Anyang; Li, Jinghao; Zhang, Qingling

    2016-10-01

    This paper deals with the problem of the fault detection (FD) for continuous-time singular switched linear systems with multiple time-varying delay. In this paper, the actuator fault is considered. Besides, the systems faults and unknown disturbances are assumed in known frequency domains. Some finite frequency performance indices are initially introduced to design the switched FD filters which ensure that the filtering augmented systems under switching signal with average dwell time are exponentially admissible and guarantee the fault input sensitivity and disturbance robustness. By developing generalised Kalman-Yakubovic-Popov lemma and using Parseval's theorem and Fourier transform, finite frequency delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the existence of such a filter which can guarantee the finite-frequency H- and H∞ performance are derived and formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Four examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed finite frequency method.

  12. Molecular diversity of HLA-Cw alleles in the Maratha community of Mumbai, Maharashtra, western India.

    PubMed

    Shankarkumar, U; Ghosh, K; Mohanty, D

    2005-08-01

    Recent advances suggest a significant role for the HLA-C locus as a target of alloreactions after bone marrow transplantation. The biological importance of products of the HLA-C locus, both as transplant antigens and as ligands for natural killer (NK) cells, is well established. A total of 10 different serologically defined HLA-Cw antigen specificities (Cw1-Cw10) are encoded by the C locus; however, there are now 151 different alleles that can be identified by molecular methods. Serological definition of Cw alleles therefore includes 20-50% blanks, which cannot be detected by the available antisera. We used the molecular method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequence-specific amplification and probe hybridization to define Cw alleles in 91 individuals from the Maratha community, and compared the data with data for 92 serologically typed Maratha individuals from India. We identified Cw*12, Cw*14, Cw*15, Cw*16 and Cw*18, along with the serologically identified Cw*01, Cw*02, Cw*03, Cw*04, Cw*06 and Cw*07 alleles. The HLA-Cw blank allele frequency in the Maratha was reduced from 0.5706 to 0.00. Furthermore, by using a molecular technique, it was possible to identify novel allele subtypes, such as Cw*0104, Cw*0203 and Cw*0707, and a high frequency of Cw* 1801 in the Maratha community compared with other Indian and world populations. Our results will have clinical implications in related and unrelated HLA-matched bone marrow transplantation in India.

  13. The Frequency of CCR5del32 Mutation in Populations of Russians, Tatars and Bashkirs of Chelyabinsk Region, Russia.

    PubMed

    Govorovskaya, Irina; Khromova, Elena; Suslova, Tatiana; Alexeev, Leonid; Kofiadi, Ilya

    2016-12-01

    The distribution of genetic variants associated with natural resistance to viral infections can vary among human ethnic groups due to evolutionary factors, defining the different epidemiologic background of world populations. The polymorphisms, defining the natural resistance to HIV-infection and the rate of progression up to AIDS, are very important since epidemic is still on rise. We have studied the distribution of allele and genotype frequencies of CCR5delta32 mutation in major populations inhabiting Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Federation. Genetic survey included the population of 509 potential blood marrow donors: Russians (N = 300), Bashkirs (N = 118) and Tatars (N = 91). The genotyping assay was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). The genotypes were defined by melting curve analysis. The CCR5delta32 allele and CCR5delta32/delta32 genotype are presented in population of Russians in Chelyabinsk region with the frequencies of F x  = 10.83% and P x  = 1.67, for the CCR5delta32 allele and its homozygosity, respectively. In populations of Bashkirs and Tatars CCR5delta32 allele and CCR5delta32/delta32 genotype are presented at lower frequencies of F x  = 6.36%/P x  = 0.85 and F x  = 7.14%/P x  = 1.10, respectively. These data are consistent with the theory of northern origin of the CCR5delta32 mutation.

  14. Lack of association between TaqI A1 Allele of dopamine D2 receptor gene and alcohol-use disorders in Atayal natives of Taiwan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chia-Hsiang Chen; Shih-Hsiang Chien; Hai-Gwo Hwu

    1996-09-20

    Association studies between the A1 allele of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene TaqI A polymorphism and alcoholism remain controversial. A recent study from Japan demonstrated that the A1 allele is associated with severe alcoholism in the Japanese population. We were interested in knowing if this association also exists in the Atayals of Taiwan, who were found to have a higher prevalence of alcohol-use disorders than the Han Chinese in Taiwan. Genotype and allele frequencies were determined in alcohol-abusing, alcohol-dependent, and nonalcoholic control Atayal natives in Taiwan. A1 allele frequencies in alcohol-dependent, alcohol-abusing, and normal control Atayals were 0.39, 0.42,more » and 0.39, respectively. No difference in A1 allele frequency was found among these three groups. Our data do not support the hypothesis that the A1 allele of the TaqI A polymorphism of the DRD2 gene increases susceptibility to alcohol-use disorders in the Atayals of Taiwan. 18 refs., 1 tab.« less

  15. Polymorphisms and allele frequencies of the ABO blood group gene among the Jomon, Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk people in Hokkaido, northern Japan, revealed by ancient DNA analysis.

    PubMed

    Sato, Takehiro; Kazuta, Hisako; Amano, Tetsuya; Ono, Hiroko; Ishida, Hajime; Kodera, Haruto; Matsumura, Hirofumi; Yoneda, Minoru; Dodo, Yukio; Masuda, Ryuichi

    2010-10-01

    To investigate the genetic characteristics of the ancient populations of Hokkaido, northern Japan, polymorphisms of the ABO blood group gene were analyzed for 17 Jomon/Epi-Jomon specimens and 15 Okhotsk specimens using amplified product-length polymorphism and restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses. Five ABO alleles were identified from the Jomon/ Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk people. Allele frequencies of the Jomon/Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk people were compared with those of the modern Asian, European and Oceanic populations. The genetic relationships inferred from principal component analyses indicated that both Jomon/Epi-Jomon and Okhotsk people are included in the same group as modern Asian populations. However, the genetic characteristics of these ancient populations in Hokkaido were significantly different from each other, which is in agreement with the conclusions from mitochondrial DNA and ABCC11 gene analyses that were previously reported.

  16. Research on the FDTD method of scattering effects of obliquely incident electromagnetic waves in time-varying plasma sheath on collision and plasma frequencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Wei; Guo, Li-xin; Li, Jiang-ting

    2017-04-01

    This study analyzes the scattering characteristics of obliquely incident electromagnetic (EM) waves in a time-varying plasma sheath. The finite-difference time-domain algorithm is applied. According to the empirical formula of the collision frequency in a plasma sheath, the plasma frequency, temperature, and pressure are assumed to vary with time in the form of exponential rise. Some scattering problems of EM waves are discussed by calculating the radar cross section (RCS) of the time-varying plasma. The laws of the RCS varying with time are summarized at the L and S wave bands.

  17. Quantitative Sequencing for the Determination of Kdr-type Resistance Allele (V419L, L925I, I936F) Frequencies in Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Populations Collected from Israel.

    PubMed

    Palenchar, Daniel J; Gellatly, Kyle J; Yoon, Kyong Sup; Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y; Shalom, Uri; Clark, J Marshall

    2015-09-01

    Human bed bug infestations have dramatically increased worldwide since the mid-1990s. A similar phenomenon was also observed in Israel since 2005, when infestations were reported from all over the country. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (V419L and L925I) in the bed bug voltage-sensitive sodium channel confer kdr-type resistance to pyrethroids. Using quantitative sequencing (QS), the resistance allele frequencies of Israeli bed bug populations from across the country were determined. Genomic DNA was extracted from samples of 12 populations of bed bugs collected from Israel and DNA fragments containing the V419L or L925I and I936F mutations sites were PCR amplified. The PCR products were analyzed by QS and the nucleotide signal ratios calculated and used to predict the resistance allele frequencies of the unknown populations. Results of the genetic analysis show that resistant nucleotide signals are highly correlated to resistance allele frequencies for both mutations. Ten of the 12 tested populations had 100% of the L925I mutation and 0% of the V419L mutation. One population was heterogeneous for the L925I mutation and had 0% of the V419L mutation and another population was heterogeneous for the V419L mutation and had 100% of the L925I mutation. I936F occurred only at low levels. These results indicate that bed bugs in Israel are genetically resistant to pyrethroids. Thus, pyrethroids should only be used for bed bug management with caution using effective application and careful monitoring procedures. Additionally, new and novel-acting insecticides and nonchemical means of controlling bed bugs should be explored. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Association of HLA class I alleles with aloplecia areata in Chinese Hans.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Feng-Li; Yang, Sen; Yan, Kai-lin; Cui, Yong; Liang, Yan-Hua; Zhou, Fu-Sheng; Du, Wen-Hui; Gao, Min; Sun, Liang-Dan; Fan, Xing; Chen, Jian-Jun; Wang, Pei-Guang; Zhu, Ya-Gang; Zhou, Shun-Ming; Zhang, Xue-Jun

    2006-02-01

    Some studies suggested that human HLA status may potentiate development of the AA phenotype and exists ethic differences. No report has been published about HLA class I alleles associated with AA in Chinese Hans. To study the distribution of HLA class I alleles and haplotypes in Chinese Hans AA patients and the relation of HLA class I profile with age of onset, severity, duration of current attack, past history and family history. The polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method was used to analyze the distribution of HLA class I alleles in 192 patients with AA and 252 healthy controls in Chinese Hans. The frequencies of HLA-A*02, -A*03, -B*18, -B*27, -B*52 and -Cw*0704 were significantly higher in patients than in controls. The A*2-B*18, A*2-B*27, A*2-B*52, A*2-Cw*0704, B*18-Cw*0704, B*27-Cw*0704, B*52-Cw*0704 were found as high-risk haplotypes in developing AA in this study. The HLA-A*02 and -A*03 were observed increased frequencies in patients less than 50% hair loss, and HLA-B*27 equally in patients of 50-99% hair loss, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. The frequencies of HLA-A*02 and -B*27 were significantly raised in recurrent patients, and ones of HLA-A*02, -A*03 and -B*27 similarly in patients without a positive family history. This study demonstrated the positive association of HLA class I alleles and haplotypes with AA. There may be differences in genetic background in patients with different age of onset, grade of scalp hair loss, duration of current attack, a past history and a family history.

  19. Association of HLA-A and Non-Classical HLA Class I Alleles

    PubMed Central

    Carlini, Federico; Ferreira, Virginia; Buhler, Stéphane; Tous, Audrey; Eliaou, Jean-François; René, Céline; Chiaroni, Jacques; Picard, Christophe; Di Cristofaro, Julie

    2016-01-01

    The HLA-A locus is surrounded by HLA class Ib genes: HLA-E, HLA-H, HLA-G and HLA-F. HLA class Ib molecules are involved in immuno-modulation with a central role for HLA-G and HLA-E, an emerging role for HLA-F and a yet unknown function for HLA-H. Thus, the principal objective of this study was to describe the main allelic associations between HLA-A and HLA-H, -G, -F and -E. Therefore, HLA-A, -E, -G, -H and -F coding polymorphisms, as well as HLA-G UnTranslated Region haplotypes (referred to as HLA-G UTRs), were explored in 191 voluntary blood donors. Allelic frequencies, Global Linkage Disequilibrium (GLD), Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) for specific pairs of alleles and two-loci haplotype frequencies were estimated. We showed that HLA-A, HLA-H, HLA-F, HLA-G and HLA-G UTRs were all in highly significant pairwise GLD, in contrast to HLA-E. Moreover, HLA-A displayed restricted associations with HLA-G UTR and HLA-H. We also confirmed several associations that were previously found to have a negative impact on transplantation outcome. In summary, our results suggest complex functional and clinical implications of the HLA-A genetic region. PMID:27701438

  20. Genetic polymorphisms in varied environments.

    PubMed

    Powell, J R

    1971-12-03

    Thirteen experimenital populationis of Drosophila willistoni were maintained in cages, in some of which the environments were relatively constant and in others varied. After 45 weeks, the populations were assayed by gel electrophoresis for polymorphisms at 22 protein loci. The average heterozygosity per individual and the average unmber of alleles per locus were higher in populations maintained in heterogeneous environments than in populations in more constant enviroments.

  1. Detection of Ancestry Informative HLA Alleles Confirms the Admixed Origins of Japanese Population

    PubMed Central

    Nakaoka, Hirofumi; Mitsunaga, Shigeki; Hosomichi, Kazuyoshi; Shyh-Yuh, Liou; Sawamoto, Taiji; Fujiwara, Tsutomu; Tsutsui, Naohisa; Suematsu, Koji; Shinagawa, Akira; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Inoue, Ituro

    2013-01-01

    The polymorphisms in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region are powerful tool for studying human evolutionary processes. We investigated genetic structure of Japanese by using five-locus HLA genotypes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DPB1) of 2,005 individuals from 10 regions of Japan. We found a significant level of population substructure in Japanese; particularly the differentiation between Okinawa Island and mainland Japanese. By using a plot of the principal component scores, we identified ancestry informative alleles associated with the underlying population substructure. We examined extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between pairs of HLA alleles on the haplotypes that were differentiated among regions. The LDs were strong and weak for pairs of HLA alleles characterized by low and high frequencies in Okinawa Island, respectively. The five-locus haplotypes whose alleles exhibit strong LD were unique to Japanese and South Korean, suggesting that these haplotypes had been recently derived from the Korean Peninsula. The alleles characterized by high frequency in Japanese compared to South Korean formed segmented three-locus haplotype that was commonly found in Aleuts, Eskimos, and North- and Meso-Americans but not observed in Korean and Chinese. The serologically equivalent haplotype was found in Orchid Island in Taiwan, Mongol, Siberia, and Arctic regions. It suggests that early Japanese who existed prior to the migration wave from the Korean Peninsula shared ancestry with northern Asian who moved to the New World via the Bering Strait land bridge. These results may support the admixture model for peopling of Japanese Archipelago. PMID:23577161

  2. Detection of ancestry informative HLA alleles confirms the admixed origins of Japanese population.

    PubMed

    Nakaoka, Hirofumi; Mitsunaga, Shigeki; Hosomichi, Kazuyoshi; Shyh-Yuh, Liou; Sawamoto, Taiji; Fujiwara, Tsutomu; Tsutsui, Naohisa; Suematsu, Koji; Shinagawa, Akira; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Inoue, Ituro

    2013-01-01

    The polymorphisms in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region are powerful tool for studying human evolutionary processes. We investigated genetic structure of Japanese by using five-locus HLA genotypes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DPB1) of 2,005 individuals from 10 regions of Japan. We found a significant level of population substructure in Japanese; particularly the differentiation between Okinawa Island and mainland Japanese. By using a plot of the principal component scores, we identified ancestry informative alleles associated with the underlying population substructure. We examined extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between pairs of HLA alleles on the haplotypes that were differentiated among regions. The LDs were strong and weak for pairs of HLA alleles characterized by low and high frequencies in Okinawa Island, respectively. The five-locus haplotypes whose alleles exhibit strong LD were unique to Japanese and South Korean, suggesting that these haplotypes had been recently derived from the Korean Peninsula. The alleles characterized by high frequency in Japanese compared to South Korean formed segmented three-locus haplotype that was commonly found in Aleuts, Eskimos, and North- and Meso-Americans but not observed in Korean and Chinese. The serologically equivalent haplotype was found in Orchid Island in Taiwan, Mongol, Siberia, and Arctic regions. It suggests that early Japanese who existed prior to the migration wave from the Korean Peninsula shared ancestry with northern Asian who moved to the New World via the Bering Strait land bridge. These results may support the admixture model for peopling of Japanese Archipelago.

  3. Prolonged P300 latency in children with the D[sub 2] dopamine receptor A1 allele

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Noble, E.P.; Berman, S.M.; Ozkaragoz, T.Z.

    1994-04-01

    Previous studies have indicated the presence of a hereditary component in the generation of the P300, or P3, a late positive component of the event-related potential. Moreover, the dopaminergic system has been implicated in the P3. In the present study, 98 healthy Caucasian boys, mean age of 12.5 years and of above-average intelligence, were studied. The sample was composed of 32 sons of active alcoholic (SAA) fathers, 36 sons of recovering alcoholic (SRA) fathers, and 30 sons of social drinker (SSD) fathers, with none of them having yet begun to consume alcohol or other drugs. TaqI A D[sub 2] dopaminemore » receptor alleles (A1 and A2) were determined. A significant difference in the frequency of the A1 allele was found among these three groups of boys, with the SAA group having the highest A1 allele frequency (.313), followed by the SRA (.139) and the SSD (.133) groups. The relationship of the A1 and A2 alleles to P3 amplitude and latency was also determined. The results showed no significant difference in P3 amplitude between boys with the A1 and A2 allele. However, P3 latency was significantly longer in the total sample of boys with the A1 allele compared with those carrying the A2 allele. These findings suggest that polymorphism of the D[sub 2] dopamine receptor gene is an important determinant of P3 latency. 84 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.« less

  4. Functional PMS2 hybrid alleles containing a pseudogene-specific missense variant trace back to a single ancient intrachromosomal recombination event.

    PubMed

    Ganster, Christina; Wernstedt, Annekatrin; Kehrer-Sawatzki, Hildegard; Messiaen, Ludwine; Schmidt, Konrad; Rahner, Nils; Heinimann, Karl; Fonatsch, Christa; Zschocke, Johannes; Wimmer, Katharina

    2010-05-01

    Sequence exchange between PMS2 and its pseudogene PMS2CL, embedded in an inverted duplication on chromosome 7p22, has been reported to be an ongoing process that leads to functional PMS2 hybrid alleles containing PMS2- and PMS2CL-specific sequence variants at the 5'-and the 3'-end, respectively. The frequency of PMS2 hybrid alleles, their biological significance, and the mechanisms underlying their formation are largely unknown. Here we show that overall hybrid alleles account for one-third of 384 PMS2 alleles analyzed in individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. Depending on the population, 14-60% of hybrid alleles carry PMS2CL-specific sequences in exons 13-15, the remainder only in exon 15. We show that exons 13-15 hybrid alleles, named H1 hybrid alleles, constitute different haplotypes but trace back to a single ancient intrachromosomal recombination event with crossover. Taking advantage of an ancestral sequence variant specific for all H1 alleles we developed a simple gDNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that can be used to identify H1-allele carriers with high sensitivity and specificity (100 and 99%, respectively). Because H1 hybrid alleles harbor missense variant p.N775S of so far unknown functional significance, we assessed the H1-carrier frequency in 164 colorectal cancer patients. So far, we found no indication that the variant plays a major role with regard to cancer susceptibility. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  5. Allelic Variation of Bile Salt Hydrolase Genes in Lactobacillus salivarius Does Not Determine Bile Resistance Levels▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Fang, Fang; Li, Yin; Bumann, Mario; Raftis, Emma J.; Casey, Pat G.; Cooney, Jakki C.; Walsh, Martin A.; O'Toole, Paul W.

    2009-01-01

    Commensal lactobacilli frequently produce bile salt hydrolase (Bsh) enzymes whose roles in intestinal survival are unclear. Twenty-six Lactobacillus salivarius strains from different sources all harbored a bsh1 allele on their respective megaplasmids. This allele was related to the plasmid-borne bsh1 gene of the probiotic strain UCC118. A second locus (bsh2) was found in the chromosomes of two strains that had higher bile resistance levels. Four Bsh1-encoding allele groups were identified, defined by truncations or deletions involving a conserved residue. In vitro analyses showed that this allelic variation was correlated with widely varying bile deconjugation phenotypes. Despite very low activity of the UCC118 Bsh1 enzyme, a mutant lacking this protein had significantly lower bile resistance, both in vitro and during intestinal transit in mice. However, the overall bile resistance phenotype of this and other strains was independent of the bsh1 allele type. Analysis of the L. salivarius transcriptome upon exposure to bile and cholate identified a multiplicity of stress response proteins and putative efflux proteins that appear to broadly compensate for, or mask, the effects of allelic variation of bsh genes. Bsh enzymes with different bile-degrading kinetics, though apparently not the primary determinants of bile resistance in L. salivarius, may have additional biological importance because of varying effects upon bile as a signaling molecule in the host. PMID:19592587

  6. Estimation of mating system parameters in plant populations using marker loci with null alleles.

    PubMed

    Ross, H A

    1986-06-01

    An Expectation-Maximization (EM)-algorithm procedure is presented that extends Cheliak et al. (1983) method of maximum-likelihood estimation of mating system parameters of mixed mating system models. The extension permits the estimation of the rate of self-fertilization (s) and allele frequencies (Pi) at loci in outcrossing pollen, at marker loci having recessive null alleles. The algorithm makes use of maternal and filial genotypic arrays obtained by the electrophoretic analysis of cohorts of progeny. The genotypes of maternal plants must be known. Explicit equations are given for cases when the genotype of the maternal gamete inherited by a seed can (gymnosperms) or cannot (angiosperms) be determined. The procedure can accommodate any number of codominant alleles, but only one recessive null allele at each locus. An example, using actual data from Pinus banksiana, is presented to illustrate the application of this EM algorithm to the estimation of mating system parameters using marker loci having both codominant and recessive alleles.

  7. A hypervariable STR polymorphism in the CFI gene: southern origin of East Asian-specific group H alleles.

    PubMed

    Yuasa, Isao; Jin, Feng; Harihara, Shinji; Matsusue, Aya; Fujihara, Junko; Takeshita, Haruo; Akane, Atsushi; Umetsu, Kazuo; Saitou, Naruya; Chattopadhyay, Prasanta K

    2013-09-01

    Previous studies of four populations revealed that a hypervariable short tandem repeat (iSTR) in intron 7 of the human complement factor I (CFI) gene on chromosome 4q was unique, with 17 possible East Asian-specific group H alleles observed at relatively high frequencies. To develop a deeper anthropological and forensic understanding of iSTR, 1161 additional individuals from 11 Asian populations were investigated. Group H alleles of iSTR and c.1217A allele of a SNP in exon 11 of the CFI gene were associated with each other and were almost entirely confined to East Asian populations. Han Chinese in Changsha, southern China, showed the highest frequency for East Asian-specific group H alleles (0.201) among 15 populations. Group H alleles were observed to decrease gradually from south to north in 11 East Asian populations. This expansion of group H alleles provides evidence that southern China and Southeast Asia are a hotspot of Asian diversity and a genetic reservoir of Asians after they entered East Asia. The expected heterozygosity values of iSTR ranged from 0.927 in Thais to 0.874 in Oroqens, higher than those of an STR in the fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA) gene on chromosome 4q. Thus, iSTR is a useful marker for anthropological and forensic genetics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The functional spectrum of low-frequency coding variation.

    PubMed

    Marth, Gabor T; Yu, Fuli; Indap, Amit R; Garimella, Kiran; Gravel, Simon; Leong, Wen Fung; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Bainbridge, Matthew; Blackwell, Tom; Zheng-Bradley, Xiangqun; Chen, Yuan; Challis, Danny; Clarke, Laura; Ball, Edward V; Cibulskis, Kristian; Cooper, David N; Fulton, Bob; Hartl, Chris; Koboldt, Dan; Muzny, Donna; Smith, Richard; Sougnez, Carrie; Stewart, Chip; Ward, Alistair; Yu, Jin; Xue, Yali; Altshuler, David; Bustamante, Carlos D; Clark, Andrew G; Daly, Mark; DePristo, Mark; Flicek, Paul; Gabriel, Stacey; Mardis, Elaine; Palotie, Aarno; Gibbs, Richard

    2011-09-14

    Rare coding variants constitute an important class of human genetic variation, but are underrepresented in current databases that are based on small population samples. Recent studies show that variants altering amino acid sequence and protein function are enriched at low variant allele frequency, 2 to 5%, but because of insufficient sample size it is not clear if the same trend holds for rare variants below 1% allele frequency. The 1000 Genomes Exon Pilot Project has collected deep-coverage exon-capture data in roughly 1,000 human genes, for nearly 700 samples. Although medical whole-exome projects are currently afoot, this is still the deepest reported sampling of a large number of human genes with next-generation technologies. According to the goals of the 1000 Genomes Project, we created effective informatics pipelines to process and analyze the data, and discovered 12,758 exonic SNPs, 70% of them novel, and 74% below 1% allele frequency in the seven population samples we examined. Our analysis confirms that coding variants below 1% allele frequency show increased population-specificity and are enriched for functional variants. This study represents a large step toward detecting and interpreting low frequency coding variation, clearly lays out technical steps for effective analysis of DNA capture data, and articulates functional and population properties of this important class of genetic variation.

  9. Correlation of geographic distributions of haptoglobin alleles with prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) - a narrative literature review.

    PubMed

    Bamm, Vladimir V; Geist, Arielle M; Harauz, George

    2017-02-01

    We have proposed that the myelin damage observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) may be partly mediated through the long-term release and degradation of extracellular hemoglobin (Hb) and the products of its oxidative degradation [Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 71, 1789-1798, 2014]. The protein haptoglobin (Hpt) binds extracellular Hb as a first line of defense, and can serve as a vascular antioxidant. Humans have two different Hpt alleles: Hpt1 and Hpt2, giving either homozygous Hpt1-1 or Hpt2-2 phenotypes, or a heterozygous Hpt1-2 phenotype. We questioned whether those geographic regions with higher frequency of the Hpt2 allele (conversely, lower frequency of Hpt1 allele) would correlate with an increased incidence of MS, because different Hpt phenotypes will have variable anti-oxidative potentials in protecting myelin from damage inflicted by extracellular Hb and its degradation products. To test this hypothesis, we undertook a systematic analysis of the literature on reported geographic distributions of Hpt alleles to compare them with data reported in the World Health Organization Atlas of worldwide MS prevalence. We found the frequency of the Hpt1 allele to be low in European and North American countries with a high prevalence of MS, consistent with our hypothesis. However, this correlation was not observed in China and India, countries with the lowest Hpt1 frequencies, yet low reported prevalence of MS. Nevertheless, this work shows the need for continued refinement of geographic patterns of MS prevalence, including data on ethnic or racial origin, and for new clinical studies to probe the observed correlation and evaluate Hpt phenotype as a predictor of disease variability and progression, severity, and/or comorbidity with cardiovascular disorders.

  10. Coalescence computations for large samples drawn from populations of time-varying sizes

    PubMed Central

    Polanski, Andrzej; Szczesna, Agnieszka; Garbulowski, Mateusz; Kimmel, Marek

    2017-01-01

    We present new results concerning probability distributions of times in the coalescence tree and expected allele frequencies for coalescent with large sample size. The obtained results are based on computational methodologies, which involve combining coalescence time scale changes with techniques of integral transformations and using analytical formulae for infinite products. We show applications of the proposed methodologies for computing probability distributions of times in the coalescence tree and their limits, for evaluation of accuracy of approximate expressions for times in the coalescence tree and expected allele frequencies, and for analysis of large human mitochondrial DNA dataset. PMID:28170404

  11. Alpha1-Antitrypsin Deficiency–Related Alleles Z and S and the Risk of Wegener’s Granulomatosis

    PubMed Central

    Mahr, Alfred D.; Edberg, Jeffrey C.; Stone, John H.; Hoffman, Gary S.; St. Clair, E. William; Specks, Ulrich; Dellaripa, Paul F.; Seo, Philip; Spiera, Robert F.; Rouhani, Farshid N.; Brantly, Mark L.; Merkel, Peter A.

    2011-01-01

    Objective Deficiency of α1-antitrypsin (α1AT) may be a determinant of susceptibility to Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG). Several previous, mainly small, case–control studies have shown that 5–27% of patients with WG carried the α1AT deficiency Z allele. It is not clear whether the S allele, the other major α1AT deficiency variant, is associated with WG. This study investigated the relationship of the α1AT deficiency Z and S alleles with the risk of developing WG in a large cohort. Methods We studied the distribution of the α1AT deficiency alleles Z and S in 433 unrelated Caucasian patients with WG and 421 ethnically matched controls. Genotyping was performed using an allele discrimination assay. Results were compared between cases and controls using exact statistical methods. Results Among the patients with WG, the allele carriage frequencies of Z and S were 7.4% and 11.5%, respectively. The frequencies of the 6 possible genotypes differed in a statistically significant manner between cases and controls (P = 0.01). The general genetic 2-parameter codominant model provided the best fit to the data. Compared with the normal MM genotype, the odds ratio (OR) for MZ or MS genotypes was 1.47 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.98–2.22), and the OR for ZZ, SS, or SZ genotypes was 14.58 (95% CI 2.33–∞). ORs of similar direction and magnitude were observed within the restricted cohorts that excluded cases and controls carrying ≥1 Z or ≥1 S allele. Conclusion Both Z and S alleles display associations with risk of WG in a codominant genetic pattern. These findings strengthen the evidence of a causal link between α1AT deficiency and susceptibility to WG. PMID:20827781

  12. Genome-Wide Analysis of Yield in Europe: Allelic Effects Vary with Drought and Heat Scenarios1[OPEN

    PubMed Central

    Millet, Emilie J.; Welcker, Claude; Kruijer, Willem; Negro, Sandra; Coupel-Ledru, Aude; Laborde, Jacques; Bauland, Cyril; Praud, Sebastien; Presterl, Thomas; Usadel, Björn; Charcosset, Alain; Van Eeuwijk, Fred; Tardieu, François

    2016-01-01

    Assessing the genetic variability of plant performance under heat and drought scenarios can contribute to reduce the negative effects of climate change. We propose here an approach that consisted of (1) clustering time courses of environmental variables simulated by a crop model in current (35 years × 55 sites) and future conditions into six scenarios of temperature and water deficit as experienced by maize (Zea mays L.) plants; (2) performing 29 field experiments in contrasting conditions across Europe with 244 maize hybrids; (3) assigning individual experiments to scenarios based on environmental conditions as measured in each field experiment; frequencies of temperature scenarios in our experiments corresponded to future heat scenarios (+5°C); (4) analyzing the genetic variation of plant performance for each environmental scenario. Forty-eight quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of yield were identified by association genetics using a multi-environment multi-locus model. Eight and twelve QTLs were associated to tolerances to heat and drought stresses because they were specific to hot and dry scenarios, respectively, with low or even negative allelic effects in favorable scenarios. Twenty-four QTLs improved yield in favorable conditions but showed nonsignificant effects under stress; they were therefore associated with higher sensitivity. Our approach showed a pattern of QTL effects expressed as functions of environmental variables and scenarios, allowing us to suggest hypotheses for mechanisms and candidate genes underlying each QTL. It can be used for assessing the performance of genotypes and the contribution of genomic regions under current and future stress situations and to accelerate breeding for drought-prone environments. PMID:27436830

  13. Functional PMS2 Hybrid Alleles Containing a Pseudogene-Specific Missense Variant Trace Back to a Single Ancient Intrachromosomal Recombination Event

    PubMed Central

    Ganster, Christina; Wernstedt, Annekatrin; Kehrer-Sawatzki, Hildegard; Messiaen, Ludwine; Schmidt, Konrad; Rahner, Nils; Heinimann, Karl; Fonatsch, Christa; Zschocke, Johannes; Wimmer, Katharina

    2012-01-01

    Sequence exchange between PMS2 and its pseudogene PMS2CL, embedded in an inverted duplication on chromosome 7p22, has been reported to be an ongoing process that leads to functional PMS2 hybrid alleles containing PMS2- and PMS2CL-specific sequence variants at the 5′-and the 3′-end, respectively. The frequency of PMS2 hybrid alleles, their biological significance, and the mechanisms underlying their formation are largely unknown. Here we show that overall hybrid alleles account for one-third of 384 PMS2 alleles analyzed in individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. Depending on the population, 14–60% of hybrid alleles carry PMS2CL-specific sequences in exons 13–15, the remainder only in exon 15. We show that exons 13–15 hybrid alleles, named H1 hybrid alleles, constitute different haplotypes but trace back to a single ancient intrachromosomal recombination event with crossover. Taking advantage of an ancestral sequence variant specific for all H1 alleles we developed a simple gDNA-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that can be used to identify H1-allele carriers with high sensitivity and specificity (100 and 99%, respectively). Because H1 hybrid alleles harbor missense variant p.N775S of so far unknown functional significance, we assessed the H1-carrier frequency in 164 colorectal cancer patients. So far, we found no indication that the variant plays a major role with regard to cancer susceptibility. PMID:20186689

  14. Apolipoprotein E type epsilon4 allele, heritability and age at onset in twins with Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia.

    PubMed

    Bergem, A L; Lannfelt, L

    1997-11-01

    The apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele is a risk factor in Alzheimer disease (AD), but not in vascular dementia (VaD). We have investigated whether the epsilon4 allele is more common in twin pairs concordant for AD, compared with those discordant for AD, and whether the epsilon4 allele is more common in AD twins than in VaD twins. In addition, we have investigated the relationship of the epsilon4 allele and the age at onset in AD and VaD. APOE genotype was analysed in 29 senile demented twin pairs. The epsilon4 allele was associated with AD and not with VaD. However, there was no difference in the frequency of the APOE epsilon4 allele in concordant (33.3%) and discordant (31.3%) AD dizygotic twin pairs. Age at onset in AD was significantly lower in epsilon4 homozygotes than in individuals with one or no copies of epsilon4 (62.4 vs. 73.5, p<0.01). In concordant AD twin pairs, the epsilon4 allele frequency was somewhat higher in the twins with earlier onset (41.7% vs. 25%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In the VaD group the age at onset was not significantly different between individuals with or without epsilon4 in their genotypes.

  15. Automated analysis of high-throughput B-cell sequencing data reveals a high frequency of novel immunoglobulin V gene segment alleles.

    PubMed

    Gadala-Maria, Daniel; Yaari, Gur; Uduman, Mohamed; Kleinstein, Steven H

    2015-02-24

    Individual variation in germline and expressed B-cell immunoglobulin (Ig) repertoires has been associated with aging, disease susceptibility, and differential response to infection and vaccination. Repertoire properties can now be studied at large-scale through next-generation sequencing of rearranged Ig genes. Accurate analysis of these repertoire-sequencing (Rep-Seq) data requires identifying the germline variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments used by each Ig sequence. Current V(D)J assignment methods work by aligning sequences to a database of known germline V(D)J segment alleles. However, existing databases are likely to be incomplete and novel polymorphisms are hard to differentiate from the frequent occurrence of somatic hypermutations in Ig sequences. Here we develop a Tool for Ig Genotype Elucidation via Rep-Seq (TIgGER). TIgGER analyzes mutation patterns in Rep-Seq data to identify novel V segment alleles, and also constructs a personalized germline database containing the specific set of alleles carried by a subject. This information is then used to improve the initial V segment assignments from existing tools, like IMGT/HighV-QUEST. The application of TIgGER to Rep-Seq data from seven subjects identified 11 novel V segment alleles, including at least one in every subject examined. These novel alleles constituted 13% of the total number of unique alleles in these subjects, and impacted 3% of V(D)J segment assignments. These results reinforce the highly polymorphic nature of human Ig V genes, and suggest that many novel alleles remain to be discovered. The integration of TIgGER into Rep-Seq processing pipelines will increase the accuracy of V segment assignments, thus improving B-cell repertoire analyses.

  16. Genotyping of HLA-I and HLA-II alleles in Chinese patients with paraneoplastic pemphigus.

    PubMed

    Liu, Q; Bu, D-F; Li, D; Zhu, X-J

    2008-03-01

    Class I and class II HLA genes are thought to play a role in the immunopathogenesis of bullous dermatoses such as pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, but we know little about the genetic background of paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) in Chinese patients. To identify class I and class II HLA alleles by genotyping in Chinese patients with PNP, and to find out the possible association between HLA alleles and disease susceptibility. Nineteen Chinese patients with PNP were enrolled in this study. HLA-A, B, C, DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were typed by polymerase chain reaction and a colour-coded sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes method. The frequencies of HLA-B*4002/B*4004, B*51, B*52, Cw*14, DQB1*0301, DRB1*08 and DRB1*11 were relatively prevalent in Chinese Han patients with PNP in comparison with normal controls. After correction for multiple comparisons, Cw*14 remained statistically significant, and the other alleles were unremarkable in these patients. The genetic background predisposing to PNP may be different in patients from various races and areas. HLA-Cw*14 may be the predisposing allele to PNP in Chinese patients, which is different from the predisposing allele in French patients with PNP and the alleles predisposing to pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus.

  17. Preferential Allele Expression Analysis Identifies Shared Germline and Somatic Driver Genes in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Halabi, Najeeb M.; Martinez, Alejandra; Al-Farsi, Halema; Mery, Eliane; Puydenus, Laurence; Pujol, Pascal; Khalak, Hanif G.; McLurcan, Cameron; Ferron, Gwenael; Querleu, Denis; Al-Azwani, Iman; Al-Dous, Eman; Mohamoud, Yasmin A.; Malek, Joel A.; Rafii, Arash

    2016-01-01

    Identifying genes where a variant allele is preferentially expressed in tumors could lead to a better understanding of cancer biology and optimization of targeted therapy. However, tumor sample heterogeneity complicates standard approaches for detecting preferential allele expression. We therefore developed a novel approach combining genome and transcriptome sequencing data from the same sample that corrects for sample heterogeneity and identifies significant preferentially expressed alleles. We applied this analysis to epithelial ovarian cancer samples consisting of matched primary ovary and peritoneum and lymph node metastasis. We find that preferentially expressed variant alleles include germline and somatic variants, are shared at a relatively high frequency between patients, and are in gene networks known to be involved in cancer processes. Analysis at a patient level identifies patient-specific preferentially expressed alleles in genes that are targets for known drugs. Analysis at a site level identifies patterns of site specific preferential allele expression with similar pathways being impacted in the primary and metastasis sites. We conclude that genes with preferentially expressed variant alleles can act as cancer drivers and that targeting those genes could lead to new therapeutic strategies. PMID:26735499

  18. Altered enzymatic activity and allele frequency of OMI/HTRA2 in Alzheimer's disease

    PubMed Central

    Westerlund, Marie; Behbahani, Homira; Gellhaar, Sandra; Forsell, Charlotte; Belin, Andrea Carmine; Anvret, Anna; Zettergren, Anna; Nissbrandt, Hans; Lind, Charlotta; Sydow, Olof; Graff, Caroline; Olson, Lars; Ankarcrona, Maria; Galter, Dagmar

    2011-01-01

    The serine-protease OMI/HTRA2, required for several cellular processes, including mitochondrial function, autophagy, chaperone activity, and apoptosis, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Western blot quantification of OMI/HTRA2 in frontal cortex of patients with AD (n=10) and control subjects (n=10) in two separate materials indicated reduced processed (active, 35 kDa) OMI/HTRA2 levels, whereas unprocessed (50 kDa) enzyme levels were not significantly different between the groups. Interestingly, the specific protease activity of OMI/HTRA2 was found to be significantly increased in patients with AD (n=10) compared to matched control subjects (n=10) in frontal cortex in two separate materials. Comparison of OMI/HTRA2 mRNA levels in frontal cortex and hippocampus, two brain areas particularly affected by AD, indicated similar levels in patients with AD (n=10) and matched control subjects (n=10). In addition, we analyzed the occurrence of the OMI/HTRA2 variants A141S and G399S in Swedish case-control materials for AD and PD and found a weak association of A141S with AD, but not with PD. In conclusion, our genetic, histological, and biochemical findings give further support to an involvement of OMI/HTRA2 in the pathology of AD; however, further studies are needed to clarify the role of this gene in neurodegeneration.—Westerlund, M., Behbahani, H., Gellhaar, S., Forsell, C., Carmine Belin, A., Anvret, A., Zettergren, A., Nissbrandt, H., Lind, C., Sydow, O., Graff, C., Olson, L., Ankarcrona, M., Galter, D. Altered enzymatic activity and allele frequency of OMI/HTRA2 in Alzheimer's disease. PMID:21163861

  19. Serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region: allele distributions in relationship to body weight and in anorexia nervosa.

    PubMed

    Hinney, A; Barth, N; Ziegler, A; von Prittwitz, S; Hamann, A; Hennighausen, K; Pirke, K M; Heils, A; Rosenkranz, K; Roth, H; Coners, H; Mayer, H; Herzog, W; Siegfried, A; Lehmkuhl, G; Poustka, F; Schmidt, M H; Schäfer, H; Grzeschik, K H; Lesch, K P; Lentes, K U; Remschmidt, H; Hebebrand, J

    1997-01-01

    Several lines of evidence implicate a role for the serotonergic system in body weight regulation and eating disorders. The magnitude and duration of postsynaptic responses to serotonin (5-HT) is directed by the transport into and release from the presynaptic neuron. Recently, a common polymorphism of a repetitive element in the region of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) was identified that results in a system of two common alleles. The activity of the 5-HTT, as measured in in vitro assays and in human lymphoblastoid cell lines, is dependent on the respective genotype. We thus hypothesized that this polymorphism is relevant for weight regulation in general and is possibly involved in the etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). Allele frequencies and genotypes were determined in a total of 385 unrelated obese children, adolescents and adults, 112 underweight subjects and 96 patients with AN. Furthermore, both parents of 98 obese children and adolescents and of 55 patients with AN, respectively, were genotyped, thus allowing to test for both association and linkage. The comparison of allele frequencies between obese and underweight probands provided no evidence for a major role of the 5-HTTLPR in weight regulation. Patients with AN had allele frequencies not significantly different to those observed for obese and underweight individuals.

  20. [Study on the correlation between chronic asymptomatic HBV carriers of yin asthenia constitution and genotypes of HLA-DRB1 and HLA DQA1 alleles].

    PubMed

    Guo, Jian-chun; Xiao, Li-na; Xun, Yun-hao

    2012-08-01

    To study on the correlation between chronic asymptomatic HBV carriers (ASC) of yin asthenia constitution and genotypes of HLA-DRB1 and HLA DQA1 alleles. Totally 105 ASC were assigned to two groups according to their constitutions, i.e., the yin asthenia group (47 cases) and the non-yin asthenia group (58 cases). The genotypes of HLA-DRB1 and HLA DQA1 alleles were determined using PCR-SSP. The gene frequency of HLA-DRB1 * 09 allele and HLA-DQA1 * 0301 allele (being 12.1% and 19.1%) were obviously lower in the yin asthenia group than in the non-yin asthenia group (being 27.8% and 39.7%, P < 0.05). The gene frequency of HLA-DRB1 * 11 allele and HLA-DQA1 * 0501 allele were obviously higher in the yin asthenia group (being 12.1% and 28.7%) than in the non-yin asthenia group (4.3% and 9.5%), showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). HLA-DRB1 * 09 allele and HLA-DQA1 * 0301 allele might be the molecular bases for non-yin asthenia patients with ASC. HLA-DRB1 * 11 allele and HLA-DQA1 * 0501 allele might be the molecular bases for yin asthenia patients with ASC.

  1. Association of HLA-DRB1 alleles and neuropsychological function in autism.

    PubMed

    Chien, Yi-Ling; Wu, Yu-Yu; Chen, Chia-Hsiang; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Huang, Yu-Shu; Chien, Wei-Hsien; Hu, Fu-Chang; Chao, Yu-Lin

    2012-02-01

    Evidence suggests an association between autism and immune dysfunction. The associations between human lymphocyte antigen (HLA)-A2, B44, DRβ1*04 (DR4), C4B, and haplotype B44-SC30-DR4 and autism have been reported in western countries but there is a lack of such information in Asian population. This study aimed to assess the association between HLA-DRB1 allele frequencies and the clinical phenomenology of autism. The sample included 141 participants (male, 87.2%), who were diagnosed with autistic disorder based on clinical assessments and structured interviews using the Chinese version of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and 156 healthy controls (male, 38.6%). The HLA-DRB1 alleles were determined by sequencing-based typing method. A subsample of patients (n=39) were assessed for intelligence and neuropsychological functions. The results showed that the pattern of DRB1 allele frequencies was significantly different between patients with autism and the controls (P=0.047). After adjusting for sex by haplotype regression, the frequencies of DR4, DR11, and DR14 were significantly different between patients with autism and healthy controls. In addition, patients with autism and DR4, DR11, or DR14 had different performance on intelligence and neuropsychology tests. Despite a relatively small sample size and a case-control association design, the findings suggest HLA-DRB1 gene might be associated with autism in Han Chinese. The true functional variants associated with autism in our samples remain to be further clarified. It warrants a replication study of a larger family sample and to validate the HLA genetic association with autism and its influence on neuropsychological function.

  2. Associations of HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C alleles frequency with prevalence of herpes simplex virus infections and diseases across global populations: implication for the development of an universal CD8+ T-cell epitope-based vaccine.

    PubMed

    Samandary, Sarah; Kridane-Miledi, Hédia; Sandoval, Jacqueline S; Choudhury, Zareen; Langa-Vives, Francina; Spencer, Doran; Chentoufi, Aziz A; Lemonnier, François A; BenMohamed, Lbachir

    2014-08-01

    A significant portion of the world's population is infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 and/or type 2 (HSV-1 and/or HSV-2), that cause a wide range of diseases including genital herpes, oro-facial herpes, and the potentially blinding ocular herpes. While the global prevalence and distribution of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections cannot be exactly established, the general trends indicate that: (i) HSV-1 infections are much more prevalent globally than HSV-2; (ii) over a half billion people worldwide are infected with HSV-2; (iii) the sub-Saharan African populations account for a disproportionate burden of genital herpes infections and diseases; (iv) the dramatic differences in the prevalence of herpes infections between regions of the world appear to be associated with differences in the frequencies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. The present report: (i) analyzes the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections across various regions of the world; (ii) analyzes potential associations of common HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C alleles with the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections in the Caucasoid, Oriental, Hispanic and Black major populations; and (iii) discusses how our recently developed HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C transgenic/H-2 class I null mice will help validate HLA/herpes prevalence associations. Overall, high prevalence of herpes infection and disease appears to be associated with high frequency of HLA-A(∗)24, HLA-B(∗)27, HLA-B(∗)53 and HLA-B(∗)58 alleles. In contrast, low prevalence of herpes infection and disease appears to be associated with high frequency of HLA-B(∗)44 allele. The finding will aid in developing a T-cell epitope-based universal herpes vaccine and immunotherapy. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Associations of HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C Alleles Frequency with Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Infections and Diseases Across Global Populations: Implication for the Development of an Universal CD8+ T-Cell Epitope-Based Vaccine

    PubMed Central

    Samandary, Sarah; Kridane-Miledi, Hédia; Sandoval, Jacqueline S.; Choudhury, Zareen; Langa-Vives, Francina; Spencer, Doran; Chentoufi, Aziz A.; Lemonnier, François A.; BenMohamed, Lbachir

    2014-01-01

    A significant portion of the world’s population is infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 and/or type 2 (HSV-1 and/or HSV-2), that cause a wide range of diseases including genital herpes, oro-facial herpes, and the potentially blinding ocular herpes. While the global prevalence and distribution of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections cannot be exactly established, the general trends indicate that: (i) HSV-1 infections are much more prevalent globally than HSV-2; (ii) Over half billion people worldwide are infected with HSV-2; (iii) the sub-Saharan African populations account for a disproportionate burden of genital herpes infections and diseases; (iv) the dramatic differences in the prevalence of herpes infections between regions of the world appear to be associated with differences in the frequencies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. The present report: (i) analyzes the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections across various regions of the world; (ii) analyzes potential associations of common HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C alleles with the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections in the Caucasoid, Oriental, Hispanic and Black major populations; and (iii) discusses how our recently developed HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C transgenic/H-2 class I null mice will help validate HLA/herpes prevalence associations. Overall, high prevalence of herpes infection and disease appears to be associated with high frequency of HLA-A*24, HLA-B*27, HLA-B*53 and HLA-B*58 alleles. In contrast, low prevalence of herpes infection and disease appears to be associated with high frequency of HLA-B*44 allele. The finding will aid in developing a T-cell epitope-based universal herpes vaccine and immunotherapy. PMID:24798939

  4. Allelic Associations between 100 DNA Markers and High versus Low IQ.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plomin, Robert; And Others

    1995-01-01

    For DNA markers in or near genes of neurological relevance, allelic frequencies were compared for groups of high- and low-IQ children (total sample of 86). This study adds 40 markers to the 60 already studied. Only one showed a significant association with IQ in original and replication samples. (SLD)

  5. Evaluation of Allele-Specific Somatic Changes of Genome-Wide Association Study Susceptibility Alleles in Human Colorectal Cancers

    PubMed Central

    Gerber, Madelyn M.; Hampel, Heather; Schulz, Nathan P.; Fernandez, Soledad; Wei, Lai; Zhou, Xiao-Ping; de la Chapelle, Albert; Toland, Amanda Ewart

    2012-01-01

    Background Tumors frequently exhibit loss of tumor suppressor genes or allelic gains of activated oncogenes. A significant proportion of cancer susceptibility loci in the mouse show somatic losses or gains consistent with the presence of a tumor susceptibility or resistance allele. Thus, allele-specific somatic gains or losses at loci may demarcate the presence of resistance or susceptibility alleles. The goal of this study was to determine if previously mapped susceptibility loci for colorectal cancer show evidence of allele-specific somatic events in colon tumors. Methods We performed quantitative genotyping of 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing statistically significant association with colorectal cancer in published genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We genotyped 194 paired normal and colorectal tumor DNA samples and 296 paired validation samples to investigate these SNPs for allele-specific somatic gains and losses. We combined analysis of our data with published data for seven of these SNPs. Results No statistically significant evidence for allele-specific somatic selection was observed for the tested polymorphisms in the discovery set. The rs6983267 variant, which has shown preferential loss of the non-risk T allele and relative gain of the risk G allele in previous studies, favored relative gain of the G allele in the combined discovery and validation samples (corrected p-value = 0.03). When we combined our data with published allele-specific imbalance data for this SNP, the G allele of rs6983267 showed statistically significant evidence of relative retention (p-value = 2.06×10−4). Conclusions Our results suggest that the majority of variants identified as colon cancer susceptibility alleles through GWAS do not exhibit somatic allele-specific imbalance in colon tumors. Our data confirm previously published results showing allele-specific imbalance for rs6983267. These results indicate that allele-specific imbalance of cancer

  6. The influence of a time-varying least squares parametric model when estimating SFOAEs evoked with swept-frequency tones

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hajicek, Joshua J.; Selesnick, Ivan W.; Henin, Simon; Talmadge, Carrick L.; Long, Glenis R.

    2018-05-01

    Stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions (SFOAEs) were evoked and estimated using swept-frequency tones with and without the use of swept suppressor tones. SFOAEs were estimated using a least-squares fitting procedure. The estimated SFOAEs for the two paradigms (with- and without-suppression) were similar in amplitude and phase. The fitting procedure minimizes the square error between a parametric model of total ear-canal pressure (with unknown amplitudes and phases) and ear-canal pressure acquired during each paradigm. Modifying the parametric model to allow SFOAE amplitude and phase to vary over time revealed additional amplitude and phase fine structure in the without-suppressor, but not the with-suppressor paradigm. The use of a time-varying parametric model to estimate SFOAEs without-suppression may provide additional information about cochlear mechanics not available when using a with-suppressor paradigm.

  7. System and method for constructing filters for detecting signals whose frequency content varies with time

    DOEpatents

    Qian, Shie; Dunham, Mark E.

    1996-01-01

    A system and method for constructing a bank of filters which detect the presence of signals whose frequency content varies with time. The present invention includes a novel system and method for developing one or more time templates designed to match the received signals of interest and the bank of matched filters use the one or more time templates to detect the received signals. Each matched filter compares the received signal x(t) with a respective, unique time template that has been designed to approximate a form of the signals of interest. The robust time domain template is assumed to be of the order of w(t)=A(t)cos{2.pi..phi.(t)} and the present invention uses the trajectory of a joint time-frequency representation of x(t) as an approximation of the instantaneous frequency function {.phi.'(t). First, numerous data samples of the received signal x(t) are collected. A joint time frequency representation is then applied to represent the signal, preferably using the time frequency distribution series (also known as the Gabor spectrogram). The joint time-frequency transformation represents the analyzed signal energy at time t and frequency .function., P(t,f), which is a three-dimensional plot of time vs. frequency vs. signal energy. Then P(t,f) is reduced to a multivalued function f(t), a two dimensional plot of time vs. frequency, using a thresholding process. Curve fitting steps are then performed on the time/frequency plot, preferably using Levenberg-Marquardt curve fitting techniques, to derive a general instantaneous frequency function .phi.'(t) which best fits the multivalued function f(t), a trajectory of the joint time-frequency domain representation of x(t). Integrating .phi.'(t) along t yields .phi.(t), which is then inserted into the form of the time template equation. A suitable amplitude A(t) is also preferably determined. Once the time template has been determined, one or more filters are developed which each use a version or form of the time template.

  8. Conditional Allele Mouse Planner (CAMP): software to facilitate the planning and design of breeding strategies involving mice with conditional alleles.

    PubMed

    Hoffert, Jason D; Pisitkun, Trairak; Miller, R Lance

    2012-06-01

    Transgenic and conditional knockout mouse models play an important role in biomedical research and their use has grown exponentially in the last 5-10 years. Generating conditional knockouts often requires breeding multiple alleles onto the background of a single mouse or group of mice. Breeding these mice depends on parental genotype, litter size, transmission frequency, and the number of breeding rounds. Therefore, a well planned breeding strategy is critical for keeping costs to a minimum. However, designing a viable breeding strategy can be challenging. With so many different variables this would be an ideal task for a computer program. To facilitate this process, we created a Java-based program called Conditional Allele Mouse Planner (CAMP). CAMP is designed to provide an estimate of the number of breeders, amount of time, and costs associated with generating mice of a particular genotype. We provide a description of CAMP, how to use it, and offer it freely as an application.

  9. Forensic Loci Allele Database (FLAD): Automatically generated, permanent identifiers for sequenced forensic alleles.

    PubMed

    Van Neste, Christophe; Van Criekinge, Wim; Deforce, Dieter; Van Nieuwerburgh, Filip

    2016-01-01

    It is difficult to predict if and when massively parallel sequencing of forensic STR loci will replace capillary electrophoresis as the new standard technology in forensic genetics. The main benefits of sequencing are increased multiplexing scales and SNP detection. There is not yet a consensus on how sequenced profiles should be reported. We present the Forensic Loci Allele Database (FLAD) service, made freely available on http://forensic.ugent.be/FLAD/. It offers permanent identifiers for sequenced forensic alleles (STR or SNP) and their microvariants for use in forensic allele nomenclature. Analogous to Genbank, its aim is to provide permanent identifiers for forensically relevant allele sequences. Researchers that are developing forensic sequencing kits or are performing population studies, can register on http://forensic.ugent.be/FLAD/ and add loci and allele sequences with a short and simple application interface (API). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. High Frequency of Human Leukocyte Antigen-B*57:01 Allele Carriers among HIV-Infected Patients in Serbia.

    PubMed

    Siljic, Marina; Salemovic, Dubravka; Cirkovic, Valentina; Pesic-Pavlovic, Ivana; Todorovic, Marija; Ranin, Jovan; Dragovic, Gordana; Jevtovic, Djordje; Stanojevic, Maja

    2017-01-01

    Abacavir is an effective antiretroviral drug and one of the most commonly used nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in Serbia. А percentage of the treated patients experience a potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction, which was shown to be associated with the presence of the class I MHC allele, HLA-B*57:01; hence genotyping for HLA-B*57:01 prior to starting abacavir is nowadays recommended in international HIV treatment guidelines. In Serbia, this testing became available in 2013. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele in Serbian HIV-1-infected patients. The presence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele was analyzed in 273 HIV-1-infected patients aged 18 years or more, who were abacavir naïve. Buccal swab samples were obtained from all participants and assayed for the presence of HLA-B*57:01 using a commercially available HLA-B*57:01 real-time PCR kit. The presence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele was found in 22 of 273 tested individuals (8%; 95% CI 5.4-11.9%). This is the first study that estimated the HLA-B*57:01 prevalence among HIV-infected patients in Serbia. The very high prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 found in our study strongly supports HLA-B*57:01 genotyping, which should be implemented prior to the initiation of an abacavir-containing therapy to reduce the risk of potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. HLA-DQA1/B1 alleles as putative susceptibility markers in congenital toxoplasmosis

    PubMed Central

    Shimokawa, Paulo Tadashi; Targa, Lília Spaleta; Yamamoto, Lidia; Rodrigues, Jonatas Cristian; Kanunfre, Kelly Aparecida; Okay, Thelma Suely

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Host and parasite genotypes are among the factors associated with congenital toxoplasmosis pathogenesis. As HLA class II molecules play a key role in the immune system regulation, the aim of this study was to investigate whether HLA-DQA1/B1 alleles are associated with susceptibility or protection to congenital toxoplasmosis. One hundred and twenty-two fetuses with and 103 without toxoplasmosis were studied. The two study groups were comparable according to a number of socio-demographic and genetic variables. HLA alleles were typed by PCR-SSP. In the HLA-DQA1 region, the allele frequencies showed that *01:03 and *03:02 alleles could confer susceptibility (OR= 3.06, p = 0.0002 and OR= 9.60, p= 0.0001, respectively) as they were more frequent among infected fetuses. Regarding the HLA-DQB1 region, the *05:04 allele could confer susceptibility (OR = 6.95, p < 0.0001). Of the 122 infected fetuses, 10 presented susceptibility haplotypes contrasting with only one in the non-infected group. This difference was not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparison (OR = 9.37, p=0.011). In the casuistic, there were two severely damaged fetuses with high parasite loads determined in amniotic fluid samples and HLA-DQA1 susceptibility alleles. In the present study, a discriminatory potential of HLA-DQA1/B1 alleles to identify susceptibility to congenital toxoplasmosis and the most severe cases has been shown. PMID:26856406

  12. System and method for constructing filters for detecting signals whose frequency content varies with time

    DOEpatents

    Qian, S.; Dunham, M.E.

    1996-11-12

    A system and method are disclosed for constructing a bank of filters which detect the presence of signals whose frequency content varies with time. The present invention includes a novel system and method for developing one or more time templates designed to match the received signals of interest and the bank of matched filters use the one or more time templates to detect the received signals. Each matched filter compares the received signal x(t) with a respective, unique time template that has been designed to approximate a form of the signals of interest. The robust time domain template is assumed to be of the order of w(t)=A(t)cos(2{pi}{phi}(t)) and the present invention uses the trajectory of a joint time-frequency representation of x(t) as an approximation of the instantaneous frequency function {phi}{prime}(t). First, numerous data samples of the received signal x(t) are collected. A joint time frequency representation is then applied to represent the signal, preferably using the time frequency distribution series. The joint time-frequency transformation represents the analyzed signal energy at time t and frequency f, P(t,f), which is a three-dimensional plot of time vs. frequency vs. signal energy. Then P(t,f) is reduced to a multivalued function f(t), a two dimensional plot of time vs. frequency, using a thresholding process. Curve fitting steps are then performed on the time/frequency plot, preferably using Levenberg-Marquardt curve fitting techniques, to derive a general instantaneous frequency function {phi}{prime}(t) which best fits the multivalued function f(t). Integrating {phi}{prime}(t) along t yields {phi}{prime}(t), which is then inserted into the form of the time template equation. A suitable amplitude A(t) is also preferably determined. Once the time template has been determined, one or more filters are developed which each use a version or form of the time template. 7 figs.

  13. Single step PCR for detection of allelic variation of MDR1 gene (P-glycoprotein) among three ethnic groups in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Teh, L K; Lee, W L; Amir, J; Salleh, M Z; Ismail, R

    2007-06-01

    P-glycoprotein (PgP) is the most extensively studied ATP-binding cassette (ABC) coded by MDR1 gene. To date, 29 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified; but only SNP C3435T has been correlated with intestinal PgP expression levels and shown to influence the absorption of orally taken drugs that are PgP substrates. Individuals homozygous for the T allele have more than fourfold lower PgP expression compared with C/C individuals. We developed a one step primer based allele specific PCR method to detect SNP at C3435T to investigate the distribution of this genotype in the local population. DNA was extracted from 5 mL of whole blood using standard salting-out method. Primers were designed specific to 3' end which amplify the variants of C3435T. The method was validated by direct DNA sequencing. Seven hundred and sixty-three healthy blood donors comprising of three major ethnic groups in Malaysia were recruited and DNA subjected to genotyping of C3435T using this method. The method was found to be robust and reproducible in detecting SNP of C3435T. Interethnic variations in genotype and allele frequency were observed in PgP among the ethnic groups. In comparison to both the Caucasians and the other Asian countries, the Malay and Chinese showed a higher frequency of allele C (50-60%); while the Indian exhibits a lower frequency (40%), similar to other Indian populations. Using a new simple method to investigate the distribution of C3435T, we found that the allele frequency of MDR1 showed variablity between the different ethnic groups within the Malaysian population.

  14. Analysis of Thiopurine S-Methyltransferase Deficient Alleles in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients in Mexican Patients.

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Morales, Silvia; Ramírez-Florencio, Mireya; Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Núñez-Enríquez, Juan Carlos; Bekker-Mendez, Carolina; Torres-Escalante, José Luis; Flores-Lujano, Janet; Jiménez-Hernández, Elva; Del Carmen Rodríguez-Zepeda, María; Leal, Yelda A; González-Montalvo, Pablo Miguel; Pantoja-Guillen, Francisco; Peñaloza-Gonzalez, José Gabriel; Gutiérrez-Juárez, Erick Israel; Núñez-Villegas, Nora Nancy; Pérez-Saldivar, Maria Luisa; Guerra-Castillo, Francisco Xavier; Flores-Villegas, Luz Victoria; Ramos-Cervantes, María Teresa; Fragoso, José Manuel; García-Escalante, María Guadalupe; Del Carmen Pinto-Escalante, Doris; Ramírez-Bello, Julián; Hidalgo-Miranda, Alfredo

    2016-11-01

    It has been demonstrated that heterozygote and homozygote thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) mutant allele carriers are at high risk to develop severe and potentially fatal hematopoietic toxicity after treatment with standard doses of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and methotrexate (MX). Those drugs are the backbone of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and several autoimmune disease treatments. We undertook this study to determine the frequency of the TPMT deficient alleles in children with ALL and non-ALL subjects from Mexico City and Yucatan, Mexico. We included 849 unrelated subjects, of which 368 ALL children and 342 non-ALL subjects were from Mexico City, and 60 ALL cases and 79 non-ALL individuals were from Yucatan. Genotyping of the rs1800462, rs1800460 and rs1142345 SNPs was performed by 5'exonuclease technique using TaqMan probes (Life Technologies Foster City, CA). The mutant TPMT alleles were present in 4.8% (81/1698 chromosomes) and only 0.2% were homozygote TPMT*3A/TPMT*3A. We did not find statistically significant differences in the distribution of the mutant alleles between patients from Mexico City and Yucatan in either ALL cases or non-ALL. Nonetheless, the TPMT*3C frequency in ALL patients was higher than non-ALL subjects (p = 0.03). To note, the null homozygous TPMT*3A/TPMT*3A genotype was found in 2.5% of the non-ALL subjects. TPMT mutant alleles did not exhibit differential distribution between both evaluated populations; however, TPMT*3C is overrepresented in ALL cases in comparison with non-ALL group. Assessing the TPMT mutant alleles could benefit the ALL children and those undergoing 6-MP and MX treatment. Copyright © 2016 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Whole genome sequencing of Oryza sativa L. cv. Seeragasamba identifies a new fragrance allele in rice

    PubMed Central

    Bindusree, Ganigara; Natarajan, Purushothaman; Kalva, Sukesh

    2017-01-01

    Fragrance of rice is an important trait that confers a large economic benefit to the farmers who cultivate aromatic rice varieties. Several aromatic rice varieties have limited geographic distribution, and are endowed with variety-specific unique fragrances. BADH2 was identified as a fragrance gene in 2005, and it is essential to identify the fragrance alleles from diverse geographical locations and genetic backgrounds. Seeragasamba is a short-grain aromatic rice variety of the indica type, which is cultivated in a limited area in India. Whole genome sequencing of this variety identified a new badh2 allele (badh2-p) with an 8 bp insertion in the promoter region of the BADH2 gene. When the whole genome sequences of 76 aromatic varieties in the 3000 rice genome project were analyzed, the badh2-p allele was present in 13 varieties (approximately 17%) of both indica and japonica types. In addition, the badh2-p allele was present in 17 varieties that already had the loss-of-function allele, badh2-E7. Taken together, the frequency of badh2-p allele (approximately 40%) was found to be greater than that of the badh2-E7 allele (approximately 34%) among the aromatic rice varieties. Therefore, it is suggested to include badh2-p as a predominant allele when screening for fragrance alleles in aromatic rice varieties. PMID:29190814

  16. Examination of Allelic Variation at the Hexokinase Loci of DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURA and D. PERSIMILIS by Different Methods

    PubMed Central

    Beckenbach, Andrew T.; Prakash, Satya

    1977-01-01

    Recently a number of electrophoretic techniques have been applied to reveal the presence of additional genetic variation among the electrophoretic mobility classes of the highly polymorphic xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH ) and esterase-5 (est-5) loci. We examined the hexokinase loci of Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis using a variety of techniques to determine whether further allelic variation could be revealed for these much less polymorphic loci and to analyze the nature of the known variation at the hexokinase-1 (hex-1) locus. The following studies were conducted: 135 strains of the two species from six localities were examined with buffer pH ranging from 5.5 to 10.0; 40 strains of D. pseudoobscura and 9 strains of D. persimilis from Mather were studied using starch gel concentrations ranging from 8.5 to 15.5% and were examined for differences in heat stability and reactivity to the thiol reagent pCMSA; strains were also tested for susceptibility to urea denaturation and differences in relative activities. Major findings of the work are: (1) No additional allelic variation could be detected at any of the hexokinase loci by applying these techniques. The finding of abundant hidden genetic variation in XDH and est-5 does not extend to all enzyme loci. (2) Evidence from studies using pCMSA indicates that the hex-1 alleles 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 of the two species form a series of unit charge steps. Since the 0.94 allele of D. persimilis has mobility intermediate between 0.8 and 1.0, it is argued that routine electrophoretic techniques are sensitive to at least some conservative amino acid substitutions. (3) Strong correlations were found at the hex-1 locus between low allelic frequency, reduced relative activity and reduced stability to heat and urea denaturation. Since the three sibling species, D. pseudoobscura, D. persimilis and D. miranda, all appear to share a common high frequency allele (1.0) at that locus, these findings are taken as evidence that the

  17. World-wide distributions of lactase persistence alleles and the complex effects of recombination and selection.

    PubMed

    Liebert, Anke; López, Saioa; Jones, Bryony Leigh; Montalva, Nicolas; Gerbault, Pascale; Lau, Winston; Thomas, Mark G; Bradman, Neil; Maniatis, Nikolas; Swallow, Dallas M

    2017-11-01

    The genetic trait of lactase persistence (LP) is associated with at least five independent functional single nucleotide variants in a regulatory region about 14 kb upstream of the lactase gene [-13910*T (rs4988235), -13907*G (rs41525747), -13915*G (rs41380347), -14009*G (rs869051967) and -14010*C (rs145946881)]. These alleles have been inferred to have spread recently and present-day frequencies have been attributed to positive selection for the ability of adult humans to digest lactose without risk of symptoms of lactose intolerance. One of the inferential approaches used to estimate the level of past selection has been to determine the extent of haplotype homozygosity (EHH) of the sequence surrounding the SNP of interest. We report here new data on the frequencies of the known LP alleles in the 'Old World' and their haplotype lineages. We examine and confirm EHH of each of the LP alleles in relation to their distinct lineages, but also show marked EHH for one of the older haplotypes that does not carry any of the five LP alleles. The region of EHH of this (B) haplotype exactly coincides with a region of suppressed recombination that is detectable in families as well as in population data, and the results show how such suppression may have exaggerated haplotype-based measures of past selection.

  18. SCA8 Repeat Expansion: Large CTA/CTG Repeat Alleles Are More Common in Ataxic Patients, Including Those with SCA6

    PubMed Central

    Izumi, Yuishin; Maruyama, Hirofumi; Oda, Masaya; Morino, Hiroyuki; Okada, Takayuki; Ito, Hidefumi; Sasaki, Iwao; Tanaka, Hiroyasu; Komure, Osamu; Udaka, Fukashi; Nakamura, Shigenobu; Kawakami, Hideshi

    2003-01-01

    We analyzed the SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat in a large group of Japanese subjects. The frequency of large alleles (85–399 CTA/CTG repeats) was 1.9% in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), 0.4% in Parkinson disease, 0.3% in Alzheimer disease, and 0% in a healthy control group; the frequency was significantly higher in the group with SCA than in the control group. Homozygotes for large alleles were observed only in the group with SCA. In five patients with SCA from two families, a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat and a large SCA6 CAG repeat coexisted. Age at onset was correlated with SCA8 repeats rather than SCA6 repeats in these five patients. In one of these families, at least one patient showed only a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele, with no large SCA6 CAG repeat allele. We speculate that the presence of a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele influences the function of channels such as α1A-voltage–dependent calcium channel through changing or aberrant splicing, resulting in the development of cerebellar ataxia, especially in homozygous patients. PMID:12545428

  19. SCA8 repeat expansion: large CTA/CTG repeat alleles are more common in ataxic patients, including those with SCA6.

    PubMed

    Izumi, Yuishin; Maruyama, Hirofumi; Oda, Masaya; Morino, Hiroyuki; Okada, Takayuki; Ito, Hidefumi; Sasaki, Iwao; Tanaka, Hiroyasu; Komure, Osamu; Udaka, Fukashi; Nakamura, Shigenobu; Kawakami, Hideshi

    2003-03-01

    We analyzed the SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat in a large group of Japanese subjects. The frequency of large alleles (85-399 CTA/CTG repeats) was 1.9% in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), 0.4% in Parkinson disease, 0.3% in Alzheimer disease, and 0% in a healthy control group; the frequency was significantly higher in the group with SCA than in the control group. Homozygotes for large alleles were observed only in the group with SCA. In five patients with SCA from two families, a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat and a large SCA6 CAG repeat coexisted. Age at onset was correlated with SCA8 repeats rather than SCA6 repeats in these five patients. In one of these families, at least one patient showed only a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele, with no large SCA6 CAG repeat allele. We speculate that the presence of a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele influences the function of channels such as alpha(1A)-voltage-dependent calcium channel through changing or aberrant splicing, resulting in the development of cerebellar ataxia, especially in homozygous patients.

  20. Germ-line epigenetic modification of the murine Avy allele by nutritional supplementation

    PubMed Central

    Cropley, Jennifer E.; Suter, Catherine M.; Beckman, Kenneth B.; Martin, David I. K.

    2006-01-01

    Environmental effects on phenotype can be mediated by epigenetic modifications. The epigenetic state of the murine Avy allele is highly variable, and determines phenotypic effects that vary in a mosaic spectrum that can be shifted by in utero exposure to methyl donor supplementation. We have asked if methyl donor supplementation affects the germ-line epigenetic state of the Avy allele. We find that the somatic epigenetic state of Avy is affected by in utero methyl donor supplementation only when the allele is paternally contributed. Exposure to methyl donor supplementation during midgestation shifts Avy phenotypes not only in the mice exposed as fetuses, but in their offspring. This finding indicates that methyl donors can change the epigenetic state of the Avy allele in the germ line, and that the altered state is retained through the epigenetic resetting that takes place in gametogenesis and embryogenesis. Thus a mother's diet may have an enduring influence on succeeding generations, independent of later changes in diet. Although other reports have suggested such heritable epigenetic changes, this study demonstrates that a specific mammalian gene can be subjected to germ-line epigenetic change. PMID:17101998

  1. [Distribution of variant alleles association with warfarin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the Han population in China].

    PubMed

    Liu, Yuan; Zhong, Shi-long; Yang, Min; Tan, Hong-hong; Fei, Hong-wen; Chen, Ji-yan; Yu, Xi-yong; Lin, Shu-guang

    2011-12-18

    To investigate distribution of CYP2C9, CYP3A4, VKORC1 and GGCX gene polymorphisms in the Han population of Guangdong. The subjects included were 970 Chinese Han patients who received long-term warfarin anticoagulant therapy orally after valve replacement in Guangdong General Hospital between 2000 and 2008. By selecting and analyzing the 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) loci, rs12572351 G>A, rs9332146 G>A, rs4917639 G>T, rs1057910 A>C (CYP2C9*3), rs1934967 G>T, rs1934968 G>A, rs2242480 T>C, rs2246709 G>A, rs9923231 C>T (VKORC1-1639 G>A), rs2359612 G>A (VKORC1*2), rs10871454 C>T, and rs699664 T>C, in 4 genes including CYP2C9, CYP3A4, VKORC1 and GGCX that were possibly correlated with warfarin pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics through literature retrieval, the distribution of mutation frequencies of the 12 SNPs loci in Chinese Han population were obtained systematically. SNaPshot technique was used to detect gene SNPs, Hardy-Weinberg genetic equilibrium test was used to test population representativeness. The allelic mutation frequency at CYP2C9 gene rs12572351 G>A, rs9332146 G>A, rs4917639 C>A, rs1057910 A>C (*3), rs1934967 G>T and rs1934968 G>A loci was 32.53%, 2.16%, 8.25%, 3.61%, 19.18% and 37.37%, respectively; the allelic mutation frequency at CYP3A4 gene rs2242480 T>C and rs2246709 G>A loci was 29.07% and 40.41%, respectively; the allelic mutation frequency at VKORC1 gene rs9923231 C>T, rs2359612 G>A and rs10871454 C>T SNPs loci was 87.99%, 87.94% and 91.34%, respectively; the allelic mutation frequency at GGCX gene rs699664 T>C locus was 31.86%. It is of important clinical significance in individualized warfarin therapy to systematically study distribution of mutation frequencies at 12 polymorphisms loci in 4 genes including CYP2C9, CYP3A4 , VKORC1 and GGCX related to warfarin pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics in the Chinese Han population receiving valve replacement.

  2. Human leukocyte class I antigen alleles A2 and A11 are not associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in West Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Lee, L K; Tan, E L; Gopala, K; Sam, C K

    2007-07-01

    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the second most common cancer among Malaysian Chinese males. We determined the frequencies of 17 human leukocyte antigens (HLA), HLA-A and HLA-B, alleles in 88 Malaysian Chinese with NPC. Using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers, the frequencies of 17 HLA-A and HLA-B alleles were analysed. They were A1, A2, A11, A31, A32, A33, B8, B13, B27, B38, B39, B44, B46, B55, B58, B61 and B71. Three of the 17 alleles were detected in NPC patients. They were A1 (0.6 percent), A2 (56.3 percent) and A11 (43.2 percent). Three of the 17 alleles were detected in age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. They were A2 (50.0 percent), A11 (50.0 percent) and B27 (4.7 percent). The A2 and A11 alleles were evenly distributed in both groups, while A1 was only found in one NPC patient and B27 exclusively in healthy individuals. We conclude that A1 is very rare, and A2, A11, A31, A32, A33, B8, B13, B38, B39, B44, B46, B55, B58, B61 and B71 alleles have no associations with the occurrence of NPC in Malaysia, while allele B27 is negatively associated.

  3. Soil Organic Matter Stabilization via Mineral Interactions in Forest Soils with Varying Saturation Frequency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Possinger, A. R.; Inagaki, T.; Bailey, S. W.; Kogel-Knabner, I.; Lehmann, J.

    2017-12-01

    identify the component of SOM contributing to rapid mineralization using 13C-labeled substrates will link the observed chemical characteristics (13C-NMR, C K-edge XANES, and Fe XAS) of mineral-organic associations resulting from varying saturation frequency with mechanisms driving mineralization processes.

  4. Mapping the mouse Allelome reveals tissue-specific regulation of allelic expression

    PubMed Central

    Andergassen, Daniel; Dotter, Christoph P; Wenzel, Daniel; Sigl, Verena; Bammer, Philipp C; Muckenhuber, Markus; Mayer, Daniela; Kulinski, Tomasz M; Theussl, Hans-Christian; Penninger, Josef M; Bock, Christoph; Barlow, Denise P; Pauler, Florian M; Hudson, Quanah J

    2017-01-01

    To determine the dynamics of allelic-specific expression during mouse development, we analyzed RNA-seq data from 23 F1 tissues from different developmental stages, including 19 female tissues allowing X chromosome inactivation (XCI) escapers to also be detected. We demonstrate that allelic expression arising from genetic or epigenetic differences is highly tissue-specific. We find that tissue-specific strain-biased gene expression may be regulated by tissue-specific enhancers or by post-transcriptional differences in stability between the alleles. We also find that escape from X-inactivation is tissue-specific, with leg muscle showing an unexpectedly high rate of XCI escapers. By surveying a range of tissues during development, and performing extensive validation, we are able to provide a high confidence list of mouse imprinted genes including 18 novel genes. This shows that cluster size varies dynamically during development and can be substantially larger than previously thought, with the Igf2r cluster extending over 10 Mb in placenta. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25125.001 PMID:28806168

  5. Life satisfaction in the new country: a multilevel longitudinal analysis of effects of culture and 5-HTT allele frequency distribution in country of origin

    PubMed Central

    Kent, Stephen; Kashima, Yoshihisa

    2015-01-01

    Life satisfaction of migrants to Australia from 17 countries, assessed at 4–5 months, 16–17 months and 3½ years after arrival, was analyzed with a longitudinal, multilevel analysis. The results indicated that migrants were more satisfied, if the national average life satisfaction was higher in their country of origin, after adjustment for individual-level income, age, and sex and a linear temporal trend. Simultaneously, the migrants were also happier if people in their country of origin had a higher frequency of 5-HTT long allele, a genotype known to be associated with resilience under life stresses. These two relationships were independent, suggesting that both culture and gene matter in international transitions. PMID:24532702

  6. The prevalence of PI*S and PI*Z SERPINA1 alleles in healthy individuals and COPD patients in Saudi Arabia: A case-control study.

    PubMed

    Al-Jameil, Noura; Hassan, Amina A; Hassanato, Rana; Isac, Sree R; Otaiby, Maram Al; Al-Shareef, Fadwa; Al-Maarik, Basmah; Ajeyan, Iman Al; Al-Bahloul, Khloud; Ghani, Samina; Al-Torbak, Dana

    2017-10-01

    Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is an acute phase protein produced in hepatocytes. Its deficiency affects the lungs and liver. A case-control study was carried out to determine the prevalence of 2 common deficiency alleles, PI*S and PI*Z, for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) in both healthy and chronic obstructive pulmmonary disease (COPD)-affected Saudi populations and to clarify the importance of genetic tests in the screening of people at risk for COPD.One thousand blood samples from healthy individuals and 1000 from COPD-affected Saudi individuals were genotyped for the above-mentioned alleles, using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with the exclusion of any other nationalities. Data were analyzed by determining the allele and genotype frequencies through gene counting and its confidence intervals. The allele frequencies, derived by the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium method, were analyzed by Pearson Chi-squared tests. The confidence intervals for genotype frequencies were calculated using exploratory software for confidence intervals.Of the 1000 COPD patients included in our study, the prevalence of PI*S and PI*Z was 21.8% and 7.7%, respectively, while within the 1000 normal samples, these alleles occurred in 8.9% of patients for PI*S and 1.6% for PI*Z. The AAT deficiency genotype frequencies (PI*ZZ, PI*SS, and PI*SZ) were 6.5 per 1000 and 87 per 1000 for normal and COPD-affected Saudi individuals.Our results indicated a high prevalence of AATD alleles in the normal Saudi population and an association between AAT deficiency and pulmonary disease development. Additionally, our research confirms the importance of genetic screening to achieve early and accurate diagnosis of AATD.

  7. Gaucher disease: Gene frequencies in the Ashkenazi Jewish population

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Beutler, E.; West, C.; Gelbart, T.

    1993-01-01

    DNA from over 2,000 Ashkenazi Jewish subjects has been examined for the four most common Jewish Gaucher disease mutations, which collectively account for about 96% of the disease-producing alleles in Jewish patients. This population survey has made possible the estimation of gene frequencies for these alleles. Eighty-seven of 1,528 individuals were heterozygous for the 1226G (N370S) mutation, and four presumably well persons were homozygous for this mutation. The gene frequency for the 1226G allele was calculated to be .0311, and when these data were pooled with those obtained previously from another 593 Jewish subjects, a gene frequency of .032 withmore » a standard error of .004 was found. Among 2,305 normal subjects, 10 were found to be heterozygous for the 84GG allele, giving a gene frequency of .00217 with a standard error of .00096. No examples of the IVS2(+1) mutation were found among 1,256 samples screened, and no 1448C (L444P) mutations were found among 1,528 samples examined. Examination of the distribution of Gaucher disease gene frequencies in the general population shows that the ratio of 1226G mutations to 84GG mutations is higher than that in the patient population. This is presumed to be due to the fact that homozygotes for the 1226G mutation often have late-onset disease or no significant clinical manifestations at all. To bring the gene frequency in the patient population into conformity with the gene frequency in the general population, nearly two-thirds of persons with a Gaucher disease genotype would be missing from the patient population, presumably because their clinical manifestations were very mild. 10 refs., 3 tabs.« less

  8. Powerful Identification of Cis-regulatory SNPs in Human Primary Monocytes Using Allele-Specific Gene Expression

    PubMed Central

    Almlöf, Jonas Carlsson; Lundmark, Per; Lundmark, Anders; Ge, Bing; Maouche, Seraya; Göring, Harald H. H.; Liljedahl, Ulrika; Enström, Camilla; Brocheton, Jessy; Proust, Carole; Godefroy, Tiphaine; Sambrook, Jennifer G.; Jolley, Jennifer; Crisp-Hihn, Abigail; Foad, Nicola; Lloyd-Jones, Heather; Stephens, Jonathan; Gwilliam, Rhian; Rice, Catherine M.; Hengstenberg, Christian; Samani, Nilesh J.; Erdmann, Jeanette; Schunkert, Heribert; Pastinen, Tomi; Deloukas, Panos; Goodall, Alison H.; Ouwehand, Willem H.; Cambien, François; Syvänen, Ann-Christine

    2012-01-01

    A large number of genome-wide association studies have been performed during the past five years to identify associations between SNPs and human complex diseases and traits. The assignment of a functional role for the identified disease-associated SNP is not straight-forward. Genome-wide expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis is frequently used as the initial step to define a function while allele-specific gene expression (ASE) analysis has not yet gained a wide-spread use in disease mapping studies. We compared the power to identify cis-acting regulatory SNPs (cis-rSNPs) by genome-wide allele-specific gene expression (ASE) analysis with that of traditional expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping. Our study included 395 healthy blood donors for whom global gene expression profiles in circulating monocytes were determined by Illumina BeadArrays. ASE was assessed in a subset of these monocytes from 188 donors by quantitative genotyping of mRNA using a genome-wide panel of SNP markers. The performance of the two methods for detecting cis-rSNPs was evaluated by comparing associations between SNP genotypes and gene expression levels in sample sets of varying size. We found that up to 8-fold more samples are required for eQTL mapping to reach the same statistical power as that obtained by ASE analysis for the same rSNPs. The performance of ASE is insensitive to SNPs with low minor allele frequencies and detects a larger number of significantly associated rSNPs using the same sample size as eQTL mapping. An unequivocal conclusion from our comparison is that ASE analysis is more sensitive for detecting cis-rSNPs than standard eQTL mapping. Our study shows the potential of ASE mapping in tissue samples and primary cells which are difficult to obtain in large numbers. PMID:23300628

  9. Prevalence of -alpha(3.7) and alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) alleles in sickle cell trait and beta-thalassemia patients in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Nava, María Paulina; Ibarra, Bertha; Magaña, María Teresa; de la Luz Chávez, María; Perea, F Javier

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of alpha-globin gene mutations in three groups of Mexican unrelated individuals. The first two groups were normal and sickle cell trait individuals from the Costa Chica region, a place with a 12.8% frequency of HbS carriers, and the third group comprised of Mexican mestizo patients with beta-thalassemia. We searched for -alpha(3.7) and -alpha(4.2) alpha(+)-thalassemia deletion alleles, as well as the alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) triplication through long-gap PCR. The alleles -alpha(3.7) and alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) were found in the heterozygote state only; 19% of the normal subjects had the -alpha(3.7) allele, and 2% showed the alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) allele. In individuals with the sickle cell trait, 17% had the -alpha(3.7) deletion, and the alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) triplication was observed in 3% of these individuals. We revealed that 16% of the subjects with beta-thalassemia showed the -alpha(3.7) deletion and 28% the alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) triplication. The -alpha(4.2) deletion was not detected in any individual. The frequency of the -alpha(3.7) allele was roughly the same in the three groups studied; this can be explained by the fact that the three groups have common genes from Africa and the Mediterranean, where a high prevalence of alpha(+)-thalassemia has been observed. To our knowledge, the frequency of alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) triplication observed in the Mexican beta-thalassemia patients is the highest reported. As the -alpha(3.7) and alpha alpha alpha(anti3.7) alleles are very common in our selected populations, we believe that there is a need to investigate systematically the alpha-globin gene mutations in all hemoglobinopathies in the Mexican population.

  10. Signatures of positive selection: from selective sweeps at individual loci to subtle allele frequency changes in polygenic adaptation.

    PubMed

    Stephan, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    In the past 15 years, numerous methods have been developed to detect selective sweeps underlying adaptations. These methods are based on relatively simple population genetic models, including one or two loci at which positive directional selection occurs, and one or two marker loci at which the impact of selection on linked neutral variation is quantified. Information about the phenotype under selection is not included in these models (except for fitness). In contrast, in the quantitative genetic models of adaptation, selection acts on one or more phenotypic traits, such that a genotype-phenotype map is required to bridge the gap to population genetics theory. Here I describe the range of population genetic models from selective sweeps in a panmictic population of constant size to evolutionary traffic when simultaneous sweeps at multiple loci interfere, and I also consider the case of polygenic selection characterized by subtle allele frequency shifts at many loci. Furthermore, I present an overview of the statistical tests that have been proposed based on these population genetics models to detect evidence for positive selection in the genome. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Distribution of HLA class I alleles and haplotypes in Korean.

    PubMed Central

    Kim, T. G.; Han, H.; Lim, B. U.; Kim, W.; Kim, S. M.

    1993-01-01

    The antigen (phenotype), gene (allele) and haplotype frequencies of HLA class I were analysed in 4,622 Koreans. With allele frequencies of over 0.05, the most frequent HLA-A,-B and -C antigens were A2, A24, A33, A11, A26, A31; B62, B51, B44, B54, B61, B35, B58, B60; Cw3, Cw1, Cw4, Cw7. Of these A2, A24, Cw1 and Cw3 were present in very high frequencies, respectively (0.3211, 0.2200, 0.2204, and 0.3737). The most common haplotypes with frequencies larger than 0.02 were A2-Blank, A33-B44, A33-B58, A11-B62, A24-B51, A24-B54, A2-B27, B54-Cw1, B58-Cw3, B51-Blank, B61-Cw3, B62-Cw4, B35-Cw3, B44-Blank, B60-Cw3, B27-Cw1, A2-Cw3, A2-Cw1, A24-Cw1, A33-Cw3, A26-Cw3, and A11-Cw4. A significant negative linkage disequilibrium was found for the haplotypes of A2-B7, A2-B44, A2-B58, A24-B13, A24-B27, A33-B54 and A33-B62, of which frequencies were larger than 0.003. The B-C and A-C haplotypes which showed the significant negative linkage disequilibrium were B44-Cw1, B51-Cw1, B44-Cw3,B62-Blank, A2-Cw4, A2-Blank, A11-Cw3, A11-Blank and A33-Cw1 and had frequencies higher than 0.01. The findings presented here could be used per se to estimate the populational relationships or as the control data for HLA-disease investigation. Furthermore they could provide the scope for the definition of new antigens. PMID:8240747

  12. HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 allele diversity and its extended haplotypes in Madeira Island (Portugal).

    PubMed

    Spínola, H; Lemos, A; Couto, A R; Parreira, B; Soares, M; Dutra, I; Bruges-Armas, J; Brehm, A

    2017-02-01

    This study shows, for the first time, high-resolution allele frequencies of HLA-DQA1 loci in Madeira Island (Portugal) and allows us to better understand and refine present knowledge on DQB1 variation, with the identification of several alleles not previously reported in this population. Estimates on haplotype profile, involving HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1, are also reported. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Frequencies of polymorphisms of the Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy and Diego systems of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil.

    PubMed

    Costa, Daiane Cobianchi; Schinaider, Alessandra Arruda; Santos, Thais Mattos; Schörner, Everaldo José; Simon, Daniel; Maluf, Sharbel Weidner; de Moraes, Ana Carolina Rabello; Silva, Maria Claudia Silva

    2016-01-01

    Red blood cell genes are highly polymorphic with the distribution of alleles varying between different populations and ethnic groups. The objective of this study was to investigate gene polymorphisms of blood groups in the state of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. Three hundred and seventy-three unrelated blood donors and 31 transfusion-dependent patients were evaluated to investigate polymorphisms of the Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, and Diego blood group systems in a population from the state of Santa Catarina. The subjects, from seven regions that comprise the blood-banking network of the state, were assessed between August 2011 and March 2014. The genotypes of the Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, and Diego systems were determined using the restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction and allele-specific polymerase chain reaction techniques. The genotype frequencies in this study were significantly different when populations from different regions of Santa Catarina were compared. Furthermore, there were also significant differences in the genetic frequencies compared to other Brazilian states. The genotype frequencies of the Kell and Kidd blood groups are similar to European populations from Naples, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland. This article reports for the first time the frequency of polymorphisms of blood group systems in blood donors from Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  14. Short alleles revealed by PCR demonstrate no heterozygote deficiency at minisatellite loci D1S7, D7S21, and D12S11

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alonso, S.; Castro, A.; Fernandez-Fernandez, I.

    1997-02-01

    Short VNTR alleles that go undetected after conventional Southern blot hybridization may constitute an alternative explanation for the heterozygosity deficiency observed at some minisatellite loci. To examine this hypothesis, we have employed a screening procedure based on PCR amplification of those individuals classified as homozygotes in our databases for the loci D1S7, D7S21, and D12S11. The results obtained indicate that the frequency of these short alleles is related to the heterozygosity deficiency observed. For the most polymorphic locus, D1S7, {approximately}60% of those individuals previously classified as homozygotes were in fact heterozygotes for a short allele. After the inclusion of thesemore » new alleles, the agreement between observed and expected heterozygosity, along with other statistical tests employed, provide additional evidence for lack of population substructuring. Comparisons of allele frequency distributions reveal greater differences between racial groups than between closely related populations. 45 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs.« less

  15. Germ-line epigenetic modification of the murine A vy allele by nutritional supplementation.

    PubMed

    Cropley, Jennifer E; Suter, Catherine M; Beckman, Kenneth B; Martin, David I K

    2006-11-14

    Environmental effects on phenotype can be mediated by epigenetic modifications. The epigenetic state of the murine A vy allele is highly variable, and determines phenotypic effects that vary in a mosaic spectrum that can be shifted by in utero exposure to methyl donor supplementation. We have asked if methyl donor supplementation affects the germ-line epigenetic state of the A vy allele. We find that the somatic epigenetic state of A vy is affected by in utero methyl donor supplementation only when the allele is paternally contributed. Exposure to methyl donor supplementation during midgestation shifts A vy phenotypes not only in the mice exposed as fetuses, but in their offspring. This finding indicates that methyl donors can change the epigenetic state of the A vy allele in the germ line, and that the altered state is retained through the epigenetic resetting that takes place in gametogenesis and embryogenesis. Thus a mother's diet may have an enduring influence on succeeding generations, independent of later changes in diet. Although other reports have suggested such heritable epigenetic changes, this study demonstrates that a specific mammalian gene can be subjected to germ-line epigenetic change.

  16. HLA alleles influence the clinical signature of amoxicillin-clavulanate hepatotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Stephens, Camilla; López-Nevot, Miguel-Ángel; Ruiz-Cabello, Francisco; Ulzurrun, Eugenia; Soriano, Germán; Romero-Gómez, Manuel; Moreno-Casares, Antonia; Lucena, M Isabel; Andrade, Raúl J

    2013-01-01

    The genotype-phenotype interaction in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a subject of growing interest. Previous studies have linked amoxicillin-clavulanate (AC) hepatotoxicity susceptibility to specific HLA alleles. In this study we aimed to examine potential associations between HLA class I and II alleles and AC DILI with regards to phenotypic characteristics, severity and time to onset in Spanish AC hepatotoxicity cases. High resolution genotyping of HLA loci A, B, C, DRB1 and DQB1 was performed in 75 AC DILI cases and 885 controls. The distributions of class I alleles A*3002 (P/Pc = 2.6E-6/5E-5, OR 6.7) and B*1801 (P/Pc = 0.008/0.22, OR 2.9) were more frequently found in hepatocellular injury cases compared to controls. In addition, the presence of the class II allele combination DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 (P/Pc = 5.1E-4/0.014, OR 3.0) was significantly increased in cholestatic/mixed cases. The A*3002 and/or B*1801 carriers were found to be younger (54 vs 65 years, P = 0.019) and were more frequently hospitalized than the DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 carriers. No additional alleles outside those associated with liver injury patterns were found to affect potential severity as measured by Hy's Law criteria. The phenotype frequencies of B*1801 (P/Pc = 0.015/0.42, OR 5.2) and DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201 (P/Pc = 0.0026/0.07, OR 15) were increased in AC DILI cases with delayed onset compared to those corresponding to patients without delayed onset, while the opposite applied to DRB1*1302-DQB1*0604 (P/Pc = 0.005/0.13, OR 0.07). HLA class I and II alleles influence the AC DILI signature with regards to phenotypic expression, latency presentation and severity in Spanish patients.

  17. HLA Alleles Influence the Clinical Signature of Amoxicillin-Clavulanate Hepatotoxicity

    PubMed Central

    Stephens, Camilla; López-Nevot, Miguel-Ángel; Ruiz-Cabello, Francisco; Ulzurrun, Eugenia; Soriano, Germán; Romero-Gómez, Manuel; Moreno-Casares, Antonia; Lucena, M. Isabel; Andrade, Raúl J.

    2013-01-01

    Background and Aim The genotype-phenotype interaction in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a subject of growing interest. Previous studies have linked amoxicillin-clavulanate (AC) hepatotoxicity susceptibility to specific HLA alleles. In this study we aimed to examine potential associations between HLA class I and II alleles and AC DILI with regards to phenotypic characteristics, severity and time to onset in Spanish AC hepatotoxicity cases. Methods High resolution genotyping of HLA loci A, B, C, DRB1 and DQB1 was performed in 75 AC DILI cases and 885 controls. Results The distributions of class I alleles A*3002 (P/Pc = 2.6E-6/5E-5, OR 6.7) and B*1801 (P/Pc = 0.008/0.22, OR 2.9) were more frequently found in hepatocellular injury cases compared to controls. In addition, the presence of the class II allele combination DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 (P/Pc = 5.1E-4/0.014, OR 3.0) was significantly increased in cholestatic/mixed cases. The A*3002 and/or B*1801 carriers were found to be younger (54 vs 65 years, P = 0.019) and were more frequently hospitalized than the DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 carriers. No additional alleles outside those associated with liver injury patterns were found to affect potential severity as measured by Hy’s Law criteria. The phenotype frequencies of B*1801 (P/Pc = 0.015/0.42, OR 5.2) and DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201 (P/Pc = 0.0026/0.07, OR 15) were increased in AC DILI cases with delayed onset compared to those corresponding to patients without delayed onset, while the opposite applied to DRB1*1302-DQB1*0604 (P/Pc = 0.005/0.13, OR 0.07). Conclusions HLA class I and II alleles influence the AC DILI signature with regards to phenotypic expression, latency presentation and severity in Spanish patients. PMID:23874514

  18. Matching synchrosqueezing transform: A useful tool for characterizing signals with fast varying instantaneous frequency and application to machine fault diagnosis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Shibin; Chen, Xuefeng; Selesnick, Ivan W.; Guo, Yanjie; Tong, Chaowei; Zhang, Xingwu

    2018-02-01

    Synchrosqueezing transform (SST) can effectively improve the readability of the time-frequency (TF) representation (TFR) of nonstationary signals composed of multiple components with slow varying instantaneous frequency (IF). However, for signals composed of multiple components with fast varying IF, SST still suffers from TF blurs. In this paper, we introduce a time-frequency analysis (TFA) method called matching synchrosqueezing transform (MSST) that achieves a highly concentrated TF representation comparable to the standard TF reassignment methods (STFRM), even for signals with fast varying IF, and furthermore, MSST retains the reconstruction benefit of SST. MSST captures the philosophy of STFRM to simultaneously consider time and frequency variables, and incorporates three estimators (i.e., the IF estimator, the group delay estimator, and a chirp-rate estimator) into a comprehensive and accurate IF estimator. In this paper, we first introduce the motivation of MSST with three heuristic examples. Then we introduce a precise mathematical definition of a class of chirp-like intrinsic-mode-type functions that locally can be viewed as a sum of a reasonably small number of approximate chirp signals, and we prove that MSST does indeed succeed in estimating chirp-rate and IF of arbitrary functions in this class and succeed in decomposing these functions. Furthermore, we describe an efficient numerical algorithm for the practical implementation of the MSST, and we provide an adaptive IF extraction method for MSST reconstruction. Finally, we verify the effectiveness of the MSST in practical applications for machine fault diagnosis, including gearbox fault diagnosis for a wind turbine in variable speed conditions and rotor rub-impact fault diagnosis for a dual-rotor turbofan engine.

  19. Genetic Adaptation to Climate in White Spruce Involves Small to Moderate Allele Frequency Shifts in Functionally Diverse Genes

    PubMed Central

    Hornoy, Benjamin; Pavy, Nathalie; Gérardi, Sébastien; Beaulieu, Jean; Bousquet, Jean

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to climate is of paramount importance for preserving and managing genetic diversity in plants in a context of climate change. Yet, this objective has been addressed mainly in short-lived model species. Thus, expanding knowledge to nonmodel species with contrasting life histories, such as forest trees, appears necessary. To uncover the genetic basis of adaptation to climate in the widely distributed boreal conifer white spruce (Picea glauca), an environmental association study was conducted using 11,085 single nucleotide polymorphisms representing 7,819 genes, that is, approximately a quarter of the transcriptome. Linear and quadratic regressions controlling for isolation-by-distance, and the Random Forest algorithm, identified several dozen genes putatively under selection, among which 43 showed strongest signals along temperature and precipitation gradients. Most of them were related to temperature. Small to moderate shifts in allele frequencies were observed. Genes involved encompassed a wide variety of functions and processes, some of them being likely important for plant survival under biotic and abiotic environmental stresses according to expression data. Literature mining and sequence comparison also highlighted conserved sequences and functions with angiosperm homologs. Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions that local adaptation involves genes with small frequency shifts when selection is recent and gene flow among populations is high. Accordingly, genetic adaptation to climate in P. glauca appears to be complex, involving many independent and interacting gene functions, biochemical pathways, and processes. From an applied perspective, these results shall lead to specific functional/association studies in conifers and to the development of markers useful for the conservation of genetic resources. PMID:26560341

  20. Pyramiding of transgenic Pm3 alleles in wheat results in improved powdery mildew resistance in the field.

    PubMed

    Koller, Teresa; Brunner, Susanne; Herren, Gerhard; Hurni, Severine; Keller, Beat

    2018-04-01

    The combined effects of enhanced total transgene expression level and allele-specificity combination in transgenic allele-pyramided Pm3 wheat lines result in improved powdery mildew field resistance without negative pleiotropic effects. Allelic Pm3 resistance genes of wheat confer race-specific resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt) and encode nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors. Transgenic wheat lines overexpressing alleles Pm3a, b, c, d, f, and g have previously been generated by transformation of cultivar Bobwhite and tested in field trials, revealing varying degrees of powdery mildew resistance conferred by the transgenes. Here, we tested four transgenic lines each carrying two pyramided Pm3 alleles, which were generated by crossbreeding of lines transformed with single Pm3 alleles. All four allele-pyramided lines showed strongly improved powdery mildew resistance in the field compared to their parental lines. The improved resistance results from the two effects of enhanced total transgene expression levels and allele-specificity combinations. In contrast to leaf segment tests on greenhouse-grown seedlings, no allelic suppression was observed in the field. Plant development and yield scores of the pyramided lines were similar to the mean scores of the corresponding parental lines, and thus, the allele pyramiding did not cause any negative effects. On the contrary, in pyramided line, Pm3b × Pm3f normal plant development was restored compared to the delayed development and reduced seed set of parental line Pm3f. Allele-specific RT qPCR revealed additive transgene expression levels of the two Pm3 alleles in the pyramided lines. A positive correlation between total transgene expression level and powdery mildew field resistance was observed. In summary, allele pyramiding of Pm3 transgenes proved to be successful in enhancing powdery mildew field resistance.

  1. Estimating Time to the Common Ancestor for a Beneficial Allele

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Joel; Coop, Graham; Stephens, Matthew; Novembre, John

    2018-01-01

    Abstract The haplotypes of a beneficial allele carry information about its history that can shed light on its age and the putative cause for its increase in frequency. Specifically, the signature of an allele’s age is contained in the pattern of variation that mutation and recombination impose on its haplotypic background. We provide a method to exploit this pattern and infer the time to the common ancestor of a positively selected allele following a rapid increase in frequency. We do so using a hidden Markov model which leverages the length distribution of the shared ancestral haplotype, the accumulation of derived mutations on the ancestral background, and the surrounding background haplotype diversity. Using simulations, we demonstrate how the inclusion of information from both mutation and recombination events increases accuracy relative to approaches that only consider a single type of event. We also show the behavior of the estimator in cases where data do not conform to model assumptions, and provide some diagnostics for assessing and improving inference. Using the method, we analyze population-specific patterns in the 1000 Genomes Project data to estimate the timing of adaptation for several variants which show evidence of recent selection and functional relevance to diet, skin pigmentation, and morphology in humans. PMID:29361025

  2. HLA-B27 allele diversity in Indians: impact of ethnic origin and the caste system.

    PubMed

    Shankarkumar, U

    2003-01-01

    HLA-B27 is a serological specificity which encompasses an increasing number of subtypes that show varied racial/ethnic prevalence in the world. Here, data from 5129 Indians (4500 population and caste; 629 tribal) is compiled from the literature. In addition, HLA-B27 subtyping of 58 positive individuals from Maharastra is presented. Analysis revealed an increased B27 antigen frequency among the north Indian groups (>5%) compared to the south Indian groups (<5%). HLA-B27 subtyping identified B*2704 (34.48%), B*2705 (36.2%), B*2707 (15.51%), B*2708 (10.34%) and B*2714 (3.44%) alleles in the population groups from Maharastra, but these differed in their distribution among the caste and tribal groups studied. The study showed that more extensive subtyping in other Indian caste groups will be necessary to resolve the evolutionary implications of HLA-B27 subtypes and their relationship to disease association in the Indian context.

  3. Beta 3-adrenergic-receptor allele distributions in children, adolescents and young adults with obesity, underweight or anorexia nervosa.

    PubMed

    Hinney, A; Lentes, K U; Rosenkranz, K; Barth, N; Roth, H; Ziegler, A; Hennighausen, K; Coners, H; Wurmser, H; Jacob, K; Römer, G; Winnikes, U; Mayer, H; Herzog, W; Lehmkuhl, G; Poustka, F; Schmidt, M H; Blum, W F; Pirke, K M; Schäfer, H; Grzeschik, K H; Remschmidt, H; Hebebrand, J

    1997-03-01

    The missense mutation (64Trp to 64Arg) in the beta 3-adrenergic-receptor has previously been described to confer a genetic predisposition to the development of obesity. To test the hypothesis we evaluated allele frequencies in children, adolescents and young adults who belonged to different weight groups that were delineated with percentiles for the body mass index (BMI; kg/m2). 99 underweight probands (BMI < or = 15th percentile). 80 normal weight probands (BMI: 5th-85th percentile). 238 obese children and adolescents (BMI > or = 97th percentile). 84 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). The cohorts were screened by polymerase chain reaction with subsequent restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Data were statistically analysed for association. In addition to these case control studies, the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) was applied to 80 families of obese probands and to 52 families of patients with AN. Both the tests for association and linkage were negative. The Trp64Arg allele frequencies in the three weight groups (obesity: 0.071; normal weight: 0.081; underweight: 0.056) and the AN patients (0.054) were similar. Extremely obese individuals showed no excess of the Trp64Arg allele. No homozygotes for the Trp64Arg allele were detected. Heterozygosity for the Trp64Arg allele is not of major importance in regulation of body weight in individuals younger than 35 y. Additionally, the extreme obese subgroup is not enriched for the polymorphism.

  4. The effect of rare alleles on estimated genomic relationships from whole genome sequence data.

    PubMed

    Eynard, Sonia E; Windig, Jack J; Leroy, Grégoire; van Binsbergen, Rianne; Calus, Mario P L

    2015-03-12

    Relationships between individuals and inbreeding coefficients are commonly used for breeding decisions, but may be affected by the type of data used for their estimation. The proportion of variants with low Minor Allele Frequency (MAF) is larger in whole genome sequence (WGS) data compared to Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) chips. Therefore, WGS data provide true relationships between individuals and may influence breeding decisions and prioritisation for conservation of genetic diversity in livestock. This study identifies differences between relationships and inbreeding coefficients estimated using pedigree, SNP or WGS data for 118 Holstein bulls from the 1000 Bull genomes project. To determine the impact of rare alleles on the estimates we compared three scenarios of MAF restrictions: variants with a MAF higher than 5%, variants with a MAF higher than 1% and variants with a MAF between 1% and 5%. We observed significant differences between estimated relationships and, although less significantly, inbreeding coefficients from pedigree, SNP or WGS data, and between MAF restriction scenarios. Computed correlations between pedigree and genomic relationships, within groups with similar relationships, ranged from negative to moderate for both estimated relationships and inbreeding coefficients, but were high between estimates from SNP and WGS (0.49 to 0.99). Estimated relationships from genomic information exhibited higher variation than from pedigree. Inbreeding coefficients analysis showed that more complete pedigree records lead to higher correlation between inbreeding coefficients from pedigree and genomic data. Finally, estimates and correlations between additive genetic (A) and genomic (G) relationship matrices were lower, and variances of the relationships were larger when accounting for allele frequencies than without accounting for allele frequencies. Using pedigree data or genomic information, and including or excluding variants with a MAF below 5

  5. Somatic Mutation Allelic Ratio Test Using ddPCR (SMART-ddPCR): An Accurate Method for Assessment of Preferential Allelic Imbalance in Tumor DNA.

    PubMed

    de Smith, Adam J; Walsh, Kyle M; Hansen, Helen M; Endicott, Alyson A; Wiencke, John K; Metayer, Catherine; Wiemels, Joseph L

    2015-01-01

    The extent to which heritable genetic variants can affect tumor development has yet to be fully elucidated. Tumor selection of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) risk alleles, a phenomenon called preferential allelic imbalance (PAI), has been demonstrated in some cancer types. We developed a novel application of digital PCR termed Somatic Mutation Allelic Ratio Test using Droplet Digital PCR (SMART-ddPCR) for accurate assessment of tumor PAI, and have applied this method to test the hypothesis that heritable SNPs associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may demonstrate tumor PAI. These SNPs are located at CDKN2A (rs3731217) and IKZF1 (rs4132601), genes frequently lost in ALL, and at CEBPE (rs2239633), ARID5B (rs7089424), PIP4K2A (rs10764338), and GATA3 (rs3824662), genes located on chromosomes gained in high-hyperdiploid ALL. We established thresholds of AI using constitutional DNA from SNP heterozygotes, and subsequently measured allelic copy number in tumor DNA from 19-142 heterozygote samples per SNP locus. We did not find significant tumor PAI at these loci, though CDKN2A and IKZF1 SNPs showed a trend towards preferential selection of the risk allele (p = 0.17 and p = 0.23, respectively). Using a genomic copy number control ddPCR assay, we investigated somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) underlying AI at CDKN2A and IKZF1, revealing a complex range of alterations including homozygous and hemizygous deletions and copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity, with varying degrees of clonality. Copy number estimates from ddPCR showed high agreement with those from multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assays. We demonstrate that SMART-ddPCR is a highly accurate method for investigation of tumor PAI and for assessment of the somatic alterations underlying AI. Furthermore, analysis of publicly available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas identified 16 recurrent SCNA loci that contain heritable cancer risk SNPs associated with a

  6. Neural coding of time-varying interaural time differences and time-varying amplitude in the inferior colliculus

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Binaural cues occurring in natural environments are frequently time varying, either from the motion of a sound source or through interactions between the cues produced by multiple sources. Yet, a broad understanding of how the auditory system processes dynamic binaural cues is still lacking. In the current study, we directly compared neural responses in the inferior colliculus (IC) of unanesthetized rabbits to broadband noise with time-varying interaural time differences (ITD) with responses to noise with sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) over a wide range of modulation frequencies. On the basis of prior research, we hypothesized that the IC, one of the first stages to exhibit tuning of firing rate to modulation frequency, might use a common mechanism to encode time-varying information in general. Instead, we found weaker temporal coding for dynamic ITD compared with amplitude modulation and stronger effects of adaptation for amplitude modulation. The differences in temporal coding of dynamic ITD compared with SAM at the single-neuron level could be a neural correlate of “binaural sluggishness,” the inability to perceive fluctuations in time-varying binaural cues at high modulation frequencies, for which a physiological explanation has so far remained elusive. At ITD-variation frequencies of 64 Hz and above, where a temporal code was less effective, noise with a dynamic ITD could still be distinguished from noise with a constant ITD through differences in average firing rate in many neurons, suggesting a frequency-dependent tradeoff between rate and temporal coding of time-varying binaural information. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Humans use time-varying binaural cues to parse auditory scenes comprising multiple sound sources and reverberation. However, the neural mechanisms for doing so are poorly understood. Our results demonstrate a potential neural correlate for the reduced detectability of fluctuations in time-varying binaural information at high speeds, as occurs

  7. Alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2-1 and ADH2-2 allelic isoforms in the Russian population correlate with type of alcoholic disease.

    PubMed

    Ogurtsov, Pavel P.; Garmash, Irina V.; Miandina, Galina I.; Guschin, Alexander E.; Itkes, Alexander V.; Moiseev, Valentin S.

    2001-09-01

    The frequency ADH2-2 allele in the Moscow urban population and a correlation between the ADH2-2 allele, alcoholic dependence without cirrhosis, symptomatic alcoholic cirrhosis and status on hepatitis B and C infection have been studied. One hundred and twenty-three inhabitants of Moscow (50 healthy donors, 36 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (subdivided into infected and uninfected by HBV and/or HCV) and 37 patients with alcoholic dependence) of a similar age/sex and drinking pattern have been analysed. The frequency of 41% for ADH2-2 allele is characteristic for an urban Moscow population. This value is intermediate between that found for Asian peoples and for Central and Western Europe. There is a negative correlation between the ADH2-2 allele and alcohol misuse (both alcoholic dependence and alcoholic cirrhosis). This correlation is expressed more in alcoholic dependence. In spite of the possession of the ADH2-2 allele (or genotype ADH2-1/2), alcohol misuse increases the risk of cirrhosis. At the same time, positive status for active hepatitis B, C or combined infection B + C (replication markers HBV-DNA or HCV-RNA) increases the risk for symptomatic alcoholic cirrhosis in alcohol abusing patients, independently of ADH2 genotype.

  8. Corrective recombination of mouse immunoglobulin kappa alleles in Abelson murine leukemia virus-transformed pre-B cells.

    PubMed Central

    Feddersen, R M; Van Ness, B G

    1990-01-01

    Previous characterization of mouse immunoglobulin kappa gene rearrangement products cloned from murine plasmacytomas has indicated that two recombination events can take place on a single kappa allele (R. M. Feddersen and B. G. Van Ness, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:4792-4797, 1985; M. A. Shapiro and M. Weigert, J. Immunol. 139:3834-3839, 1987). To determine whether multiple recombinations on a single kappa allele can contribute to the formation of productive V-J genes through corrective recombinations, we have examined several Abelson murine leukemia virus-transformed pre-B-cell clones which rearrange the kappa locus during cell culture. Clonal cell lines which had rearranged one kappa allele nonproductively while maintaining the other allele in the germ line configuration were grown, and secondary subclones, which subsequently expressed kappa protein, were isolated and examined for further kappa rearrangement. A full spectrum of rearrangement patterns was observed in this sequential cloning, including productive and nonproductive recombinations of the germ line allele and secondary recombinations of the nonproductive allele. The results show that corrective V-J recombinations, with displacement of the nonproductive kappa gene, occur with a significant frequency (6 of 17 kappa-producing subclones). Both deletion and maintenance of the primary (nonfunctional) V-J join, as a reciprocal product, were observed. Images PMID:2153918

  9. Variant ribosomal RNA alleles are conserved and exhibit tissue-specific expression

    PubMed Central

    Parks, Matthew M.; Kurylo, Chad M.; Dass, Randall A.; Bojmar, Linda; Lyden, David; Vincent, C. Theresa; Blanchard, Scott C.

    2018-01-01

    The ribosome, the integration point for protein synthesis in the cell, is conventionally considered a homogeneous molecular assembly that only passively contributes to gene expression. Yet, epigenetic features of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) operon and changes in the ribosome’s molecular composition have been associated with disease phenotypes, suggesting that the ribosome itself may possess inherent regulatory capacity. Analyzing whole-genome sequencing data from the 1000 Genomes Project and the Mouse Genomes Project, we find that rDNA copy number varies widely across individuals, and we identify pervasive intra- and interindividual nucleotide variation in the 5S, 5.8S, 18S, and 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes of both human and mouse. Conserved rRNA sequence heterogeneities map to functional centers of the assembled ribosome, variant rRNA alleles exhibit tissue-specific expression, and ribosomes bearing variant rRNA alleles are present in the actively translating ribosome pool. These findings provide a critical framework for exploring the possibility that the expression of genomically encoded variant rRNA alleles gives rise to physically and functionally heterogeneous ribosomes that contribute to mammalian physiology and human disease. PMID:29503865

  10. Frequencies of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in a healthy Kurdish population from Kermanshah, Iran.

    PubMed

    Vaisi-Raygani, Asad; Kharrazi, Hadi; Rahimi, Zohreh; Pourmotabbed, Tayebeh

    2007-10-01

    The molecular polymorphism displayed by apolipoprotein E (APOE) has been listed as a risk factor for susceptibility to various disorders, such as those associated with lipid metabolism, arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease (CAD), and Alzheimer disease. To evaluate the role of APOE genotypes as risk factors for Alzheimer disease, CAD, and atherosclerosis in the Kurdish population of Kermanshah, Iran, we studied the frequencies of APOE alleles *2, *3, and *4 and genotypes in 914 healthy Kurdish subjects (514 men and 400 women). The highest frequency of APOE in the Kurdish population was found for APOE*3 (87.87%). The APOE*2 and APOE*4 allele frequencies were 6.66% and 5.45%, respectively. Distribution of APOE genotypes and alleles was not significantly different between male and female subjects (p > 0.05). Interestingly, the order of the frequency of APOE alleles (*3-->*2-->*4) in the Kurdish population was quite different from that reported for most populations in the world (*3-->*4-->*2). The findings of the present study can be used to identify individuals with high risk of CAD and atherosclerosis and suggest a preventive measure to reduce their susceptibility.

  11. IL2RA Allele Increases Risk of Neuromyelitis Optica in Southern Han Chinese.

    PubMed

    Dai, Yongqiang; Li, Jin; Zhong, Xiaonan; Wang, Yuge; Qiu, Wei; Lu, Zhengqi; Wu, Aimin; Bao, Jian; Peng, Fuhua; Hu, Xueqiang

    2013-11-01

    Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are chronic neuro-inflammatory diseases believed to arise from complex interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in interleukin (IL)-2 and -7 receptor alpha genes have been identified as novel susceptibility alleles for MS in genome-wide association studies. However, similar research on NMO is limited. We aimed to investigate the association of IL2RA SNPs rs2104286 and rs12722489 and IL7RA SNP rs6897932 with Southern Han Chinese NMO and MS patients. Frequencies of the three SNPs were examined in Southern Han Chinese mS cases (n=78), NMS cases (n=67) and controls (n=133) using sequencing-based typing. The rs2104286(G) frequency in the IL2RA gene was significantly higher in NMO patients than in controls (p(uncorr)=0.013, p(corr)=0.026, OR:1.942, 95%CI:1.146-3.291). The rs2104286 G allele in IL2RA is present at higher frequencies in NMO patients than in healthy controls within a Southern Han Chinese population. Les allèles IL2RA augmentent le risque de neuromyélite optique chez les Chinois Han du sud.

  12. CYP3A4*18: it is not rare allele in Japanese population.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Takehito; Nagafuchi, Nobue; Ozeki, Takeshi; Kubota, Takahiro; Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Ogawa, Seishi; Yamada, Yasuhiko; Hirai, Hisamaru; Iga, Tatsuji

    2003-01-01

    We sequenced all 13 exons of the CYP3A4 gene derived from 48 Japanese subjects. One subject possess the 20070 T>C mutation in the exon 10 (result in leu293Pro substitution, namely CYP3A4(*)18), as heterozygote. Thus, we investigated the frequency of CYP3A4(*)18 in 118 Japanese population using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism with Msp I and determined that the frequency of the CYP3A4(*)18 allele was 1.3%.

  13. Association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with susceptibility to mixed connective tissue disease in Polish patients.

    PubMed

    Paradowska-Gorycka, A; Stypińska, B; Olesińska, M; Felis-Giemza, A; Mańczak, M; Czuszynska, Z; Zdrojewski, Z; Wojciechowicz, J; Jurkowska, M

    2016-01-01

    Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a systemic autoimmune disease, originally defined as a connective tissue inflammatory syndrome with overlapping features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), characterized by the presence of antibodies against components of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U1snRNP). The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of (high-resolution-typed) DRB1 alleles in a cohort of Polish patients with MCTD (n = 103). Identification of the variants potentially associated with risk and protection was carried out by comparison with the DKMS Polish Bone Marrow Donor Registry (41306 alleles). DRB1*15:01 (odds ratio (OR): 6.06; 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.55-8.06), DRB1*04 (OR: 3.69; 95% CI 2.69-5.01) and *09:01 (OR: 8.12; 95% CI 2.15-21.75) were identified as risk alleles for MCTD, while HLA-DRB1*07:01 allele was found to be protective (OR: 0.50; 95% CI 0.28-0.83). The carrier frequency of the DRB1*01 was higher in MCTD patients compared with controls, although the differences were not statistically significant. Our results confirm the modulating influence of HLA-DRB1 genotypes on development of connective tissue diseases such as MCTD. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Rapid selection for β-tubulin alleles in codon 200 conferring benzimidazole resistance in an Ostertagia ostertagi isolate on pasture.

    PubMed

    Knapp-Lawitzke, Friederike; Krücken, Jürgen; Ramünke, Sabrina; von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Georg; Demeler, Janina

    2015-04-15

    Resistance to benzimidazoles (BZs) is widespread in sheep nematodes and increasing in those of cattle. Several reasons including the predominant use of pour-on anthelmintics and lack of scales in field conditions lead to under-dosing of cattle and therefore to increased selection pressure. In an field experiment the frequency of BZ-resistance associated allele (TAC) in codon 200 in the β-tubulin isotype 1 gene of Ostertagia ostertagi was monitored over one grazing season (approximately 30 weeks). Group 1, consisting of four calves, was experimentally infected with a pure O. ostertagi population displaying ∼50% of the TAC allele. The subsequently following groups of calves (four groups of two calves each) acquired natural infections by grazing contaminated pastures. Each group was treated with increasing percentages of sub-therapeutic dosages of albendazole (35-65%). Larvae obtained from faecal cultures pre and post treatment were subjected to species/genus-specific PCR as well as pyrosequencing to determine allele frequencies. PCR revealed the presence of Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus, Haemonchus and Cooperia in pre-treatment samples and predominantly Ostertagia as well as some Trichostrongylus in post treatment samples. Faecal egg count reduction was always less than 90% 7-10 days post treatment. In naturally infected calves TAC allele frequencies were significantly increased (p<0.05) after treatment and they also rapidly increased during the grazing season (pre: 15-63%; post: 55-89%). The more than 4-fold increase in resistant genotypes before treatment indicates how fast selection for BZ resistance can occur when sub-therapeutic dosages are combined with a high treatment frequency, even under moderated climatic conditions and in the presence of a refugium. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. A Clinical and Molecular Survey of 62 Cystic Fibrosis Patients from Umbria (Central Italy) Disclosing a High Frequency (2.4%) of the 2184insA Allele: Implications for Screening.

    PubMed

    Prontera, Paolo; Isidori, Ilenia; Mencarini, Valeria; Pennoni, Guido; Mencarelli, Amedea; Stangoni, Gabriela; Di Cara, Giuseppe; Verrotti, Alberto

    2016-01-01

    Genetic testing strategies and counseling in cystic fibrosis (CF) can be problematic due to its extreme allelic heterogeneity and the difficult clinical interpretation of rare variants. Since in a previous survey of Italian CF patients, Umbria (a small region with about 900,000 inhabitants) was excluded due to the low number of chromosomes tested (<50), we have performed a comprehensive retrospective clinical and molecular survey of 62 CF patients coming from this region. We have summarized all the genotypic and phenotypic data in a table, and we interviewed the older patients in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of their conditions. We found that the c.2052_2053insA (2184insA) variant, a class I mutation with high frequency in Eastern Europe but very rare in Italy, is the fourth most frequent allele in Umbria. The 2184insA variant was not included in the first-level regional screening, and we therefore suggest the implementation of this variant in the future. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  16. Genetic Adaptation to Climate in White Spruce Involves Small to Moderate Allele Frequency Shifts in Functionally Diverse Genes.

    PubMed

    Hornoy, Benjamin; Pavy, Nathalie; Gérardi, Sébastien; Beaulieu, Jean; Bousquet, Jean

    2015-11-11

    Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to climate is of paramount importance for preserving and managing genetic diversity in plants in a context of climate change. Yet, this objective has been addressed mainly in short-lived model species. Thus, expanding knowledge to nonmodel species with contrasting life histories, such as forest trees, appears necessary. To uncover the genetic basis of adaptation to climate in the widely distributed boreal conifer white spruce (Picea glauca), an environmental association study was conducted using 11,085 single nucleotide polymorphisms representing 7,819 genes, that is, approximately a quarter of the transcriptome.Linear and quadratic regressions controlling for isolation-by-distance, and the Random Forest algorithm, identified several dozen genes putatively under selection, among which 43 showed strongest signals along temperature and precipitation gradients. Most of them were related to temperature. Small to moderate shifts in allele frequencies were observed. Genes involved encompassed a wide variety of functions and processes, some of them being likely important for plant survival under biotic and abiotic environmental stresses according to expression data. Literature mining and sequence comparison also highlighted conserved sequences and functions with angiosperm homologs.Our results are consistent with theoretical predictions that local adaptation involves genes with small frequency shifts when selection is recent and gene flow among populations is high. Accordingly, genetic adaptation to climate in P. glauca appears to be complex, involving many independent and interacting gene functions, biochemical pathways, and processes. From an applied perspective, these results shall lead to specific functional/association studies in conifers and to the development of markers useful for the conservation of genetic resources. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular

  17. HLA class II allele polymorphism in an outbreak of chikungunya fever in Middle Andaman, India

    PubMed Central

    Chaaithanya, Itta Krishna; Muruganandam, Nagarajan; Anwesh, Maile; Rajesh, Reesu; Ghosal, Sruti R; Kartick, Chinnaiah; Prasad, Kadiyala Nageswara; Muthumani, Karuppiah; Vijayachari, Paluru

    2013-01-01

    A sudden upsurge of fever cases with joint pain was observed in the outpatient department, Community Health Centre, Rangat during July–August 2010 in Rangat Middle Andaman, India. The aetiological agent responsible for the outbreak was identified as chikungunya virus (CHIKV), by using RT-PCR and IgM ELISA. The study investigated the association of polymorphisms in the human leucocyte antigen class II genes with susceptibility or protection against CHIKV. One hundred and one patients with clinical features suggestive of CHIKV infection and 104 healthy subjects were included in the study. DNA was extracted and typed for HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 alleles. Based on the amino acid sequences of HLA-DQB1 retrieved from the IMGT/HLA database, critical amino acid differences in the specific peptide-binding pockets of HLA-DQB1 molecules were investigated. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1 alleles were not significantly different, whereas lower frequency of HLA-DQB1*03:03 was observed in CHIKV patients compared with the control population [P = 0·001, corrected P = 0·024; odds ratio (OR) = 0, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0·0–0·331; Peto's OR = 0·1317, 95% CI 0·0428–0·405). Significantly lower frequency of glutamic acid at position 86 of peptide-binding pocket 1 coding HLA-DQB1 genotypes was observed in CHIKV patients compared with healthy controls (P = 0·004, OR = 0·307, 95% CI 0·125–0·707). Computational binding predictions of CD4 epitopes of CHIKV by NetMHCII revealed that HLA-DQ molecules are known to bind more CHIKV peptides than HLA-DRB1 molecules. The results suggest that HLA-DQB1 alleles and critical amino acid differences in the peptide-binding pockets of HLA-DQB1 alleles might have role in influencing infection and pathogenesis of CHIKV. PMID:23710940

  18. HLA class II allele polymorphism in an outbreak of chikungunya fever in Middle Andaman, India.

    PubMed

    Chaaithanya, Itta Krishna; Muruganandam, Nagarajan; Anwesh, Maile; Rajesh, Reesu; Ghosal, Sruti R; Kartick, Chinnaiah; Prasad, Kadiyala Nageswara; Muthumani, Karuppiah; Vijayachari, Paluru

    2013-10-01

    A sudden upsurge of fever cases with joint pain was observed in the outpatient department, Community Health Centre, Rangat during July-August 2010 in Rangat Middle Andaman, India. The aetiological agent responsible for the outbreak was identified as chikungunya virus (CHIKV), by using RT-PCR and IgM ELISA. The study investigated the association of polymorphisms in the human leucocyte antigen class II genes with susceptibility or protection against CHIKV. One hundred and one patients with clinical features suggestive of CHIKV infection and 104 healthy subjects were included in the study. DNA was extracted and typed for HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 alleles. Based on the amino acid sequences of HLA-DQB1 retrieved from the IMGT/HLA database, critical amino acid differences in the specific peptide-binding pockets of HLA-DQB1 molecules were investigated. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1 alleles were not significantly different, whereas lower frequency of HLA-DQB1*03:03 was observed in CHIKV patients compared with the control population [P = 0·001, corrected P = 0·024; odds ratio (OR)  = 0, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0·0-0·331; Peto's OR = 0·1317, 95% CI 0·0428-0·405). Significantly lower frequency of glutamic acid at position 86 of peptide-binding pocket 1 coding HLA-DQB1 genotypes was observed in CHIKV patients compared with healthy controls (P = 0·004, OR = 0·307, 95% CI 0·125-0·707). Computational binding predictions of CD4 epitopes of CHIKV by NetMHCII revealed that HLA-DQ molecules are known to bind more CHIKV peptides than HLA-DRB1 molecules. The results suggest that HLA-DQB1 alleles and critical amino acid differences in the peptide-binding pockets of HLA-DQB1 alleles might have role in influencing infection and pathogenesis of CHIKV. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Life satisfaction in the new country: a multilevel longitudinal analysis of effects of culture and 5-HTT allele frequency distribution in country of origin.

    PubMed

    Kashima, Emiko S; Kent, Stephen; Kashima, Yoshihisa

    2015-01-01

    Life satisfaction of migrants to Australia from 17 countries, assessed at 4-5 months, 16-17 months and 3½ years after arrival, was analyzed with a longitudinal, multilevel analysis. The results indicated that migrants were more satisfied, if the national average life satisfaction was higher in their country of origin, after adjustment for individual-level income, age, and sex and a linear temporal trend. Simultaneously, the migrants were also happier if people in their country of origin had a higher frequency of 5-HTT long allele, a genotype known to be associated with resilience under life stresses. These two relationships were independent, suggesting that both culture and gene matter in international transitions. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Over-representation of the APOE*4 allele in autopsy confirmed early- and late-onset sporadic Alzheimer`s disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kamboh, M.I.; DeKosky, S.T.; Ferrell, R.E.

    1994-09-01

    Apolipoprotein E binds to {beta}-amyloid peptide in senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer`s disease (AD). Recent studies have identified the APOE*4 allele as a major predisposing genetic factor for late-onset familial AD as well as in sporadic AD. Most of these association studies are based on clinically diagnosed AD cases with little data available on autopsy confirmed, definite AD. To characterize the distribution of APOE polymorphism in autopsy confirmed sporadic AD cases, we determined APOE genotypes in 111 DNA samples (aged 51-101 years) extracted from brain tissues which were available from the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer`s Disease Research Center.more » The APOE data was compared between the AD group and 3 samples of population controls from Western Pennsylvania consisting of a young cohort (N=473, aged 18-48 years), middle cohort (N=473, aged 42-50 years) and an old cohort (N=870, aged 65-90 years). The frequency of the APOE*4 allele was similar in the young and middle cohorts (0.12) and slightly lower in the old cohort (0.10). However, the frequency of the APOE*4 allele was three times higher in both early-onset (<65 years; 0.36) and late-onset ({ge}65 years; 0.38) sporadic AD cases compared to the control groups (p<0.0001). In the AD cohort the frequency of the APOE*4 allele was similar across all age groups (<65, 65-75, 76-85, 86+) and so was in men and women (0.40 vs. 0.37). The E*4 homozygosity was observed in 18% of AD cases compared to 1% in each of the three control groups. The E*4 heterozygosity was present in 50% of AD cases compared to 17% in the control old cohort and 22% in both the young and middle control cohorts. These data confirm that the APOE*4 allele is a major risk factor for AD regardless of age-at-diagnosis or family history.« less

  1. Construction and forensic genetic characterization of 11 autosomal haplotypes consisting of 22 tri-allelic indels.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Xiaohong; Chen, Xiaogang; Zhao, Yuancun; Zhang, Shu; Gao, Zehua; Yang, Yiwen; Wang, Yufang; Zhang, Ji

    2018-05-01

    Insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels), which combine the advantages of both short tandem repeats and single-nucleotide polymorphisms, are suitable for parentage testing. To overcome the limitations of the low polymorphism of di-allelic indels, we constructed a set of haplotypes with physically linked, multi-allelic indels. Candidate haplotypes were selected from the 1000 Genomes Project database, and were subject to the following criteria for inclusion: (i) each marker must have a minimum allele frequency (MAF) of ≥0.1 in the Han population of China; (ii) markers must exist in a non-coding region; (iii) the physical distance between a pair of candidate indels must be <500 bp; (iv) the allele length variation of each indel from 1 to 20 bp; (v) different haplotypes must be located on different chromosomes or chromosomal arms, or be more than 10 Mb apart if on the same chromosomal arm; and (vi) they must not be located across a recombination hotspot. A multiplex system with 11 haplotype markers, comprising 22 tri-allelic indel loci distributed over 10 chromosomes was developed. To validate the multiplex panel, we investigated the haplotype distribution in sets of two and three-generation pedigrees. The results demonstrated that the haplotypes consisting of multi-allelic indel markers exhibited higher polymorphism than a single indel locus, and thus provide Supplementary information for forensic kinship identification. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. The allele-frequency spectrum in a decoupled Moran model with mutation, drift, and directional selection, assuming small mutation rates.

    PubMed

    Vogl, Claus; Clemente, Florian

    2012-05-01

    We analyze a decoupled Moran model with haploid population size N, a biallelic locus under mutation and drift with scaled forward and backward mutation rates θ(1)=μ(1)N and θ(0)=μ(0)N, and directional selection with scaled strength γ=sN. With small scaled mutation rates θ(0) and θ(1), which is appropriate for single nucleotide polymorphism data in highly recombining regions, we derive a simple approximate equilibrium distribution for polymorphic alleles with a constant of proportionality. We also put forth an even simpler model, where all mutations originate from monomorphic states. Using this model we derive the sojourn times, conditional on the ancestral and fixed allele, and under equilibrium the distributions of fixed and polymorphic alleles and fixation rates. Furthermore, we also derive the distribution of small samples in the diffusion limit and provide convenient recurrence relations for calculating this distribution. This enables us to give formulas analogous to the Ewens-Watterson estimator of θ for biased mutation rates and selection. We apply this theory to a polymorphism dataset of fourfold degenerate sites in Drosophila melanogaster. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Genome-wide analysis of allele frequency change in sunflower crop-wild hybrid populations evolving under natural conditions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Hybridization is known to occur between cultivated and wild populations of numerous plant species. This represents a major mechanism by which a wild population’s genetic structure and evolutionary dynamics could be altered. Studying crop-derived alleles in wild populations is also relevant to assess...

  4. How well do you know your mutation? Complex effects of genetic background on expressivity, complementation, and ordering of allelic effects

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Lin; DeNieu, Michael; Sonnenschein, Anne; Hummel, Kristen; Marier, Christian; Victory, Andrew; Porter, Cody; Mammel, Anna; Holms, Julie; Sivaratnam, Gayatri

    2017-01-01

    For a given gene, different mutations influence organismal phenotypes to varying degrees. However, the expressivity of these variants not only depends on the DNA lesion associated with the mutation, but also on factors including the genetic background and rearing environment. The degree to which these factors influence related alleles, genes, or pathways similarly, and whether similar developmental mechanisms underlie variation in the expressivity of a single allele across conditions and among alleles is poorly understood. Besides their fundamental biological significance, these questions have important implications for the interpretation of functional genetic analyses, for example, if these factors alter the ordering of allelic series or patterns of complementation. We examined the impact of genetic background and rearing environment for a series of mutations spanning the range of phenotypic effects for both the scalloped and vestigial genes, which influence wing development in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetic background and rearing environment influenced the phenotypic outcome of mutations, including intra-genic interactions, particularly for mutations of moderate expressivity. We examined whether cellular correlates (such as cell proliferation during development) of these phenotypic effects matched the observed phenotypic outcome. While cell proliferation decreased with mutations of increasingly severe effects, surprisingly it did not co-vary strongly with the degree of background dependence. We discuss these findings and propose a phenomenological model to aid in understanding the biology of genes, and how this influences our interpretation of allelic effects in genetic analysis. PMID:29166655

  5. An Increased Frequency in HLA Class I Alleles and Haplotypes Suggests Genetic Susceptibility to Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Pandemic: A Case-Control Study

    PubMed Central

    Narayanankutty, Arun; Reséndiz-Hernández, Juan M.; Nava-Quiroz, Karol J.; Bautista-Félix, Nora E.; Castillejos-López, Manuel D. J.

    2018-01-01

    Background The influenza A H1N1/09 pandemic infected a small number of exposed individuals, which suggests the involvement of genetic factors. There are scarce data available on classical HLA class I association with the influenza A H1N1/09 pandemic. Methods We analyzed the frequency of classical HLA class I alleles and haplotypes in A H1N1/09 influenza in a case-control study including 138 influenza patients (INF-P) and 225 asymptomatic healthy contacts (INF-C) simultaneously recruited. HLA class I typing was performed by high-resolution sequence-based typing method. Results Our analysis revealed higher frequency of C∗07:02:01, B∗39:06:02, C∗03:02:01, B∗44:03:01, B∗51:01:05, and B∗73:01 (p < 0.05; OR = 1.84–9.98) and of two haplotypes—A∗68:01:02-C∗07:02:01 (p = 1.05E − 05; OR = 23.99) and B∗35:01:01-C∗07:02.01 (p = 4.15E − 04, OR = 2.15)—in A H1N1/09 influenza subjects. A∗68:01:01 was exclusively present only in the INF-P group (5/138). A decrease in the frequency of C∗03:03:01, A∗11:01:01, B∗39:01:01, A∗24:02:01, C∗03:04:01, B∗51:01:01, and C∗07:01:01 (p < 0.05; OR = 0.12–0.52) and of haplotypes A∗02:01:01-B∗35:01:01-C∗04:01:01, A∗24:02:01-B∗35:01:01, B∗39:01:01-C∗07:02:01, and B∗40:02:01-C∗03:04:01 (p < 0.05; OR = 0.08–0.22) were observed in INF-P group. Conclusion Selective classical HLA class I allele and haplotype combinations predispose individuals towards susceptibility or protection against the influenza A H1N1/09 pandemic. This work has significant implications for accessing population transmission risk for A H1N1/09 or a similar strain breakout in the future. PMID:29682588

  6. Frequency of consumption of products with varying energy value by patients of a sanatorium in Ciechocinek.

    PubMed

    Górecka, Danuta; Szczepaniak, Barbara; Flaczyk, Ewa; Kordubski, Piotr

    2007-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of consumption of selected groups of foodstuffs with varying energy value by patients of the "Dom Zdrojowy" sanatorium in Ciechocinek (Poland). The survey included 100 persons, out of which 80% were obese individuals (OB), while the others were patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Products with lowered energy value, especially cottage cheese, milk, "light" yogurt, as well as tea and coffee without sugar were on average consumed rather frequently. Obese patients, from among women constituted 80%, paid attention to fat content in their daily diet.

  7. Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height

    PubMed Central

    Marouli, Eirini; Graff, Mariaelisa; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Lo, Ken Sin; Wood, Andrew R; Kjaer, Troels R; Fine, Rebecca S; Lu, Yingchang; Schurmann, Claudia; Highland, Heather M; Rüeger, Sina; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Justice, Anne E; Lamparter, David; Stirrups, Kathleen E; Turcot, Valérie; Young, Kristin L; Winkler, Thomas W; Esko, Tõnu; Karaderi, Tugce; Locke, Adam E; Masca, Nicholas GD; Ng, Maggie CY; Mudgal, Poorva; Rivas, Manuel A; Vedantam, Sailaja; Mahajan, Anubha; Guo, Xiuqing; Abecasis, Goncalo; Aben, Katja K; Adair, Linda S; Alam, Dewan S; Albrecht, Eva; Allin, Kristine H; Allison, Matthew; Amouyel, Philippe; Appel, Emil V; Arveiler, Dominique; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Auer, Paul L; Balkau, Beverley; Banas, Bernhard; Bang, Lia E; Benn, Marianne; Bergmann, Sven; Bielak, Lawrence F; Blüher, Matthias; Boeing, Heiner; Boerwinkle, Eric; Böger, Carsten A; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Bork-Jensen, Jette; Bots, Michiel L; Bottinger, Erwin P; Bowden, Donald W; Brandslund, Ivan; Breen, Gerome; Brilliant, Murray H; Broer, Linda; Burt, Amber A; Butterworth, Adam S; Carey, David J; Caulfield, Mark J; Chambers, John C; Chasman, Daniel I; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Christensen, Cramer; Chu, Audrey Y; Cocca, Massimiliano; Collins, Francis S; Cook, James P; Corley, Janie; Galbany, Jordi Corominas; Cox, Amanda J; Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Danesh, John; Davies, Gail; de Bakker, Paul IW; de Borst, Gert J.; de Denus, Simon; de Groot, Mark CH; de Mutsert, Renée; Deary, Ian J; Dedoussis, George; Demerath, Ellen W; den Hollander, Anneke I; Dennis, Joe G; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Drenos, Fotios; Du, Mengmeng; Dunning, Alison M; Easton, Douglas F; Ebeling, Tapani; Edwards, Todd L; Ellinor, Patrick T; Elliott, Paul; Evangelou, Evangelos; Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni; Faul, Jessica D; Feitosa, Mary F; Feng, Shuang; Ferrannini, Ele; Ferrario, Marco M; Ferrieres, Jean; Florez, Jose C; Ford, Ian; Fornage, Myriam; Franks, Paul W; Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth; Galesloot, Tessel E; Gan, Wei; Gandin, Ilaria; Gasparini, Paolo; Giedraitis, Vilmantas; Giri, Ayush; Girotto, Giorgia; Gordon, Scott D; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Gorski, Mathias; Grarup, Niels; Grove, Megan L.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Gustafsson, Stefan; Hansen, Torben; Harris, Kathleen Mullan; Harris, Tamara B; Hattersley, Andrew T; Hayward, Caroline; He, Liang; Heid, Iris M; Heikkilä, Kauko; Helgeland, Øyvind; Hernesniemi, Jussi; Hewitt, Alex W; Hocking, Lynne J; Hollensted, Mette; Holmen, Oddgeir L; Hovingh, G. Kees; Howson, Joanna MM; Hoyng, Carel B; Huang, Paul L; Hveem, Kristian; Ikram, M. Arfan; Ingelsson, Erik; Jackson, Anne U; Jansson, Jan-Håkan; Jarvik, Gail P; Jensen, Gorm B; Jhun, Min A; Jia, Yucheng; Jiang, Xuejuan; Johansson, Stefan; Jørgensen, Marit E; Jørgensen, Torben; Jousilahti, Pekka; Jukema, J Wouter; Kahali, Bratati; Kahn, René S; Kähönen, Mika; Kamstrup, Pia R; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kaprio, Jaakko; Karaleftheri, Maria; Kardia, Sharon LR; Karpe, Fredrik; Kee, Frank; Keeman, Renske; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Kitajima, Hidetoshi; Kluivers, Kirsten B; Kocher, Thomas; Komulainen, Pirjo; Kontto, Jukka; Kooner, Jaspal S; Kooperberg, Charles; Kovacs, Peter; Kriebel, Jennifer; Kuivaniemi, Helena; Küry, Sébastien; Kuusisto, Johanna; La Bianca, Martina; Laakso, Markku; Lakka, Timo A; Lange, Ethan M; Lange, Leslie A; Langefeld, Carl D; Langenberg, Claudia; Larson, Eric B; Lee, I-Te; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lewis, Cora E; Li, Huaixing; Li, Jin; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lin, Honghuang; Lin, Li-An; Lin, Xu; Lind, Lars; Lindström, Jaana; Linneberg, Allan; Liu, Yeheng; Liu, Yongmei; Lophatananon, Artitaya; Luan, Jian'an; Lubitz, Steven A; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Mackey, David A; Madden, Pamela AF; Manning, Alisa K; Männistö, Satu; Marenne, Gaëlle; Marten, Jonathan; Martin, Nicholas G; Mazul, Angela L; Meidtner, Karina; Metspalu, Andres; Mitchell, Paul; Mohlke, Karen L; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O; Morgan, Anna; Morris, Andrew D; Morris, Andrew P; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Munroe, Patricia B; Nalls, Mike A; Nauck, Matthias; Nelson, Christopher P; Neville, Matt; Nielsen, Sune F; Nikus, Kjell; Njølstad, Pål R; Nordestgaard, Børge G; Ntalla, Ioanna; O'Connel, Jeffrey R; Oksa, Heikki; Loohuis, Loes M Olde; Ophoff, Roel A; Owen, Katharine R; Packard, Chris J; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Palmer, Colin NA; Pasterkamp, Gerard; Patel, Aniruddh P; Pattie, Alison; Pedersen, Oluf; Peissig, Peggy L; Peloso, Gina M; Pennell, Craig E; Perola, Markus; Perry, James A; Perry, John R.B.; Person, Thomas N; Pirie, Ailith; Polasek, Ozren; Posthuma, Danielle; Raitakari, Olli T; Rasheed, Asif; Rauramaa, Rainer; Reilly, Dermot F; Reiner, Alex P; Renström, Frida; Ridker, Paul M; Rioux, John D; Robertson, Neil; Robino, Antonietta; Rolandsson, Olov; Rudan, Igor; Ruth, Katherine S; Saleheen, Danish; Salomaa, Veikko; Samani, Nilesh J; Sandow, Kevin; Sapkota, Yadav; Sattar, Naveed; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Schreiner, Pamela J; Schulze, Matthias B; Scott, Robert A; Segura-Lepe, Marcelo P; Shah, Svati; Sim, Xueling; Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh; Small, Kerrin S; Smith, Albert Vernon; Smith, Jennifer A; Southam, Lorraine; Spector, Timothy D; Speliotes, Elizabeth K; Starr, John M; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Stringham, Heather M; Stumvoll, Michael; Surendran, Praveen; Hart, Leen M ‘t; Tansey, Katherine E; Tardif, Jean-Claude; Taylor, Kent D; Teumer, Alexander; Thompson, Deborah J; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thuesen, Betina H; Tönjes, Anke; Tromp, Gerard; Trompet, Stella; Tsafantakis, Emmanouil; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne; Tyrer, Jonathan P; Uher, Rudolf; Uitterlinden, André G; Ulivi, Sheila; van der Laan, Sander W; Van Der Leij, Andries R; van Duijn, Cornelia M; van Schoor, Natasja M; van Setten, Jessica; Varbo, Anette; Varga, Tibor V; Varma, Rohit; Edwards, Digna R Velez; Vermeulen, Sita H; Vestergaard, Henrik; Vitart, Veronique; Vogt, Thomas F; Vozzi, Diego; Walker, Mark; Wang, Feijie; Wang, Carol A; Wang, Shuai; Wang, Yiqin; Wareham, Nicholas J; Warren, Helen R; Wessel, Jennifer; Willems, Sara M; Wilson, James G; Witte, Daniel R; Woods, Michael O; Wu, Ying; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Yao, Jie; Yao, Pang; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M; Young, Robin; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Zhan, Xiaowei; Zhang, Weihua; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhao, Wei; Zheng, He; Zhou, Wei; Rotter, Jerome I; Boehnke, Michael; Kathiresan, Sekar; McCarthy, Mark I; Willer, Cristen J; Stefansson, Kari; Borecki, Ingrid B; Liu, Dajiang J; North, Kari E; Heard-Costa, Nancy L; Pers, Tune H; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Oxvig, Claus; Kutalik, Zoltán; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Loos, Ruth JF; Frayling, Timothy M; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Deloukas, Panos; Lettre, Guillaume

    2016-01-01

    Summary Height is a highly heritable, classic polygenic trait with ∼700 common associated variants identified so far through genome-wide association studies. Here, we report 83 height-associated coding variants with lower minor allele frequencies (range of 0.1-4.8%) and effects of up to 2 cm/allele (e.g. in IHH, STC2, AR and CRISPLD2), >10 times the average effect of common variants. In functional follow-up studies, rare height-increasing alleles of STC2 (+1-2 cm/allele) compromised proteolytic inhibition of PAPP-A and increased cleavage of IGFBP-4 in vitro, resulting in higher bioavailability of insulin-like growth factors. These 83 height-associated variants overlap genes mutated in monogenic growth disorders and highlight new biological candidates (e.g. ADAMTS3, IL11RA, NOX4) and pathways (e.g. proteoglycan/glycosaminoglycan synthesis) involved in growth. Our results demonstrate that sufficiently large sample sizes can uncover rare and low-frequency variants of moderate to large effect associated with polygenic human phenotypes, and that these variants implicate relevant genes and pathways. PMID:28146470

  8. Human Leukocyte Antigens and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Protective Role for the HLA-DR6 Alleles DRB1*13:02 and *14:03

    PubMed Central

    Furukawa, Hiroshi; Kawasaki, Aya; Oka, Shomi; Ito, Ikue; Shimada, Kota; Sugii, Shoji; Hashimoto, Atsushi; Komiya, Akiko; Fukui, Naoshi; Kondo, Yuya; Ito, Satoshi; Hayashi, Taichi; Matsumoto, Isao; Kusaoi, Makio; Amano, Hirofumi; Nagai, Tatsuo; Hirohata, Shunsei; Setoguchi, Keigo; Kono, Hajime; Okamoto, Akira; Chiba, Noriyuki; Suematsu, Eiichi; Katayama, Masao; Migita, Kiyoshi; Suda, Akiko; Ohno, Shigeru; Hashimoto, Hiroshi; Takasaki, Yoshinari; Sumida, Takayuki; Nagaoka, Shouhei

    2014-01-01

    Many studies on associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele frequencies and susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been performed. However, few protective associations with HLA-DRB1 alleles have been reported. Here, we sought protective, as well as predispositional, alleles of HLA-DRB1 in Japanese SLE patients. An association study was conducted for HLA-DRB1 in Japanese SLE patients. Relative predispositional effects were analyzed by sequential elimination of carriers of each allele with the strongest association. We also explored the association of DRB1 alleles with SLE phenotypes including the presence of autoantibody and clinical manifestations. Significantly different carrier frequencies of certain DRB1 alleles were found to be associated with SLE as follows: increased DRB1*15:01 (P = 5.48×10−10, corrected P (Pc) = 1.59×10−8, odds ratio [OR] 2.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69–2.79), decreased DRB1*13:02 (P = 7.17×10−5, Pc = 0.0020, OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34–0.63) and decreased DRB1*14:03 (P = 0.0010, Pc = 0.0272, OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.18–0.63). Additionally, the “*15:01/*13:02 or *14:03” genotype tended to be negatively associated with SLE (P = 0.4209, OR 0.66), despite there being significant positive associations with *15:01 when present together with alleles other than *13:02 or *14:03 (P = 1.79×10−11, OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.84–3.10). This protective effect of *13:02 and *14:03 was also confirmed in SLE patients with different clinical phenotypes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a protective association between the carrier frequencies of HLA-DRB1*13:02 and *14:03 and SLE in the Japanese population. PMID:24498373

  9. Human leukocyte antigens and systemic lupus erythematosus: a protective role for the HLA-DR6 alleles DRB1*13:02 and *14:03.

    PubMed

    Furukawa, Hiroshi; Kawasaki, Aya; Oka, Shomi; Ito, Ikue; Shimada, Kota; Sugii, Shoji; Hashimoto, Atsushi; Komiya, Akiko; Fukui, Naoshi; Kondo, Yuya; Ito, Satoshi; Hayashi, Taichi; Matsumoto, Isao; Kusaoi, Makio; Amano, Hirofumi; Nagai, Tatsuo; Hirohata, Shunsei; Setoguchi, Keigo; Kono, Hajime; Okamoto, Akira; Chiba, Noriyuki; Suematsu, Eiichi; Katayama, Masao; Migita, Kiyoshi; Suda, Akiko; Ohno, Shigeru; Hashimoto, Hiroshi; Takasaki, Yoshinari; Sumida, Takayuki; Nagaoka, Shouhei; Tsuchiya, Naoyuki; Tohma, Shigeto

    2014-01-01

    Many studies on associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele frequencies and susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been performed. However, few protective associations with HLA-DRB1 alleles have been reported. Here, we sought protective, as well as predispositional, alleles of HLA-DRB1 in Japanese SLE patients. An association study was conducted for HLA-DRB1 in Japanese SLE patients. Relative predispositional effects were analyzed by sequential elimination of carriers of each allele with the strongest association. We also explored the association of DRB1 alleles with SLE phenotypes including the presence of autoantibody and clinical manifestations. Significantly different carrier frequencies of certain DRB1 alleles were found to be associated with SLE as follows: increased DRB1*15:01 (P = 5.48×10⁻¹⁰, corrected P (Pc) = 1.59×10⁻⁸, odds ratio [OR] 2.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69-2.79), decreased DRB1*13:02 (P = 7.17×10⁻⁵, Pc = 0.0020, OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34-0.63) and decreased DRB1*14:03 (P = 0.0010, Pc = 0.0272, OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.18-0.63). Additionally, the "*15:01/*13:02 or *14:03" genotype tended to be negatively associated with SLE (P = 0.4209, OR 0.66), despite there being significant positive associations with *15:01 when present together with alleles other than *13:02 or *14:03 (P = 1.79×10⁻¹¹, OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.84-3.10). This protective effect of *13:02 and *14:03 was also confirmed in SLE patients with different clinical phenotypes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a protective association between the carrier frequencies of HLA-DRB1*13:02 and *14:03 and SLE in the Japanese population.

  10. Impact of QTL minor allele frequency on genomic evaluation using real genotype data and simulated phenotypes in Japanese Black cattle.

    PubMed

    Uemoto, Yoshinobu; Sasaki, Shinji; Kojima, Takatoshi; Sugimoto, Yoshikazu; Watanabe, Toshio

    2015-11-19

    Genetic variance that is not captured by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is due to imperfect linkage disequilibrium (LD) between SNPs and quantitative trait loci (QTLs), and the extent of LD between SNPs and QTLs depends on different minor allele frequencies (MAF) between them. To evaluate the impact of MAF of QTLs on genomic evaluation, we performed a simulation study using real cattle genotype data. In total, 1368 Japanese Black cattle and 592,034 SNPs (Illumina BovineHD BeadChip) were used. We simulated phenotypes using real genotypes under different scenarios, varying the MAF categories, QTL heritability, number of QTLs, and distribution of QTL effect. After generating true breeding values and phenotypes, QTL heritability was estimated and the prediction accuracy of genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) was assessed under different SNP densities, prediction models, and population size by a reference-test validation design. The extent of LD between SNPs and QTLs in this population was higher in the QTLs with high MAF than in those with low MAF. The effect of MAF of QTLs depended on the genetic architecture, evaluation strategy, and population size in genomic evaluation. In genetic architecture, genomic evaluation was affected by the MAF of QTLs combined with the QTL heritability and the distribution of QTL effect. The number of QTL was not affected on genomic evaluation if the number of QTL was more than 50. In the evaluation strategy, we showed that different SNP densities and prediction models affect the heritability estimation and genomic prediction and that this depends on the MAF of QTLs. In addition, accurate QTL heritability and GEBV were obtained using denser SNP information and the prediction model accounted for the SNPs with low and high MAFs. In population size, a large sample size is needed to increase the accuracy of GEBV. The MAF of QTL had an impact on heritability estimation and prediction accuracy. Most genetic variance can be captured

  11. Association between the DRD2 A1 allele and response to methadone and buprenorphine maintenance treatments.

    PubMed

    Barratt, Daniel T; Coller, Janet K; Somogyi, Andrew A

    2006-06-05

    The TaqI A polymorphism (A(1)) of the dopamine D(2) receptor gene (DRD2), although not a specific predictor of opioid dependence, has been strongly associated with high levels of prior heroin use and poor treatment outcomes among methadone maintenance patients. The aims of this study were to confirm these findings via a retrospective analysis of A(1) allele frequency in methadone (n = 46) and buprenorphine (n = 25) patients, and non-opioid-dependent controls (n = 95). Subjects were genotyped at the DRD2 TaqI A locus using PCR amplification followed by TaqI restriction enzyme digestion and gel electrophoresis. For methadone and buprenorphine subjects, heroin use (prior to treatment), treatment outcomes, and withdrawal occurrence were determined from comprehensive case notes. No significant differences in A(1) allele frequency (%) were observed between: methadone (19.6%), buprenorphine (18.0%), and control (17.9%) groups (P > 0.7); successful and poor treatment outcome groups, methadone: 20.0% and 19.2%, respectively (P = 1.0); buprenorphine: 18.4% and 20.0%, respectively (P = 1.0). Also, there were no significant relationships between TaqI A genotype and prior heroin use (P = 0.47). However, among the successful methadone subjects, significantly fewer A(1) allele carriers experienced withdrawal than non-A(1) carriers (P = 0.04). In conclusion, the DRD2 genotype effects did not affect opioid maintenance treatment outcomes. This suggests the need for a further prospective investigation into the role of the DRD2 A(1) allele in heroin use and response to maintenance pharmacotherapies for opioid dependence.

  12. The G allele in IL-10-1082 G/A may have a role in lowering the susceptibility to panic disorder in female patients.

    PubMed

    Kim, Han-Joon; Kim, Yong-Ku

    2016-12-01

    Immune system activation is involved in the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD). We investigated INF-γ+874 A/T, TNF-α-308 G/A, and IL-10-1082 G/A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to determine their association with PD. This study enroled 135 PD patients and 135 healthy controls. INF-γ+874 A/T (rs2430561), TNF-α-308 G/A (rs1800629), and IL-10-1082 G/A (rs1800896) were genotyped. There were no differences in genotypes or allele frequencies between the patient and control groups, regardless of accompanying agoraphobia. However, for female patients, the G allele frequency in IL-10 SNP was higher in the control group than in the patient group. Additionally, the female control group had a higher frequency of the A/G and G/G genotype in the IL-10 SNP than the female patient group. We suggest that the G allele in IL-10-1082 G/A might have a role in reducing the manifestations of PD in female patients. Further studies are needed to extend and confirm our findings.

  13. FISH-detected delay in replication timing of mutated FMR1 alleles on both active and inactive X-chromosomes.

    PubMed

    Yeshaya, J; Shalgi, R; Shohat, M; Avivi, L

    1999-01-01

    X-chromosome inactivation and the size of the CGG repeat number are assumed to play a role in the clinical, physical, and behavioral phenotype of female carriers of a mutated FMR1 allele. In view of the tight relationship between replication timing and the expression of a given DNA sequence, we have examined the replication timing of FMR1 alleles on active and inactive X-chromosomes in cell samples (lymphocytes or amniocytes) of 25 females: 17 heterozygous for a mutated FMR1 allele with a trinucleotide repeat number varying from 58 to a few hundred, and eight homozygous for a wild-type allele. We have applied two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with FMR1 and X-chromosome alpha-satellite probes to interphase cells of the various genotypes: the alpha-satellite probe was used to distinguish between early replicating (active) and late replicating (inactive) X-chromosomes, and the FMR1 probe revealed the replication pattern of this locus. All samples, except one with a large trinucleotide expansion, showed an early replicating FMR1 allele on the active X-chromosome and a late replicating allele on the inactive X-chromosome. In samples of mutation carriers, both the early and the late alleles showed delayed replication compared with normal alleles, regardless of repeat size. We conclude therefore that: (1) the FMR1 locus is subjected to X-inactivation; (2) mutated FMR1 alleles, regardless of repeat size, replicate later than wild-type alleles on both the active and inactive X-chromosomes; and (3) the delaying effect of the trinucleotide expansion, even with a low repeat size, is superimposed on the delay in replication associated with X-inactivation.

  14. Genetic exchange of fimbrial alleles exemplifies the adaptive virulence strategy of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

    PubMed

    Kerr, Jennifer E; Abramian, Jared R; Dao, Doan-Hieu V; Rigney, Todd W; Fritz, Jamie; Pham, Tan; Gay, Isabel; Parthasarathy, Kavitha; Wang, Bing-yan; Zhang, Wenjian; Tribble, Gena D

    2014-01-01

    Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, a member of the human oral microbiome, and a proposed "keystone" pathogen in the development of chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gingiva. P. gingivalis is a genetically diverse species, and is able to exchange chromosomal DNA between strains by natural competence and conjugation. In this study, we investigate the role of horizontal DNA transfer as an adaptive process to modify behavior, using the major fimbriae as our model system, due to their critical role in mediating interactions with the host environment. We show that P. gingivalis is able to exchange fimbrial allele types I and IV into four distinct strain backgrounds via natural competence. In all recombinants, we detected a complete exchange of the entire fimA allele, and the rate of exchange varies between the different strain backgrounds. In addition, gene exchange within other regions of the fimbrial genetic locus was identified. To measure the biological implications of these allele swaps we compared three genotypes of fimA in an isogenic background, strain ATCC 33277. We demonstrate that exchange of fimbrial allele type results in profound phenotypic changes, including the quantity of fimbriae elaborated, membrane blebbing, auto-aggregation and other virulence-associated phenotypes. Replacement of the type I allele with either the type III or IV allele resulted in increased invasion of gingival fibroblast cells relative to the isogenic parent strain. While genetic variability is known to impact host-microbiome interactions, this is the first study to quantitatively assess the adaptive effect of exchanging genes within the pan genome cloud. This is significant as it presents a potential mechanism by which opportunistic pathogens may acquire the traits necessary to modify host-microbial interactions.

  15. Population frequencies of the Triallelic 5HTTLPR in six Ethnicially diverse samples from North America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

    PubMed

    Haberstick, Brett C; Smolen, Andrew; Williams, Redford B; Bishop, George D; Foshee, Vangie A; Thornberry, Terence P; Conger, Rand; Siegler, Ilene C; Zhang, Xiaodong; Boardman, Jason D; Frajzyngier, Zygmunt; Stallings, Michael C; Brent Donnellan, M; Halpern, Carolyn T; Harris, Kathleen Mullan

    2015-03-01

    Genetic differences between populations are potentially an important contributor to health disparities around the globe. As differences in gene frequencies influence study design, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the natural variation of the genetic variant(s) of interest. Along these lines, we characterized the variation of the 5HTTLPR and rs25531 polymorphisms in six samples from North America, Southeast Asia, and Africa (Cameroon) that differ in their racial and ethnic composition. Allele and genotype frequencies were determined for 24,066 participants. Results indicated higher frequencies of the rs25531 G-allele among Black and African populations as compared with White, Hispanic and Asian populations. Further, we observed a greater number of 'extra-long' ('XL') 5HTTLPR alleles than have previously been reported. Extra-long alleles occurred almost entirely among Asian, Black and Non-White Hispanic populations as compared with White and Native American populations where they were completely absent. Lastly, when considered jointly, we observed between sample differences in the genotype frequencies within racial and ethnic populations. Taken together, these data underscore the importance of characterizing the L-G allele to avoid misclassification of participants by genotype and for further studies of the impact XL alleles may have on the transcriptional efficiency of SLC6A4.

  16. MHC-mediated sexual selection on birdsong: Generic polymorphism, particular alleles and acoustic signals.

    PubMed

    Garamszegi, László Zsolt; Zagalska-Neubauer, Magdalena; Canal, David; Blázi, György; Laczi, Miklós; Nagy, Gergely; Szöllősi, Eszter; Vaskuti, Éva; Török, János; Zsebők, Sándor

    2018-06-01

    Several hypotheses predict that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) drives mating preference in females. Olfactory, colour or morphological traits are often found as reliable signals of the MHC profile, but the role of avian song mediating MHC-based female choice remains largely unexplored. We investigated the relationship between several MHC and acoustic features in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a European passerine with complex songs. We screened a fragment of the class IIB second exon of the MHC molecule, of which individuals harbour 4-15 alleles, while considerable sequence diversity is maintained at the population level. To make statistical inferences from a large number of comparisons, we adopted both null-hypothesis testing and effect size framework in combination with randomization procedures. After controlling for potential confounding factors, neither MHC allelic diversity nor the presence of particular alleles was associated remarkably with the investigated qualitative and quantitative song traits. Furthermore, genetic similarity among males based on MHC sequences was not reflected by the similarity in their song based on syllable content. Overall, these results suggest that the relationship between features of song and the allelic composition and diversity of MHC is not strong in the studied species. However, a biologically motivated analysis revealed that individuals that harbour an MHC allele that impairs survival perform songs with broader frequency range. This finding suggests that certain aspects of the song may bear reliable information concerning the MHC profile of the individuals, which can be used by females to optimize mate choice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Phenotypic and allelic distribution of the ABO and Rhesus (D) blood groups in the Cameroonian population.

    PubMed

    Ndoula, S T; Noubiap, J J N; Nansseu, J R N; Wonkam, A

    2014-06-01

    Data on blood group phenotypes are important for blood transfusion programs, for disease association and population genetics studies. This study aimed at reporting the phenotypic and allelic distribution of ABO and Rhesus (Rh) groups in various ethnolinguistic groups in the Cameroonians. We obtained ABO and Rhesus blood groups and self-identified ethnicity from 14,546 Cameroonian students. Ethnicity was classified in seven major ethnolinguistic groups: Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian/West Atlantic, Niger-Kordofanian/Adamawa-Ubangui, Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Grassfield, Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Mbam and Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu/Equatorial. ABO allelic frequencies were determined using the Bernstein method. Differences in phenotypic distribution of blood groups were assessed using the chi-square test; a P value <0.05 being considered as statistically significant. The frequencies of the antigens of blood groups O, A, B and AB were 48.62%, 25.07%, 21.86% and 4.45%, respectively. Rhesus-positive was 96.32%. The allelic frequencies of O, A and B genes were 0.6978, 0.1605 and 0.1416, respectively. Phenotypic frequencies of the blood groups in the general study population and in the different ethnolinguistic groups were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations (P > 0.05). The frequencies of O, A, and B blood phenotypes were significantly lower, respectively, in the Nilo-Saharan group (P = 0.009), the Niger-Kordofanian/Benue-Congo/Bantu groups (P = 0.021) and the Niger-Kordofanian/West-Atlantic group. AB blood group was most frequent in the Niger-Kordofanian/Adamawa-Ubangui group (P = 0.024). Our study provides the first data on ethnic distribution of ABO and Rhesus blood groups in the Cameroonian population and suggests that its general profile is similar to those of several sub-Saharan African populations. We found some significant differences in phenotypic distribution amongst major ethnolinguistic groups

  18. Structure of allelic variants of subtype 5 of histone H1 in pea Pisum sativum L.

    PubMed

    Bogdanova, V S; Lester, D R; Berdnikov, V A; Andersson, I

    2005-06-01

    The pea genome contains seven histone H1 genes encoding different subtypes. Previously, the DNA sequence of only one gene, His1, coding for the subtype H1-1, had been identified. We isolated a histone H1 allele from a pea genomic DNA library. Data from the electrophoretic mobility of the pea H1 subtypes and their N-bromosuccinimide cleavage products indicated that the newly isolated gene corresponded to the H1-5 subtype encoded by His5. We confirmed this result by sequencing the gene from three pea lines with H1-5 allelic variants of altered electrophoretic mobility. The allele of the slow H1-5 variant differed from the standard allele by a nucleotide substitution that caused the replacement of the positively charged lysine with asparagine in the DNA-interacting domain of the histone molecule. A temperature-related occurrence had previously been demonstrated for this H1-5 variant in a study on a worldwide collection of pea germplasm. The variant tended to occur at higher frequencies in geographic regions with a cold climate. The fast allelic variant of H1-5 displayed a deletion resulting in the loss of a duplicated pentapeptide in the C-terminal domain.

  19. Extensive variation between tissues in allele specific expression in an outbred mammal.

    PubMed

    Chamberlain, Amanda J; Vander Jagt, Christy J; Hayes, Benjamin J; Khansefid, Majid; Marett, Leah C; Millen, Catriona A; Nguyen, Thuy T T; Goddard, Michael E

    2015-11-23

    Allele specific gene expression (ASE), with the paternal allele more expressed than the maternal allele or vice versa, appears to be a common phenomenon in humans and mice. In other species the extent of ASE is unknown, and even in humans and mice there are several outstanding questions. These include; to what extent is ASE tissue specific? how often does the direction of allele expression imbalance reverse between tissues? how often is only one of the two alleles expressed? is there a genome wide bias towards expression of the paternal or maternal allele; and finally do genes that are nearby on a chromosome share the same direction of ASE? Here we use gene expression data (RNASeq) from 18 tissues from a single cow to investigate each of these questions in turn, and then validate some of these findings in two tissues from 20 cows. Between 40 and 100 million sequence reads were generated per tissue across three replicate samples for each of the eighteen tissues from the single cow (the discovery dataset). A bovine gene expression atlas was created (the first from RNASeq data), and differentially expressed genes in each tissue were identified. To analyse ASE, we had access to unambiguously phased genotypes for all heterozygous variants in the cow's whole genome sequence, where these variants were homozygous in the whole genome sequence of her sire, and as a result we were able to map reads to parental genomes, to determine SNP and genes showing ASE in each tissue. In total 25,251 heterozygous SNP within 7985 genes were tested for ASE in at least one tissue. ASE was pervasive, 89 % of genes tested had significant ASE in at least one tissue. This large proportion of genes displaying ASE was confirmed in the two tissues in a validation dataset. For individual tissues the proportion of genes showing significant ASE varied from as low as 8-16 % of those tested in thymus to as high as 71-82 % of those tested in lung. There were a number of cases where the direction of

  20. Meta-analyses of the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with rheumatoid arthritis among Arabs.

    PubMed

    Bizzari, Sami; Nair, Pratibha; Al Ali, Mahmoud Taleb; Hamzeh, Abdul Rezzak

    2017-07-01

    Various studies incorporating Arab populations have reported on specific associations between HLA-DRB1 variants and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We sought to provide an overview on the association of HLA-DRB1 with RA in Arabs using meta-analysis tools. Data on allele counts and frequencies were compiled from the relevant literature (published before 16 February 2016) and the associations of 13 -DRB1 variants with RA were assessed; relationships were defined in terms of odds ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval. Based on a collection of six studies, risk conferring or protective allele associations were derived from allele counts in 475 RA patients and 1213 controls. Two HLA-DRB1 alleles (-DRB1*04, *10) significantly conferred an increased risk for RA (OR > 2; P < 0.0001). Conversely, four alleles (-DRB1*03, *07, *11 and *13) significantly conferred a protective effect against RA (OR < 1; P < 0.05). No significant associations with RA were found for seven -DRB1 variants (-DRB1*01, *08, *09, *12, *14, *15 and *16). With increased statistical power and effect size over individual studies, we present a more robust profile on the association of HLA-DRB1 variants with RA in the Arab ethnicity, and contribute to the global geo-ethnic picture in this context. © 2016 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  1. Variant allele frequency enrichment analysis in vitro reveals sonic hedgehog pathway to impede sustained temozolomide response in GBM.

    PubMed

    Biswas, Nidhan K; Chandra, Vikas; Sarkar-Roy, Neeta; Das, Tapojyoti; Bhattacharya, Rabindra N; Tripathy, Laxmi N; Basu, Sunandan K; Kumar, Shantanu; Das, Subrata; Chatterjee, Ankita; Mukherjee, Ankur; Basu, Pryiadarshi; Maitra, Arindam; Chattopadhyay, Ansuman; Basu, Analabha; Dhara, Surajit

    2015-01-21

    Neoplastic cells of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) may or may not show sustained response to temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. We hypothesize that TMZ chemotherapy response in GBM is predetermined in its neoplastic clones via a specific set of mutations that alter relevant pathways. We describe exome-wide enrichment of variant allele frequencies (VAFs) in neurospheres displaying contrasting phenotypes of sustained versus reversible TMZ-responses in vitro. Enrichment of VAFs was found on genes ST5, RP6KA1 and PRKDC in cells showing sustained TMZ-effect whereas on genes FREM2, AASDH and STK36, in cells showing reversible TMZ-effect. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) revealed that these genes alter cell-cycle, G2/M-checkpoint-regulation and NHEJ pathways in sustained TMZ-effect cells whereas the lysine-II&V/phenylalanine degradation and sonic hedgehog (Hh) pathways in reversible TMZ-effect cells. Next, we validated the likely involvement of the Hh-pathway in TMZ-response on additional GBM neurospheres as well as on GBM patients, by extracting RNA-sequencing-based gene expression data from the TCGA-GBM database. Finally, we demonstrated TMZ-sensitization of a TMZ non-responder neurosphere in vitro by treating them with the FDA-approved pharmacological Hh-pathway inhibitor vismodegib. Altogether, our results indicate that the Hh-pathway impedes sustained TMZ-response in GBM and could be a potential therapeutic target to enhance TMZ-response in this malignancy.

  2. When Does Frequency-Independent Selection Maintain Genetic Variation?

    PubMed

    Novak, Sebastian; Barton, Nicholas H

    2017-10-01

    Frequency-independent selection is generally considered as a force that acts to reduce the genetic variation in evolving populations, yet rigorous arguments for this idea are scarce. When selection fluctuates in time, it is unclear whether frequency-independent selection may maintain genetic polymorphism without invoking additional mechanisms. We show that constant frequency-independent selection with arbitrary epistasis on a well-mixed haploid population eliminates genetic variation if we assume linkage equilibrium between alleles. To this end, we introduce the notion of frequency-independent selection at the level of alleles, which is sufficient to prove our claim and contains the notion of frequency-independent selection on haploids. When selection and recombination are weak but of the same order, there may be strong linkage disequilibrium; numerical calculations show that stable equilibria are highly unlikely. Using the example of a diallelic two-locus model, we then demonstrate that frequency-independent selection that fluctuates in time can maintain stable polymorphism if linkage disequilibrium changes its sign periodically. We put our findings in the context of results from the existing literature and point out those scenarios in which the possible role of frequency-independent selection in maintaining genetic variation remains unclear. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  3. Dominant hemimelia and En-1 on mouse chromosome 1 are not allelic.

    PubMed

    Higgins, M; Hill, R E; West, J D

    1992-08-01

    Previous studies have shown that En-1, a homeobox-containing gene, maps close to or at the Dh locus in the mouse. Since homeobox-containing genes are key genes in the control of development the close proximity of En-1 to the developmentally significant gene Dh raised the possibility that the Dh mutation represented a mutant allele of En-1. A genetic analysis involving En-1, Dh, and other chromosome 1 markers (Emv-17, ln and Pep-3) shows that although Dh and En-1 are closely linked they are separable by recombination (4/563). The likely gene order and recombination frequencies of these loci are: ln (5.2 +/- 0.9) Emv-17 (1.1 +/- 0.4) Dh (0.7 +/- 0.4) En-1 (3.0 +/- 0.7) Pep-3. This shows that Dh is not a mutant allele of En-1.

  4. A new method for studying population genetics of cyst nematodes based on Pool-Seq and genomewide allele frequency analysis.

    PubMed

    Mimee, Benjamin; Duceppe, Marc-Olivier; Véronneau, Pierre-Yves; Lafond-Lapalme, Joël; Jean, Martine; Belzile, François; Bélair, Guy

    2015-11-01

    Cyst nematodes are important agricultural pests responsible for billions of dollars of losses each year. Plant resistance is the most effective management tool, but it requires a close monitoring of population genetics. Current technologies for pathotyping and genotyping cyst nematodes are time-consuming, expensive and imprecise. In this study, we capitalized on the reproduction mode of cyst nematodes to develop a simple population genetic analysis pipeline based on genotyping-by-sequencing and Pool-Seq. This method yielded thousands of SNPs and allowed us to study the relationships between populations of different origins or pathotypes. Validation of the method on well-characterized populations also demonstrated that it was a powerful and accurate tool for population genetics. The genomewide allele frequencies of 23 populations of golden nematode, from nine countries and representing the five known pathotypes, were compared. A clear separation of the pathotypes and fine genetic relationships between and among global populations were obtained using this method. In addition to being powerful, this tool has proven to be very time- and cost-efficient and could be applied to other cyst nematode species. © 2015 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Molecular Ecology Resources © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food.

  5. EOMES-positive CD4+ T cells are increased in PTPN22 (1858T) risk allele carriers.

    PubMed

    Chemin, Karine; Ramsköld, Daniel; Diaz-Gallo, Lina-Marcela; Herrath, Jessica; Houtman, Miranda; Tandre, Karolina; Rönnblom, Lars; Catrina, Anca; Malmström, Vivianne

    2018-04-01

    The presence of the PTPN22 risk allele (1858T) is associated with several autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Despite a number of studies exploring the function of PTPN22 in T cells, the exact impact of the PTPN22 risk allele on T-cell function in humans is still unclear. In this study, using RNA sequencing, we show that, upon TCR-activation, naïve human CD4 + T cells homozygous for the PTPN22 risk allele overexpress a set of genes including CFLAR and 4-1BB, which are important for cytotoxic T-cell differentiation. Moreover, the protein expression of the T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin (EOMES) was increased in T cells from healthy donors homozygous for the PTPN22 risk allele and correlated with a decreased number of naïve CD4 + T cells. There was no difference in the frequency of other CD4 + T-cell subsets (Th1, Th17, Tfh, Treg). Finally, an accumulation of EOMES + CD4 + T cells was observed in synovial fluid of RA patients with a more pronounced production of Perforin-1 in PTPN22 risk allele carriers. Altogether, we propose a novel mechanism of action of PTPN22 risk allele through the generation of cytotoxic CD4 + T cells and identify EOMES + CD4 + T cells as a relevant T-cell subset in RA pathogenesis. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. HLA Class II Profile and Distribution of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 Alleles and Haplotypes among Lebanese and Bahraini Arabs

    PubMed Central

    Almawi, Wassim Y.; Busson, Marc; Tamim, Hala; Al-Harbi, Einas M.; Finan, Ramzi R.; Wakim-Ghorayeb, Saria F.; Motala, Ayesha A.

    2004-01-01

    The gene frequencies of HLA class II alleles were studied in 95 healthy Lebanese Arab and 72 healthy Bahraini Arab subjects. Our aim was to establish the genetic relationship between Bahraini and Lebanese Arabs in terms of HLA class II gene and haplotype frequencies and to compare these results with frequencies for other countries with populations of Caucasian and non-Caucasian descent. Subjects were unrelated and of both sexes, and HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 genotyping was done by the PCR sequence-specific primer technique. Comparative analysis of the HLA-DR and -DQ alleles revealed differences in the allelic distribution among Bahraini and Lebanese subjects. Analysis of the 25 HLA-DRB1 alleles that have been investigated showed that the DRB1*040101 and DRB1*110101 alleles were more frequent among Lebanese, whereas DRB1*030101 and DRB1*160101 alleles were more frequent among Bahrainis. Similarly, of the seven HLA-DQB1 alleles analyzed, the presence of DQB1*0201 was more frequent among Bahrainis, whereas DQB1*030101 was more frequent among Lebanese. The DRB1*160101-DQB1*050101 (0.1318 versus 0.0379%) and DRB1*030101-DQB1*0201 (0.1202 versus 0.0321%) haplotypes were more frequent among Bahrainis, while the DRB1*110101-DQB1*030101 (0.3142 versus 0.1198%) and DRB1*040101-DQB1*0302 (0.1416 versus 0.0278%) haplotypes were more frequent in Lebanese subjects. Furthermore, a high prevalence of the DRB1*040101-DRB1*110101-DQB1*0302-DQB1*030101 (12.63 versus 1.35%, P = 0.015) and the homozygous DRB1*110101-DRB1*110101-DQB1*030101-DQB1*030101 (7.37 versus 0.00%, P = 0.046) genotypes was seen among Lebanese, and DRB1*070101-DRB1*160101-DQB1*0201-DQB1*050101 (6.76 versus 0.00%, P = 0.034) was seen more frequently among Bahraini subjects. Our results underline significant differences between these two populations in HLA class II distribution, provide basic information for further studies of major histocompatibility complex heterogeneity among Arabic-speaking countries, and serve as a

  7. Allelic genealogies in sporophytic self-incompatibility systems in plants.

    PubMed

    Schierup, M H; Vekemans, X; Christiansen, F B

    1998-11-01

    Expectations for the time scale and structure of allelic genealogies in finite populations are formed under three models of sporophytic self-incompatibility. The models differ in the dominance interactions among the alleles that determine the self-incompatibility phenotype: In the SSIcod model, alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style, in the SSIdom model, alleles form a dominance hierarchy, and in SSIdomcod, alleles are codominant in the style and show a dominance hierarchy in the pollen. Coalescence times of alleles rarely differ more than threefold from those under gametophytic self-incompatibility, and transspecific polymorphism is therefore expected to be equally common. The previously reported directional turnover process of alleles in the SSIdomcod model results in coalescence times lower and substitution rates higher than those in the other models. The SSIdom model assumes strong asymmetries in allelic action, and the most recessive extant allele is likely to be the most recent common ancestor. Despite these asymmetries, the expected shape of the allele genealogies does not deviate markedly from the shape of a neutral gene genealogy. The application of the results to sequence surveys of alleles, including interspecific comparisons, is discussed.

  8. Effect of APOE ε4 allele on survival and fertility in an adverse environment.

    PubMed

    van Exel, Eric; Koopman, Jacob J E; Bodegom, David van; Meij, Johannes J; Knijff, Peter de; Ziem, Juventus B; Finch, Caleb E; Westendorp, Rudi G J

    2017-01-01

    The apolipoprotein-ε4 allele (APOE-ε4) is strongly associated with detrimental outcomes in affluent populations including atherosclerotic disease, Alzheimer's disease, and reduced lifespan. Despite these detrimental outcomes, population frequencies of APOE-ε4 are high. We hypothesize that the high frequency of APOE-ε4 was maintained because of beneficial effects during evolution when infectious pathogens were more prevalent and a major cause of mortality. We examined a rural Ghanaian population with a high pathogen exposure for selective advantages of APOE-ε4, to survival and or fertility. This rural Ghanaian population (n = 4311) has high levels of mortality from widespread infectious diseases which are the main cause of death. We examined whether APOE-ε4 was associated with survival (total follow-up time was 30,262 years) and fertility after stratifying by exposure to high or low pathogen levels. Households drawing water from open wells and rivers were classified as exposed to high pathogen levels while low pathogen exposure was classified as those drawing water from borehole wells. We found a non-significant, but positive survival benefit, i.e. the hazard ratio per APOE-ε4 allele was 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.69 to 1.05), adjusted for sex, tribe, and socioeconomic status. Among women aged 40 years and older (n = 842), APOE-ε4 was not associated with the lifetime number of children. However, APOE-ε4 was associated with higher fertility in women exposed to high pathogen levels. Compared with women not carrying an APOE-ε4 allele, those carrying one APOE-ε4 allele had on average one more child and those carrying two APOE-ε4 alleles had 3.5 more children (p = 0.018). Contrary to affluent modern-day populations, APOE-ε4 did not carry a survival disadvantage in this rural Ghanaian population. Moreover, APOE-ε4 promotes fertility in highly infectious environments. Our findings suggest that APOE-ε4 may be considered as evolutionarily adaptive. Its

  9. The APOE E4 Allele Confers Increased Risk of Ischemic Stroke Among Greek Carriers.

    PubMed

    Konialis, Christopher; Spengos, Konstantinos; Iliopoulos, Panagiotis; Karapanou, Sophia; Gialafos, Elias; Hagnefelt, Birgitta; Vemmos, Konstantinos; Zakopoulos, Nikolaos; Pangalos, Constantinos

    2016-01-01

    Although several studies in various countries have indicated that the presence of the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein-E (APOE) gene is a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease, the strength of this association still remains a matter of debate. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of the APOE E4 allele and various other gene polymorphisms in in a well-characterized sample of Greek patients and to evaluate the potential associations with the risk of ischemic stroke (IS) and coronary heart disease (CHD). A total of nine gene variants/polymorphisms - F5 (Leiden - R5 06Q, rs6025), F2 (20210G > A, rs1799963), F13A1 (V34L, rs5985), MTHFR (677C > T - A222V, rs1801133), MTHFR (1298A > C - E429A, rs1801131), FGB (-455G > A -c.-463G > A; rs1800790), SERPINE1 (PAI14G/5G - rs1799889), ACE (ACE I/D, rs1799752), ITGB3 (GPIIIa L33P, rs5918) and the APOE E2/E3/E4 alleles (rs7412, rs429358) - were genotyped in 200 newly diagnosed ischemic stroke (IS) patients, 165 patients with ischemic coronary heart disease (CHD) and 159 controls with no cerebroor cardiovascular disease (non-CVD). A statistical analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. No significant association was found regarding most gene polymorphisms and the presence of IS or CHD in the patient cohort. However, the APOE E4 allele frequency was significantly higher (p = 0.02) among patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or IS + CHD (12.7%) when compared to the controls (5.1%). More accurately, E4 carriers had 2.66 and 2.71 times greater likelihood of IS or IS + CHD than non-carriers, respectively (OR = 2.66, 95% CI 1.39-5.07, OR = 2.71, 95% CI 0.98-7.48). In contrast to some previous studies, these results support the role of the APOE E4 allele as an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke and ischemic coronary heart disease among Greek patients.

  10. Frequency of interleukin 28B rs12979860 C>T variants in Filipino patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus.

    PubMed

    Baclig, Michael O; Reyes, Karen G; Mapua, Cynthia A; Gopez-Cervantes, Juliet; Natividad, Filipinas F

    2015-03-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most prevalent viral infections worldwide. Nearly 400 million individuals are chronic carriers of HBV. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of human interleukin 28B (IL28B) variants among treatment naive Filipino patients clinically diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and to compare the IL28B frequency distribution with various ethnic populations. Fifty-seven CHB patients and 43 normal controls were enrolled in this study. Real-time PCR was performed using the TaqMan genotyping assay for IL28B rs12979860. The allelic frequencies among normal controls were 0.94 and 0.06 for the IL28B rs12979860 C and T alleles, respectively. Eighty-eight percent were identified as homozygous for the IL28B C/C genotype and 12% were identified as heterozygous for the IL28B C/T genotype. Among CHB patients, the allelic frequencies were 0.90 for the IL28B C allele and 0.10 for the IL28B T allele. No IL28B T/T genotype was observed between the two groups. No significant difference in the distribution of IL28B genotypes was observed between normal controls and CHB patients. Allelic frequencies of IL28B among Filipinos were similar with other Asian populations but significantly different from Caucasians. The frequency of rs12979860 C>T variants among Filipino CHB patients has not yet been reported. These data provided new insight into the geographical frequency distribution of IL28B variants. Further studies are needed to determine the possible association between IL28B variants and response to pegylated-interferon-α plus ribavirin combination therapy among Filipino patients chronically infected with HBV.

  11. Allelic and haplotypic diversity of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 genes in the Korean population.

    PubMed

    Lee, K W; Oh, D H; Lee, C; Yang, S Y

    2005-05-01

    High-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing exposes the unique patterns of HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in each population. In this study, HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 genotypes were analyzed in 485 apparently unrelated healthy Korean individuals. A total of 20 HLA-A, 43 HLA-B, 21 HLA-C, 31 HLA-DRB1, and 14 HLA-DQB1 alleles were identified. Eleven alleles (A*0201, A*1101, A*2402, A*3303, B*1501, Cw*0102, Cw*0302, Cw*0303, DQB1*0301, DQB1*0302, and DQB1*0303) were found in more than 10% of the population. In each serologic group, a maximum of three alleles were found with several exceptions (A2, B62, DR4, DR14, and DQ6). In each serologic group exhibiting multiple alleles, two major alleles were present at 62-96% (i.e. A*0201 and A*0206 comprise 85% of A2-positive alleles). Multiple-locus haplotypes estimated by the maximum likelihood method revealed 51 A-C, 43 C-B, 52 B-DRB1, 34 DRB1-DQB1, 48 A-C-B, 42 C-B-DRB1, 46 B-DRB1-DQB1, and 30 A-C-B-DRB1-DQB1 haplotypes with frequencies of more than 0.5%. In spite of their high polymorphism in B and DRB1, identification of relatively small numbers of two-locus (B-C and DRB1-DQB1) haplotypes suggested strong associations of those two loci, respectively. Five-locus haplotypes defined by high-resolution DNA typing correlated well with previously identified serology-based haplotypes in the population. The five most frequent haplotypes were: A*3303-Cw*1403-B*4403-DRB1*1302-DQB1*0604 (4.2%), A*3303-Cw*0701/6-B*4403-DRB1*0701-DQB1*0201/2 (3.0%), A*3303-Cw*0302-B*5801-DRB1*1302-DQB1*0609 (3.0%), A*2402-Cw*0702-B*0702-DRB1*0101-DQB1*0501 (2.9%), and A*3001-Cw*0602-B*1302-DRB1*0701-DQB1*0201/2 (2.7%). Several sets of allele level haplotypes that could not be discriminated by routine HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 low-resolution typing originated from allelic diversity of A2, B61, DR4, and DR8 serologic groups. Information obtained in this study will be useful for medical and forensic applications as well as in anthropology.

  12. Frequency of the CHEK2 1100delC mutation among women with breast cancer: an international study.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shiyu; Phelan, Catherine M; Zhang, Phil; Rousseau, Francois; Ghadirian, Parviz; Robidoux, Andre; Foulkes, William; Hamel, Nancy; McCready, David; Trudeau, Maureen; Lynch, Henry; Horsman, Douglas; De Matsuda, Maria Lourdes Leon; Aziz, Zeba; Gomes, Magda; Costa, Mauricio Magalhaes; Liede, Alexander; Poll, Aletta; Sun, Ping; Narod, Steven A

    2008-04-01

    A founder allele in the CHEK2 gene (1100delC) has been associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer. This allele is responsible for the majority of CHEK2-associated breast cancers in women from northern European countries; however, within Europe, it seems to be rare in countries that are close to the Mediterranean. The frequency of the 1100delC allele has not been measured in non-White populations. We measured the frequency of the CHEK2 founder allele in 3,882 breast cancer patients and 8,609 controls from various countries. The allele was not seen among Asian patients (from Pakistan or the Philippines) and was present in 1 of 155 cases from Brazil. Among White women, the allele was present in 1.5% of 825 familial cases of breast cancer and in 0.7% of 1,106 patients with nonfamilial breast cancer. The allele was equally frequent in Jewish and non-Jewish patients. We estimate that the CHEK2 1100delC allele is associated with an odds ratio of 2.6 for breast cancer, which corresponds to a lifetime risk of approximately 24% in Ontario.

  13. The HLA-A*31:01 allele: influence on carbamazepine treatment

    PubMed Central

    Yip, Vincent Lai Ming; Pirmohamed, Munir

    2017-01-01

    Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an effective anticonvulsant that can sometimes cause hypersensitivity reactions that vary in frequency and severity. Strong associations have been reported between specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and susceptibility to CBZ hypersensitivity reactions. Screening for HLA-B*15:02 is mandated in patients from South East Asia because of a strong association with Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). HLA-A*31:01 predisposes to multiple phenotypes of CBZ hypersensitivity including maculopapular exanthema, hypersensitivity syndrome, and SJS/TEN in a range of populations including Europeans, Japanese, South Koreans and Han Chinese, although the effect size varies between the different phenotypes and populations. Between 47 Caucasians and 67 Japanese patients would need to be tested for HLA-A*31:01 in order to avoid a single case of CBZ hypersensitivity. A cost-effectiveness study has demonstrated that HLA-A*31:01 screening would be cost-effective. Patient preference assessment has also revealed that patients prefer pharmacogenetic screening and prescription of alternative anticonvulsants compared to current standard of practice without pharmacogenetic testing. For patients who test positive for HLA-A*31:01, alternative treatments are available. When alternatives have failed or are unavailable, HLA-A*31:01 testing can alert clinicians to 1) patients who are at increased risk of CBZ hypersensitivity who can then be targeted for more intensive monitoring and 2) increase diagnostic certainty in cases where hypersensitivity has already occurred, so patients can be advised to avoid structurally related drugs in the future. On the basis of the current evidence, we would favor screening all patients for HLA-A*31:01 and HLA-B*15:02 prior to starting CBZ therapy. PMID:28203102

  14. Allele frequencies in the VRN-A1, VRN-B1 and VRN-D1 vernalization response and PPD-B1 and PPD-D1 photoperiod sensitivity genes, and their effects on heading in a diverse set of wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.).

    PubMed

    Kiss, Tibor; Balla, Krisztina; Veisz, Ottó; Láng, László; Bedő, Zoltán; Griffiths, Simon; Isaac, Peter; Karsai, Ildikó

    2014-01-01

    Heading of cereals is determined by complex genetic and environmental factors in which genes responsible for vernalization and photoperiod sensitivity play a decisive role. Our aim was to use diagnostic molecular markers to determine the main allele types in VRN - A1 , VRN - B1 , VRN - D1 , PPD - B1 and PPD - D1 in a worldwide wheat collection of 683 genotypes and to investigate the effect of these alleles on heading in the field. The dominant VRN - A1 , VRN - B1 and VRN - D1 alleles were present at a low frequency. The PPD - D1a photoperiod-insensitive allele was carried by 57 % of the cultivars and was most frequent in Asian and European cultivars. The PPD - B1 photoperiod-insensitive allele was carried by 22 % of the genotypes from Asia, America and Europe. Nine versions of the PPD - B1 -insensitive allele were identified based on gene copy number and intercopy structure. The allele compositions in PPD - D1 , PPD - B1 and VRN - D1 significantly influenced heading and together explained 37.5 % of the phenotypic variance. The role of gene model increased to 39.1 % when PPD - B1 intercopy structure was taken into account instead of overall PPD - B1 type (sensitive vs. insensitive). As a single component, PPD - D1 had the most important role (28.0 % of the phenotypic variance), followed by PPD - B1 (12.3 % for PPD - B1 _overall, and 15.1 % for PPD - B1 _intercopy) and VRN - D1 (2.2 %). Significant gene interactions were identified between the marker alleles within PPD - B1 and between VRN - D1 and the two PPD1 genes. The earliest heading genotypes were those with the photoperiod-insensitive allele in PPD - D1 and PPD - B1 , and with the spring allele for VRN - D1 and the winter alleles for VRN - A1 and VRN - B1 . This combination could only be detected in genotypes from Southern Europe and Asia. Late-heading genotypes had the sensitivity alleles for both PPD1 genes, regardless of the allelic composition of the VRN1 genes. There was a 10-day difference in

  15. A General Model of Negative Frequency Dependent Selection Explains Global Patterns of Human ABO Polymorphism

    PubMed Central

    Villanea, Fernando A.; Safi, Kristin N.; Busch, Jeremiah W.

    2015-01-01

    The ABO locus in humans is characterized by elevated heterozygosity and very similar allele frequencies among populations scattered across the globe. Using knowledge of ABO protein function, we generated a simple model of asymmetric negative frequency dependent selection and genetic drift to explain the maintenance of ABO polymorphism and its loss in human populations. In our models, regardless of the strength of selection, models with large effective population sizes result in ABO allele frequencies that closely match those observed in most continental populations. Populations must be moderately small to fall out of equilibrium and lose either the A or B allele (Ne ≤ 50) and much smaller (N e ≤ 25) for the complete loss of diversity, which nearly always involved the fixation of the O allele. A pattern of low heterozygosity at the ABO locus where loss of polymorphism occurs in our model is consistent with small populations, such as Native American populations. This study provides a general evolutionary model to explain the observed global patterns of polymorphism at the ABO locus and the pattern of allele loss in small populations. Moreover, these results inform the range of population sizes associated with the recent human colonization of the Americas. PMID:25946124

  16. Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height.

    PubMed

    Marouli, Eirini; Graff, Mariaelisa; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Lo, Ken Sin; Wood, Andrew R; Kjaer, Troels R; Fine, Rebecca S; Lu, Yingchang; Schurmann, Claudia; Highland, Heather M; Rüeger, Sina; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Justice, Anne E; Lamparter, David; Stirrups, Kathleen E; Turcot, Valérie; Young, Kristin L; Winkler, Thomas W; Esko, Tõnu; Karaderi, Tugce; Locke, Adam E; Masca, Nicholas G D; Ng, Maggie C Y; Mudgal, Poorva; Rivas, Manuel A; Vedantam, Sailaja; Mahajan, Anubha; Guo, Xiuqing; Abecasis, Goncalo; Aben, Katja K; Adair, Linda S; Alam, Dewan S; Albrecht, Eva; Allin, Kristine H; Allison, Matthew; Amouyel, Philippe; Appel, Emil V; Arveiler, Dominique; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Auer, Paul L; Balkau, Beverley; Banas, Bernhard; Bang, Lia E; Benn, Marianne; Bergmann, Sven; Bielak, Lawrence F; Blüher, Matthias; Boeing, Heiner; Boerwinkle, Eric; Böger, Carsten A; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Bork-Jensen, Jette; Bots, Michiel L; Bottinger, Erwin P; Bowden, Donald W; Brandslund, Ivan; Breen, Gerome; Brilliant, Murray H; Broer, Linda; Burt, Amber A; Butterworth, Adam S; Carey, David J; Caulfield, Mark J; Chambers, John C; Chasman, Daniel I; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Christensen, Cramer; Chu, Audrey Y; Cocca, Massimiliano; Collins, Francis S; Cook, James P; Corley, Janie; Galbany, Jordi Corominas; Cox, Amanda J; Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Danesh, John; Davies, Gail; de Bakker, Paul I W; de Borst, Gert J; de Denus, Simon; de Groot, Mark C H; de Mutsert, Renée; Deary, Ian J; Dedoussis, George; Demerath, Ellen W; den Hollander, Anneke I; Dennis, Joe G; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Drenos, Fotios; Du, Mengmeng; Dunning, Alison M; Easton, Douglas F; Ebeling, Tapani; Edwards, Todd L; Ellinor, Patrick T; Elliott, Paul; Evangelou, Evangelos; Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni; Faul, Jessica D; Feitosa, Mary F; Feng, Shuang; Ferrannini, Ele; Ferrario, Marco M; Ferrieres, Jean; Florez, Jose C; Ford, Ian; Fornage, Myriam; Franks, Paul W; Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth; Galesloot, Tessel E; Gan, Wei; Gandin, Ilaria; Gasparini, Paolo; Giedraitis, Vilmantas; Giri, Ayush; Girotto, Giorgia; Gordon, Scott D; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Gorski, Mathias; Grarup, Niels; Grove, Megan L; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Gustafsson, Stefan; Hansen, Torben; Harris, Kathleen Mullan; Harris, Tamara B; Hattersley, Andrew T; Hayward, Caroline; He, Liang; Heid, Iris M; Heikkilä, Kauko; Helgeland, Øyvind; Hernesniemi, Jussi; Hewitt, Alex W; Hocking, Lynne J; Hollensted, Mette; Holmen, Oddgeir L; Hovingh, G Kees; Howson, Joanna M M; Hoyng, Carel B; Huang, Paul L; Hveem, Kristian; Ikram, M Arfan; Ingelsson, Erik; Jackson, Anne U; Jansson, Jan-Håkan; Jarvik, Gail P; Jensen, Gorm B; Jhun, Min A; Jia, Yucheng; Jiang, Xuejuan; Johansson, Stefan; Jørgensen, Marit E; Jørgensen, Torben; Jousilahti, Pekka; Jukema, J Wouter; Kahali, Bratati; Kahn, René S; Kähönen, Mika; Kamstrup, Pia R; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kaprio, Jaakko; Karaleftheri, Maria; Kardia, Sharon L R; Karpe, Fredrik; Kee, Frank; Keeman, Renske; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Kitajima, Hidetoshi; Kluivers, Kirsten B; Kocher, Thomas; Komulainen, Pirjo; Kontto, Jukka; Kooner, Jaspal S; Kooperberg, Charles; Kovacs, Peter; Kriebel, Jennifer; Kuivaniemi, Helena; Küry, Sébastien; Kuusisto, Johanna; La Bianca, Martina; Laakso, Markku; Lakka, Timo A; Lange, Ethan M; Lange, Leslie A; Langefeld, Carl D; Langenberg, Claudia; Larson, Eric B; Lee, I-Te; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lewis, Cora E; Li, Huaixing; Li, Jin; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lin, Honghuang; Lin, Li-An; Lin, Xu; Lind, Lars; Lindström, Jaana; Linneberg, Allan; Liu, Yeheng; Liu, Yongmei; Lophatananon, Artitaya; Luan, Jian'an; Lubitz, Steven A; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Mackey, David A; Madden, Pamela A F; Manning, Alisa K; Männistö, Satu; Marenne, Gaëlle; Marten, Jonathan; Martin, Nicholas G; Mazul, Angela L; Meidtner, Karina; Metspalu, Andres; Mitchell, Paul; Mohlke, Karen L; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O; Morgan, Anna; Morris, Andrew D; Morris, Andrew P; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Munroe, Patricia B; Nalls, Mike A; Nauck, Matthias; Nelson, Christopher P; Neville, Matt; Nielsen, Sune F; Nikus, Kjell; Njølstad, Pål R; Nordestgaard, Børge G; Ntalla, Ioanna; O'Connel, Jeffrey R; Oksa, Heikki; Loohuis, Loes M Olde; Ophoff, Roel A; Owen, Katharine R; Packard, Chris J; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Palmer, Colin N A; Pasterkamp, Gerard; Patel, Aniruddh P; Pattie, Alison; Pedersen, Oluf; Peissig, Peggy L; Peloso, Gina M; Pennell, Craig E; Perola, Markus; Perry, James A; Perry, John R B; Person, Thomas N; Pirie, Ailith; Polasek, Ozren; Posthuma, Danielle; Raitakari, Olli T; Rasheed, Asif; Rauramaa, Rainer; Reilly, Dermot F; Reiner, Alex P; Renström, Frida; Ridker, Paul M; Rioux, John D; Robertson, Neil; Robino, Antonietta; Rolandsson, Olov; Rudan, Igor; Ruth, Katherine S; Saleheen, Danish; Salomaa, Veikko; Samani, Nilesh J; Sandow, Kevin; Sapkota, Yadav; Sattar, Naveed; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Schreiner, Pamela J; Schulze, Matthias B; Scott, Robert A; Segura-Lepe, Marcelo P; Shah, Svati; Sim, Xueling; Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh; Small, Kerrin S; Smith, Albert Vernon; Smith, Jennifer A; Southam, Lorraine; Spector, Timothy D; Speliotes, Elizabeth K; Starr, John M; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Stringham, Heather M; Stumvoll, Michael; Surendran, Praveen; 't Hart, Leen M; Tansey, Katherine E; Tardif, Jean-Claude; Taylor, Kent D; Teumer, Alexander; Thompson, Deborah J; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thuesen, Betina H; Tönjes, Anke; Tromp, Gerard; Trompet, Stella; Tsafantakis, Emmanouil; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne; Tyrer, Jonathan P; Uher, Rudolf; Uitterlinden, André G; Ulivi, Sheila; van der Laan, Sander W; Van Der Leij, Andries R; van Duijn, Cornelia M; van Schoor, Natasja M; van Setten, Jessica; Varbo, Anette; Varga, Tibor V; Varma, Rohit; Edwards, Digna R Velez; Vermeulen, Sita H; Vestergaard, Henrik; Vitart, Veronique; Vogt, Thomas F; Vozzi, Diego; Walker, Mark; Wang, Feijie; Wang, Carol A; Wang, Shuai; Wang, Yiqin; Wareham, Nicholas J; Warren, Helen R; Wessel, Jennifer; Willems, Sara M; Wilson, James G; Witte, Daniel R; Woods, Michael O; Wu, Ying; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Yao, Jie; Yao, Pang; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M; Young, Robin; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Zhan, Xiaowei; Zhang, Weihua; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhao, Wei; Zheng, He; Zhou, Wei; Rotter, Jerome I; Boehnke, Michael; Kathiresan, Sekar; McCarthy, Mark I; Willer, Cristen J; Stefansson, Kari; Borecki, Ingrid B; Liu, Dajiang J; North, Kari E; Heard-Costa, Nancy L; Pers, Tune H; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Oxvig, Claus; Kutalik, Zoltán; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Loos, Ruth J F; Frayling, Timothy M; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Deloukas, Panos; Lettre, Guillaume

    2017-02-09

    Height is a highly heritable, classic polygenic trait with approximately 700 common associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies so far. Here, we report 83 height-associated coding variants with lower minor-allele frequencies (in the range of 0.1-4.8%) and effects of up to 2 centimetres per allele (such as those in IHH, STC2, AR and CRISPLD2), greater than ten times the average effect of common variants. In functional follow-up studies, rare height-increasing alleles of STC2 (giving an increase of 1-2 centimetres per allele) compromised proteolytic inhibition of PAPP-A and increased cleavage of IGFBP-4 in vitro, resulting in higher bioavailability of insulin-like growth factors. These 83 height-associated variants overlap genes that are mutated in monogenic growth disorders and highlight new biological candidates (such as ADAMTS3, IL11RA and NOX4) and pathways (such as proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan synthesis) involved in growth. Our results demonstrate that sufficiently large sample sizes can uncover rare and low-frequency variants of moderate-to-large effect associated with polygenic human phenotypes, and that these variants implicate relevant genes and pathways.

  17. Distinguishing functional polymorphism from random variation in the sequences of >10,000 HLA-A, -B and -C alleles.

    PubMed

    Robinson, James; Guethlein, Lisbeth A; Cereb, Nezih; Yang, Soo Young; Norman, Paul J; Marsh, Steven G E; Parham, Peter

    2017-06-01

    HLA class I glycoproteins contain the functional sites that bind peptide antigens and engage lymphocyte receptors. Recently, clinical application of sequence-based HLA typing has uncovered an unprecedented number of novel HLA class I alleles. Here we define the nature and extent of the variation in 3,489 HLA-A, 4,356 HLA-B and 3,111 HLA-C alleles. This analysis required development of suites of methods, having general applicability, for comparing and analyzing large numbers of homologous sequences. At least three amino-acid substitutions are present at every position in the polymorphic α1 and α2 domains of HLA-A, -B and -C. A minority of positions have an incidence >1% for the 'second' most frequent nucleotide, comprising 70 positions in HLA-A, 85 in HLA-B and 54 in HLA-C. The majority of these positions have three or four alternative nucleotides. These positions were subject to positive selection and correspond to binding sites for peptides and receptors. Most alleles of HLA class I (>80%) are very rare, often identified in one person or family, and they differ by point mutation from older, more common alleles. These alleles with single nucleotide polymorphisms reflect the germ-line mutation rate. Their frequency predicts the human population harbors 8-9 million HLA class I variants. The common alleles of human populations comprise 42 core alleles, which represent all selected polymorphism, and recombinants that have assorted this polymorphism.

  18. Distinguishing functional polymorphism from random variation in the sequences of >10,000 HLA-A, -B and -C alleles

    PubMed Central

    Cereb, Nezih; Yang, Soo Young; Marsh, Steven G. E.; Parham, Peter

    2017-01-01

    HLA class I glycoproteins contain the functional sites that bind peptide antigens and engage lymphocyte receptors. Recently, clinical application of sequence-based HLA typing has uncovered an unprecedented number of novel HLA class I alleles. Here we define the nature and extent of the variation in 3,489 HLA-A, 4,356 HLA-B and 3,111 HLA-C alleles. This analysis required development of suites of methods, having general applicability, for comparing and analyzing large numbers of homologous sequences. At least three amino-acid substitutions are present at every position in the polymorphic α1 and α2 domains of HLA-A, -B and -C. A minority of positions have an incidence >1% for the ‘second’ most frequent nucleotide, comprising 70 positions in HLA-A, 85 in HLA-B and 54 in HLA-C. The majority of these positions have three or four alternative nucleotides. These positions were subject to positive selection and correspond to binding sites for peptides and receptors. Most alleles of HLA class I (>80%) are very rare, often identified in one person or family, and they differ by point mutation from older, more common alleles. These alleles with single nucleotide polymorphisms reflect the germ-line mutation rate. Their frequency predicts the human population harbors 8–9 million HLA class I variants. The common alleles of human populations comprise 42 core alleles, which represent all selected polymorphism, and recombinants that have assorted this polymorphism. PMID:28650991

  19. Frequency of Cry1F Non-Recessive Resistance Alleles in North Carolina Field Populations of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

    PubMed Central

    Li, Guoping; Reisig, Dominic; Miao, Jin; Gould, Fred; Huang, Fangneng; Feng, Hongqiang

    2016-01-01

    Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a target species of transgenic corn (Zea mays L.) that expresses single and pyramided Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. In 2014, S. frugiperda were collected from a light trap in North Carolina, and a total of 212 F1/F2 isofemale lines of S. frugiperda were screened for resistance to Bt and non-Bt corn. All of the 212 isolines were susceptible to corn tissue expressing Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab, Cry1F + Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab, and Cry1F + Cry1Ab + Vip3Aa20. Growth rate bioassays were performed to isolate non-recessive Bt resistance alleles. Seven individuals out of the 212 isofemale lines carried major non-recessive alleles conferring resistance to Cry1F. A pooled colony was created from the seven individuals. This colony was 151.21 times more resistant to Cry1F than a known-susceptible population and was also resistant to Cry1A.105, but was not resistant to Cry2Ab and Vip3Aa20. The results demonstrate that field populations of S. frugiperda collected from North Carolina are generally susceptible to Cry1F, but that some individuals carry resistant alleles. The data generated in this study can be used as baseline data for resistance monitoring. PMID:27119741

  20. Frequency of Cry1F Non-Recessive Resistance Alleles in North Carolina Field Populations of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

    PubMed

    Li, Guoping; Reisig, Dominic; Miao, Jin; Gould, Fred; Huang, Fangneng; Feng, Hongqiang

    2016-01-01

    Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a target species of transgenic corn (Zea mays L.) that expresses single and pyramided Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. In 2014, S. frugiperda were collected from a light trap in North Carolina, and a total of 212 F1/F2 isofemale lines of S. frugiperda were screened for resistance to Bt and non-Bt corn. All of the 212 isolines were susceptible to corn tissue expressing Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab, Cry1F + Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab, and Cry1F + Cry1Ab + Vip3Aa20. Growth rate bioassays were performed to isolate non-recessive Bt resistance alleles. Seven individuals out of the 212 isofemale lines carried major non-recessive alleles conferring resistance to Cry1F. A pooled colony was created from the seven individuals. This colony was 151.21 times more resistant to Cry1F than a known-susceptible population and was also resistant to Cry1A.105, but was not resistant to Cry2Ab and Vip3Aa20. The results demonstrate that field populations of S. frugiperda collected from North Carolina are generally susceptible to Cry1F, but that some individuals carry resistant alleles. The data generated in this study can be used as baseline data for resistance monitoring.

  1. A Fundamental Relationship Between Genotype Frequencies and Fitnesses

    PubMed Central

    Lachance, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    The set of possible postselection genotype frequencies in an infinite, randomly mating population is found. Geometric mean heterozygote frequency divided by geometric mean homozygote frequency equals two times the geometric mean heterozygote fitness divided by geometric mean homozygote fitness. The ratio of genotype frequencies provides a measure of genetic variation that is independent of allele frequencies. When this ratio does not equal two, either selection or population structure is present. Within-population HapMap data show population-specific patterns, while pooled data show an excess of homozygotes. PMID:18780726

  2. HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: relation to autoantibodies and disease severity in a south Indian population.

    PubMed

    Konda Mohan, Vasanth; Ganesan, Nalini; Gopalakrishnan, Rajasekhar; Venkatesan, Vettriselvi

    2017-10-01

    To investigate the presence of the 'shared epitope' (SE) in the HLA-DRB1 alleles in patients with RA and to ascertain the frequency of the HLA-DRB1 alleles with autoantibodies (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide [anti-CCP] rheumatoid factor [RF]) and disease severity. A total of 200 RA patients and 200 apparently healthy subjects participated in the study. HLA-DRB1 were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). Anti-CCP and RF in serum were determined by in vitro quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was measured by Westergren method. Disease activity was assessed by using the disease activity score-28 (DAS-28). Chi-square test and Student's t-test were used in the statistical analysis. A significant increase in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*01, *04, *10 and *14 were identified in RA patients and showed a strong association with the disease susceptibility. While the frequencies of HLA-DRB1*03, *07, *11 and *13 were significantly lower in RA patients than in controls. The other HLA-DRB1 alleles *08, *09, *12, *15 and *16 showed no significant difference. The frequency of anti-CCP and RF antibodies did not showed significant difference in SE-positive patients compared with SE-negative patients. DAS-28 values of RA patients showed no significant difference between SE-positive and SE-negative groups. Our results indicate that HLA-DRB1*01, *04, *10 and *14 alleles are related with RA, while HLA-DRB1*03, *07, *11 and *13 protect against RA in our population. On the other hand, we failed to provide evidence for the association of the autoantibodies and DAS-28 with SE-positive RA patients. © 2016 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  3. Description of a novel HLA-B35 (B*3514) allele found in a Mexican family of Nahua Aztec descent.

    PubMed

    Vargas-Alarcon, G; Martinez-Laso, J; Granados, J; Diaz-Campos, N; Alvarez, M; Gomez-Casado, E; Alcocer-Varela, J; Arnaiz-Villena, A

    1996-02-01

    A new allele, HLA-B*3514, has been found in a Mexican family from Nahua descent. Its exon 2 is identical to that of B*3501 allele, but exon 3 bears a 3-base difference at codons 152 and 156, which results in Val-->Glu and Leu-->Trp changes, respectively, in the corresponding HLA molecule at the peptide-binding site. These substitutions may have originated from a DNA stretch donation from an allele belonging to the B15 group, enabling HLA-B*3514 to cope with the presentation of a new set of antigenic peptides. The high frequency of serologic B35 in Amerindians, together with the variety of B35 alleles detected by DNA sequencing in these populations, suggest that a frequent B35 subtype was present in the founder population and that several B35 subtypes may have been recently generated, probably due to the abrupt arrival of new pathogens following European invasions.

  4. Identification of KIF3A as a Novel Candidate Gene for Childhood Asthma Using RNA Expression and Population Allelic Frequencies Differences

    PubMed Central

    Butsch Kovacic, Melinda; Biagini Myers, Jocelyn M.; Wang, Ning; Martin, Lisa J.; Lindsey, Mark; Ericksen, Mark B.; He, Hua; Patterson, Tia L.; Baye, Tesfaye M.; Torgerson, Dara; Roth, Lindsey A.; Gupta, Jayanta; Sivaprasad, Umasundari; Gibson, Aaron M.; Tsoras, Anna M.; Hu, Donglei; Eng, Celeste; Chapela, Rocío; Rodríguez-Santana, José R.; Rodríguez-Cintrón, William; Avila, Pedro C.; Beckman, Kenneth; Seibold, Max A.; Gignoux, Chris; Musaad, Salma M.; Chen, Weiguo; Burchard, Esteban González; Khurana Hershey, Gurjit K.

    2011-01-01

    Background Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease with a strong genetic predisposition. A major challenge for candidate gene association studies in asthma is the selection of biologically relevant genes. Methodology/Principal Findings Using epithelial RNA expression arrays, HapMap allele frequency variation, and the literature, we identified six possible candidate susceptibility genes for childhood asthma including ADCY2, DNAH5, KIF3A, PDE4B, PLAU, SPRR2B. To evaluate these genes, we compared the genotypes of 194 predominantly tagging SNPs in 790 asthmatic, allergic and non-allergic children. We found that SNPs in all six genes were nominally associated with asthma (p<0.05) in our discovery cohort and in three independent cohorts at either the SNP or gene level (p<0.05). Further, we determined that our selection approach was superior to random selection of genes either differentially expressed in asthmatics compared to controls (p = 0.0049) or selected based on the literature alone (p = 0.0049), substantiating the validity of our gene selection approach. Importantly, we observed that 7 of 9 SNPs in the KIF3A gene more than doubled the odds of asthma (OR = 2.3, p<0.0001) and increased the odds of allergic disease (OR = 1.8, p<0.008). Our data indicate that KIF3A rs7737031 (T-allele) has an asthma population attributable risk of 18.5%. The association between KIF3A rs7737031 and asthma was validated in 3 independent populations, further substantiating the validity of our gene selection approach. Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrates that KIF3A, a member of the kinesin superfamily of microtubule associated motors that are important in the transport of protein complexes within cilia, is a novel candidate gene for childhood asthma. Polymorphisms in KIF3A may in part be responsible for poor mucus and/or allergen clearance from the airways. Furthermore, our study provides a promising framework for the identification and evaluation of novel

  5. Haptoglobin gene subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Haptoglobin is a plasma hemoglobin-binding protein that limits iron loss during normal erythrocyte turnover and hemolysis, thereby preventing oxidative damage mediated by iron excess in the circulation. Haptoglobin polymorphism in humans, characterized by the Hp*1 and Hp *2 alleles, results in distinct phenotypes known as Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2, whose frequencies vary according to the ethnic origin of the population. The Hp*1 allele has two subtypes, Hp *1F and Hp *1S , that also vary in their frequencies among populations worldwide. In this work, we examined the distribution frequencies of haptoglobin subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities. The haptoglobin genotypes of Kayabi Amerindians (n = 56), Kalunga Afro-descendants (n = 70) and an urban population (n = 132) were determined by allele-specific PCR. The Hp*1F allele frequency was highest in Kalunga (29.3%) and lowest in Kayabi (2.6%). The Hp*1F/Hp*1S allele frequency ratios were 0.6, 1.0 and 0.26 for the Kayabi, Kalunga and urban populations, respectively. This variation was attributable largely to the Hp*1F allele. However, despite the large variation in Hp*1F frequencies, results of F ST (0.0291) indicated slight genetic differentiation among subpopulations of the general Brazilian population studied here. This is the first Brazilian report of variations in the Hp*1F and Hp*1S frequencies among non-Amerindian Brazilians. PMID:21637505

  6. Haptoglobin gene subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities.

    PubMed

    Miranda-Vilela, Ana L; Akimoto, Arthur K; Alves, Penha C Z; Hiragi, Cássia O; Penalva, Guilherme C; Oliveira, Silviene F; Grisolia, Cesar K; Klautau-Guimarães, Maria N

    2009-07-01

    Haptoglobin is a plasma hemoglobin-binding protein that limits iron loss during normal erythrocyte turnover and hemolysis, thereby preventing oxidative damage mediated by iron excess in the circulation. Haptoglobin polymorphism in humans, characterized by the Hp(*1) and Hp (*2) alleles, results in distinct phenotypes known as Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2, whose frequencies vary according to the ethnic origin of the population. The Hp(*1) allele has two subtypes, Hp (*1F) and Hp (*1S) , that also vary in their frequencies among populations worldwide. In this work, we examined the distribution frequencies of haptoglobin subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities. The haptoglobin genotypes of Kayabi Amerindians (n = 56), Kalunga Afro-descendants (n = 70) and an urban population (n = 132) were determined by allele-specific PCR. The Hp(*1F) allele frequency was highest in Kalunga (29.3%) and lowest in Kayabi (2.6%). The Hp(*1F)/Hp(*1S) allele frequency ratios were 0.6, 1.0 and 0.26 for the Kayabi, Kalunga and urban populations, respectively. This variation was attributable largely to the Hp(*1F) allele. However, despite the large variation in Hp(*1F) frequencies, results of F (ST) (0.0291) indicated slight genetic differentiation among subpopulations of the general Brazilian population studied here. This is the first Brazilian report of variations in the Hp(*1F) and Hp(*1S) frequencies among non-Amerindian Brazilians.

  7. [Allelic variants of apolipoproteins B and CII genes in patients with ischemic heart disease and in healthy persons from the Moscow population].

    PubMed

    Pogoda, T V; Nikonova, A L; Kolosova, T V; Liudvikova, E K; Perova, N V; Limborskaia, S A

    1995-07-01

    Allelic frequencies of a microsatellite of the apolipoprotein CII gene (APOCII) and a minisatellite of the apolipoprotein B gene (APOB) were studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The study was conducted on a random sample of male Moscow inhabitants and a sample of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) from the same population. Fourteen variants of the APOB minisatellite (the 82% heterozygosity level) and 13 alleles of the APOCII microsatellite (the 85% heterozygosity level) were found. CHD patients significantly differed from the control group in the distributions of alleles in these loci: APOB 32, APOB 46, APOB 48, and APOB 50 as well as APOCII 17 and APOCII 29 were found more frequently. A relationship was found between the distributions of APOB and APOCII in the CHD patients. The CHD patients with alleles APOCII 21 and APOCII 30 very often had the allele APOB 32; and patients with the genotype APOB 34, 36 had the allele APOCII 29 even more often than affected individuals in general. Individuals of the control group with the allele APOCII 30 exhibited hypertriglyceridemia without increased levels of total cholesterol and apolipoprotein B in plasma.

  8. Distribution of human leukocyte antigen alleles and haplotypes in Oroqen and Ewenki nationality minority in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.

    PubMed

    Zhang, H B; Wei, S G; Zheng, H B; Yu, B; Lai, J H

    2010-10-01

    The frequencies of the human leukocyte antigen alleles HLA-A,-B, DRB1 and the A-B, A-DRB1, B-DRB1, A-B-DRB1 haplotypes were investigated through means of PCR-based reverse line-strip sequence specific oligonucleotide hybridization on 108 Oroqen and 104 Ewenki nationality unrelated healthy individuals from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. A total of thirteen different HLA-A alleles, 21 different HLA-B alleles and 13 different HLA-DRB1 alleles were detected in the Oroqen ethnic group and the most frequent HLA alleles found were A*24(35.65%), B*15(17.92%), and DRB1*09(17.59%), respectively. The common HLA-A-B-DRB1 haplotypes were A*24-B*40-DRB1*09(5.09%), A*24-B*48-DRB1*12(2.78%) and A*24-B*51-DRB1*04(2.78%); and the HLA-A*33-B*58, A*30-B*13, A*01-B*37, A*33-DRB1*03, A*01-DRB1*10, A*30-DRB1*07, B*37-DRB1*10, B*58-DRB1*03, B*38-DRB1*08, B*13-DRB1*07 were significant positive linkage disequilibrium in the Oroqen nationality group. In total, 14 different HLA-A alleles, 27 B alleles and 12 DRB1 alleles were found in Ewenki nationality group, and the most frequent HLA alleles found were A*24(24.49%), B*40(17.35%), and DRB1*04(14.80%), respectively. The common HLA-A-B-DRB1 haplotypes were A*33-B*58-DRB1*03(6.25%), A*01-B*51-DRB1*11(2.88%) and A*24-B*40-DRB1*09(2.88%); the HLA-A*33-B*58, A*29-B*44, A*03-B*52, A*33-DRB1*03, A*29-DRB1*07, A*24-DRB1*09, B*58-DRB1*03, B*08-DRB1*03, B*46-DRB1*09 were significant positive linkage disequilibrium in Ewenki nationality group. The distribution of HLA A,-B, DRB1, alleles haplotypes frequencies and phylogenetic tree indicated that the Oroqen and Ewenki population groups belongs to northern group of China, together as a group cluster. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Identification of two allelic IgG1 C(H) coding regions (Cgamma1) of cat.

    PubMed

    Kanai, T H; Ueda, S; Nakamura, T

    2000-01-31

    Two types of cDNA encoding IgG1 heavy chain (gamma1) were isolated from a single domestic short-hair cat. Sequence analysis indicated a higher level of similarity of these Cgamma1 sequences to human Cgamma1 sequence (76.9 and 77.0%) than to mouse sequence (70.0 and 69.7%) at the nucleotide level. Predicted primary structures of both the feline Cgamma1 genes, designated as Cgamma1a and Cgamma1b, were similar to that of human Cgamma1 gene, for instance, as to the size of constant domains, the presence of six conserved cysteine residues involved in formation of the domain structure, and the location of a conserved N-linked glycosylation site. Sequence comparison between the two alleles showed that 7 out of 10 nucleotide differences were within the C(H)3 domain coding region, all leading to nonsynonymous changes in amino acid residues. Partial sequence analysis of genomic clones showed three nucleotide substitutions between the two Cgamma1 alleles in the intron between the CH2 and C(H)3 domain coding regions. In 12 domestic short-hair cats used in this study, the frequency of Cgamma1a allele (62.5%) was higher than that of the Cgamma1b allele (37.5%).

  10. Differential fitness of allelic isozymes in the marine gastropods Littorina punctata and Littorina neritoides, exposed to the environmental stress of the combined effects of cadmium and mercury pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lavie, Batia; Nevo, Eviatar

    1987-07-01

    The present study tested the separate and the interactive pollution effects of cadmium and mercury on the electrophoretically detected allelic isozyme frequencies of the enzyme phosphoglucose isomerase for two species of littoral marine gastropods — Littorina punctata and L. neritoides — and the enzyme amino peptidase for L. neritoides. Our results indicate differential survivorship of allelic isozyme genotypes specific for each type of pollutant and for their interaction, as well as trends common to all pollutants. Theoretically the results reflect the adaptive nature of at least some allozymic genotypes in these marine gastropods and seem inconsistent with the neutral theory of allozyme polymorphisms. Practically, the results reinforce earlier conclusions that changes in the frequency of allelic isozymes may be used as a genetic monitor of pollution.

  11. HLA-A and -B alleles and haplotypes in hemochromatosis probands with HFE C282Y homozygosity in central Alabama.

    PubMed

    Barton, James C; Acton, Ronald T

    2002-10-07

    We wanted to quantify HLA-A and -B allele and haplotype frequencies in Alabama hemochromatosis probands with HFE C282Y homozygosity and controls, and to compare results to those in other populations. Alleles were detected using DNA-based typing (probands) and microlymphocytotoxicity (controls). Alleles were determined in 139 probands (1,321 controls) and haplotypes in 118 probands (605 controls). In probands, A*03 positivity was 0.7482 (0.2739 controls; p = or < 0.0001; odds ratio (OR) 7.9); positivity for B*07, B*14, and B*56 was also increased. In probands, haplotypes A*03-B*07 and A*03-B*14 were more frequent (p < 0.0001, respectively; OR = 12.3 and 11.1, respectively). The haplotypes A*01-B*60, A*02-B*39, A*02-B*62, A*03-B*13, A*03-B*15, A*03-B*27, A*03-B*35, A*03-B*44, A*03-B*47, and A*03-B*57 were also significantly more frequent in probands. 37.3% of probands were HLA-haploidentical with other proband(s). A*03 and A*03-B*07 frequencies are increased in Alabama probands, as in other hemochromatosis cohorts. Increased absolute frequencies of A*03-B*35 have been reported only in the present Alabama probands and in hemochromatosis patients in Italy. Increased absolute frequencies of A*01-B*60, A*02-B*39, A*02-B*62, A*03-B*13, A*03-B*15, A*03-B*27, A*03-B*44, A*03-B*47, and A*03-B*57 in hemochromatosis cohorts have not been reported previously.

  12. Alleles versus mutations: Understanding the evolution of genetic architecture requires a molecular perspective on allelic origins.

    PubMed

    Remington, David L

    2015-12-01

    Perspectives on the role of large-effect quantitative trait loci (QTL) in the evolution of complex traits have shifted back and forth over the past few decades. Different sets of studies have produced contradictory insights on the evolution of genetic architecture. I argue that much of the confusion results from a failure to distinguish mutational and allelic effects, a limitation of using the Fisherian model of adaptive evolution as the lens through which the evolution of adaptive variation is examined. A molecular-based perspective reveals that allelic differences can involve the cumulative effects of many mutations plus intragenic recombination, a model that is supported by extensive empirical evidence. I discuss how different selection regimes could produce very different architectures of allelic effects under a molecular-based model, which may explain conflicting insights on genetic architecture from studies of variation within populations versus between divergently selected populations. I address shortcomings of genome-wide association study (GWAS) practices in light of more suitable models of allelic evolution, and suggest alternate GWAS strategies to generate more valid inferences about genetic architecture. Finally, I discuss how adopting more suitable models of allelic evolution could help redirect research on complex trait evolution toward addressing more meaningful questions in evolutionary biology. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution © 2015 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  13. HLA-B40, B18, B27, and B37 allele discrimination using group-specific amplification and SSCP method.

    PubMed

    Bannai, M; Tokunaga, K; Lin, L; Ogawa, A; Fujisawa, K; Juji, T

    1996-04-01

    We developed a system for discriminating HLA-B40, B18, B27, and B37 alleles using a two-step PCR method followed by SSCP analysis. Fragments (0.8 kb) including exon 2, intron 2, and exon 3 were amplified in the first PCR. We used two sets of primers, one specific for HLA-B60-related alleles and the other specific for HLA-B61-related, B18, B27, and B37 alleles. No amplifications of other class I genes or pseudogenes were observed. In the second PCR, exon 2 and exon 3 were amplified separately, using diluents of the first PCR products as templates. HLA-B61-related, B18, B27, B37, and B60-related alleles were clearly discriminated in the SSCP analysis of the second PCR products. In a population study in which B61 alleles were analyzed, B*4003 was detected in two Japanese individuals in addition to two B61 alleles previously reported to occur in Japanese, B*4002 and B*4006. The relative frequencies of B*4002, B*4006, and B*4003 in Japanese were 58, 35, and 6%, respectively. The individuals having B*4003 are the first non-South Americans in whom this allele has been detected. The SSCP banding patterns of 18 HLA-B60-positive Japanese population samples were identical to those of a B*40012 sample for both exon 2 and exon 3. We also demonstrated that the B37 allele occurring in some Japanese is B*3701.

  14. MICA diversity and linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B alleles in renal-transplant candidates in southern Brazil.

    PubMed

    Yamakawa, Roger Haruki; Saito, Patrícia Keiko; Gelmini, Geórgia Fernanda; da Silva, José Samuel; Bicalho, Maria da Graça; Borelli, Sueli Donizete

    2017-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I chain-related gene A (MICA) is located centromerically to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B. The short distance between these loci in the MHC indicates the presence of linkage disequilibrium (LD). Similarly to the HLA, the MICA is highly polymorphic, and this polymorphism has not been well documented in different populations. In this study, we estimated the allelic frequencies of MICA and the linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B alleles in 346 renal-transplant candidates in southern Brazil. MICA and HLA were typed using the polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer method (PCR-SSO), combined with the Luminex technology. A total of 19 MICA allele groups were identified. The most frequent allele groups were MICA*008 (21.6%), MICA*002 (17.0%) and MICA*004 (14.8%). The most common haplotypes were MICA*009-B*51 (7.8%), MICA*004-B*44 (6.06%) and MICA*002-B*35 (5.63%). As expected from the proximity of the MICA and HLA-B loci, most haplotypes showed strong LD. Renal patients and healthy subjects in the same region of Brazil showed statistically significant differences in their MICA polymorphisms. The MICA*027 allele group was more frequent in renal patients (Pc = 0.018, OR: 3.421, 95% CI: 1.516-7.722), while the MICA*019 allele group was more frequent in healthy subjects (Pc = 0.001, OR: 0.027, 95% CI: 0.002-0.469). This study provided information on the distribution of MICA polymorphisms and linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B alleles in Brazilian renal-transplant candidates. This information should help to determine the mechanisms of susceptibility to different diseases in patients with chronic kidney disease, and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in allograft rejection associated with MICA polymorphisms in a Brazilian population.

  15. Cis-acting factors modulate stability of intermediate alleles for Huntington disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goldberg, Y.P.; Zeisler, J.; Thielmann, J.

    1994-09-01

    The genetic basis of Huntington disease (HD), a late-onset autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder, has recently been defined as a CAG trinucleotide expansion in a novel gene on 4p16.3. The CAG length in clinically normal people ranges from 9 to 37, with the vast majority of alleles (99%) containing less than 30 repeats. In contrast, HD patients have CAG lengths greater than 36 with the largest repeat reported to date being 121. Molecular analysis of sporadic cases of HD revealed that new mutations are not rare (3%), and arise from intermediate alleles (IAs). IAs are CAG alleles greater than that usuallymore » seen in the general population (>30), but less than that seen in patients with HD and occur with a frequency of approximately 1.5% of the general population (12/797). An important question is whether these IAs are also susceptible to expansion. In new mutation families, these IAs are unstable in passage through the male germline and in sporadic cases expand to the full mutation associated with the HD phenotype. On the 41 meioses analyzed in new mutation families, 61% were unstable. In contrast to IAs in the new mutation families, the IAs in the general population were predominately stable from one generation to the next. Comparison of the frequency of intergenerational stability between the general population and the new mutation families showed that IAs in the general population are considerably more stable than those in the new mutation families. In contrast to SCA 1 where sequence interruption is thought to play a role in CAG trinucleotide stability, sequence analysis of IAs both from the general population and the new mutation families failed to reveal any interruption of the CAG tracts. These findings suggest that while CAG size is an important factor, other cis-acting factors present in new mutation families but not in the general population are likely to be critical in conferring instability upon the CAG trinucleotide repeat.« less

  16. Estimating haplotype frequencies by combining data from large DNA pools with database information.

    PubMed

    Gasbarra, Dario; Kulathinal, Sangita; Pirinen, Matti; Sillanpää, Mikko J

    2011-01-01

    We assume that allele frequency data have been extracted from several large DNA pools, each containing genetic material of up to hundreds of sampled individuals. Our goal is to estimate the haplotype frequencies among the sampled individuals by combining the pooled allele frequency data with prior knowledge about the set of possible haplotypes. Such prior information can be obtained, for example, from a database such as HapMap. We present a Bayesian haplotyping method for pooled DNA based on a continuous approximation of the multinomial distribution. The proposed method is applicable when the sizes of the DNA pools and/or the number of considered loci exceed the limits of several earlier methods. In the example analyses, the proposed model clearly outperforms a deterministic greedy algorithm on real data from the HapMap database. With a small number of loci, the performance of the proposed method is similar to that of an EM-algorithm, which uses a multinormal approximation for the pooled allele frequencies, but which does not utilize prior information about the haplotypes. The method has been implemented using Matlab and the code is available upon request from the authors.

  17. Immunoglobulin light chain allelic inclusion in systemic lupus erythematosus

    PubMed Central

    Fraser, Louise D.; Zhao, Yuan; Lutalo, Pamela M. K.; D'Cruz, David P.; Cason, John; Silva, Joselli S.; Dunn‐Walters, Deborah K.; Nayar, Saba; Cope, Andrew P.

    2015-01-01

    The principles of allelic exclusion state that each B cell expresses a single light and heavy chain pair. Here, we show that B cells with both kappa and lambda light chains (Igκ and Igλ) are enriched in some patients with the systemic autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but not in the systemic autoimmune disease control granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Detection of dual Igκ and Igλ expression by flow cytometry could not be abolished by acid washing or by DNAse treatment to remove any bound polyclonal antibody or complexes, and was retained after two days in culture. Both surface and intracytoplasmic dual light chain expression was evident by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. We observed reduced frequency of rearrangements of the kappa‐deleting element (KDE) in SLE and an inverse correlation between the frequency of KDE rearrangement and the frequency of dual light chain expressing B cells. We propose that dual expression of Igκ and Igλ by a single B cell may occur in some patients with SLE when this may be a consequence of reduced activity of the KDE. PMID:26036683

  18. Sporophytic self-incompatibility in Senecio squalidus (Asteraceae): S allele dominance interactions and modifiers of cross-compatibility and selfing rates.

    PubMed

    Brennan, A C; Tabah, D A; Harris, S A; Hiscock, S J

    2011-01-01

    Understanding genetic mechanisms of self-incompatibility (SI) and how they evolve is central to understanding the mating behaviour of most outbreeding angiosperms. Sporophytic SI (SSI) is controlled by a single multi-allelic locus, S, which is expressed in the diploid (sporophyte) plant to determine the SI phenotype of its haploid (gametophyte) pollen. This allows complex patterns of independent S allele dominance interactions in male (pollen) and female (pistil) reproductive tissues. Senecio squalidus is a useful model for studying the genetic regulation and evolution of SSI because of its population history as an alien invasive species in the UK. S. squalidus maintains a small number of S alleles (7-11) with a high frequency of dominance interactions. Some S. squalidus individuals also show partial selfing and/or greater levels of cross-compatibility than expected under SSI. We previously speculated that these might be adaptations to invasiveness. Here we describe a detailed characterization of the regulation of SSI in S. squalidus. Controlled crosses were used to determine the S allele dominance hierarchy of six S alleles and effects of modifiers on cross-compatibility and partial selfing. Complex dominance interactions among S alleles were found with at least three levels of dominance and tissue-specific codominance. Evidence for S gene modifiers that increase selfing and/or cross-compatibility was also found. These empirical findings are discussed in the context of theoretical predictions for maintenance of S allele dominance interactions, and the role of modifier loci in the evolution of SI.

  19. ADH1B*2 allele is protective against alcoholism but not chronic liver disease in the Hungarian population.

    PubMed

    Toth, Reka; Pocsai, Zsuzsa; Fiatal, Szilvia; Szeles, Gyorgy; Kardos, Laszlo; Petrovski, Beata; McKee, Martin; Adany, Roza

    2010-05-01

    Standardized death rates from chronic liver diseases (CLDs) in Hungary are much higher than the European Union average. Carrying the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B 48His allele (rs1229984 or ADH1B*2) could decrease the risk of alcoholism, but with persistent drinking may confer a greater risk of CLDs. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of this polymorphism in the Hungarian population and its association with alcohol consumption and with CLDs. A total of 278 cases with diagnosed CLDs and 752 controls without any alterations in liver function, all males aged 45-64, were screened for ADH1B Arg48His polymorphism. ADH1B*2 allele frequencies in controls and cases were 8.31% and 4.50%, respectively (chi(2) = 9.2; P = 0.01). Carrying the ADH1B*2 allele was associated with significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for drinking frequency (OR = 0.63; P = 0.003), the number of positive answers on CAGE (Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener) assessment (OR = 0.58; P = 0.005) and a positive CAGE status (OR = 0.55; P = 0.007). There was a significant association between ADH1B*2 and CLDs (OR = 0.50; P = 0.003), but it disappeared after adjusting for CAGE status and scores (OR = 0.67 P = 0.134; OR = 0.67 P = 0.148, respectively) and weakened after adjusting for drinking frequency (OR = 0.61; P = 0.045). Among heavy drinkers the presence of ADH1B*2 did not increase the risk of cirrhosis but there was a significant interaction between genotype and CAGE status (P = 0.003, P = 0.042), with ADH1B*2 conferring reduced risk of CLDs in CAGE negatives. In Hungarians, the ADH1B 48His allele reduces the risk of alcoholism, but not the risk of chronic liver disease among heavy drinkers.

  20. A Maximum-Likelihood Method to Correct for Allelic Dropout in Microsatellite Data with No Replicate Genotypes

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Chaolong; Schroeder, Kari B.; Rosenberg, Noah A.

    2012-01-01

    Allelic dropout is a commonly observed source of missing data in microsatellite genotypes, in which one or both allelic copies at a locus fail to be amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Especially for samples with poor DNA quality, this problem causes a downward bias in estimates of observed heterozygosity and an upward bias in estimates of inbreeding, owing to mistaken classifications of heterozygotes as homozygotes when one of the two copies drops out. One general approach for avoiding allelic dropout involves repeated genotyping of homozygous loci to minimize the effects of experimental error. Existing computational alternatives often require replicate genotyping as well. These approaches, however, are costly and are suitable only when enough DNA is available for repeated genotyping. In this study, we propose a maximum-likelihood approach together with an expectation-maximization algorithm to jointly estimate allelic dropout rates and allele frequencies when only one set of nonreplicated genotypes is available. Our method considers estimates of allelic dropout caused by both sample-specific factors and locus-specific factors, and it allows for deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium owing to inbreeding. Using the estimated parameters, we correct the bias in the estimation of observed heterozygosity through the use of multiple imputations of alleles in cases where dropout might have occurred. With simulated data, we show that our method can (1) effectively reproduce patterns of missing data and heterozygosity observed in real data; (2) correctly estimate model parameters, including sample-specific dropout rates, locus-specific dropout rates, and the inbreeding coefficient; and (3) successfully correct the downward bias in estimating the observed heterozygosity. We find that our method is fairly robust to violations of model assumptions caused by population structure and by genotyping errors from sources other than allelic dropout. Because the data sets

  1. Travel Mode Detection with Varying Smartphone Data Collection Frequencies

    PubMed Central

    Shafique, Muhammad Awais; Hato, Eiji

    2016-01-01

    Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular day-by-day. Modern smartphones are more than just calling devices. They incorporate a number of high-end sensors that provide many new dimensions to smartphone experience. The use of smartphones, however, can be extended from the usual telecommunication field to applications in other specialized fields including transportation. Sensors embedded in the smartphones like GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope can collect data passively, which in turn can be processed to infer the travel mode of the smartphone user. This will solve most of the shortcomings associated with conventional travel survey methods including biased response, no response, erroneous time recording, etc. The current study uses the sensors’ data collected by smartphones to extract nine features for classification. Variables including data frequency, moving window size and proportion of data to be used for training, are dealt with to achieve better results. Random forest is used to classify the smartphone data among six modes. An overall accuracy of 99.96% is achieved, with no mode less than 99.8% for data collected at 10 Hz frequency. The accuracy is observed to decrease with decrease in data frequency, but at the same time the computation time also decreases. PMID:27213380

  2. Evaluation of a DLA-79 allele associated with multiple immune-mediated diseases in dogs.

    PubMed

    Friedenberg, Steven G; Buhrman, Greg; Chdid, Lhoucine; Olby, Natasha J; Olivry, Thierry; Guillaumin, Julien; O'Toole, Theresa; Goggs, Robert; Kennedy, Lorna J; Rose, Robert B; Meurs, Kathryn M

    2016-03-01

    Immune-mediated diseases are common and life-threatening disorders in dogs. Many canine immune-mediated diseases have strong breed predispositions and are believed to be inherited. However, the genetic mutations that cause these diseases are mostly unknown. As many immune-mediated diseases in humans share polymorphisms among a common set of genes, we conducted a candidate gene study of 15 of these genes across four immune-mediated diseases (immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA), and atopic dermatitis) in 195 affected and 206 unaffected dogs to assess whether causative or predictive polymorphisms might exist in similar genes in dogs. We demonstrate a strong association (Fisher's exact p = 0.0004 for allelic association, p = 0.0035 for genotypic association) between two polymorphic positions (10 bp apart) in exon 2 of one allele in DLA-79, DLA-79*001:02, and multiple immune-mediated diseases. The frequency of this allele was significantly higher in dogs with immune-mediated disease than in control dogs (0.21 vs. 0.12) and ranged from 0.28 in dogs with IMPA to 0.15 in dogs with atopic dermatitis. This allele has two non-synonymous substitutions (compared with the reference allele, DLA-79*001:01), resulting in F33L and N37D amino acid changes. These mutations occur in the peptide-binding pocket of the protein, and based upon our computational modeling studies, are likely to affect critical interactions with the peptide N-terminus. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings more broadly and to determine the specific mechanism by which the identified variants alter canine immune system function.

  3. Nucleation and Spread of an Invasive Allele

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korniss, Gyorgy; Caraco, Thomas

    2005-03-01

    We analyze a prototypical discrete spatial model for the spread of an invasive allele when individuals compete preemptively for common limiting resources. Initially, the population is genetically monomorphic with the resident allele at high density. The invasive allele is introduced through rare, but recurrent, mutation. The mutant allele is the better competitor (has an individual-level advantage) but its spread is limited by the local availability of resources. We find that each successful introduction of the mutant leads to strong spatial clustering. Spatial patterns in simulation resemble nucleation and subsequent growth, articulately described by Avrami's law in sufficiently large systemsootnotetextG. Korniss and T. Caraco, J. Theor. Biol. (in press, 2004); http://www.rpi.edu/ korniss/Research/JTB04.pdf.

  4. Distribution of photoperiod-insensitive allele Ppd-A1a and its effect on heading time in Japanese wheat cultivars.

    PubMed

    Seki, Masako; Chono, Makiko; Nishimura, Tsutomu; Sato, Mikako; Yoshimura, Yasuhiro; Matsunaka, Hitoshi; Fujita, Masaya; Oda, Shunsuke; Kubo, Katashi; Kiribuchi-Otobe, Chikako; Kojima, Hisayo; Nishida, Hidetaka; Kato, Kenji

    2013-09-01

    The Ppd-A1 genotype of 240 Japanese wheat cultivars and 40 foreign cultivars was determined using a PCR-based method. Among Japanese cultivars, only 12 cultivars, all of which were Hokkaido winter wheat, carried the Ppd-A1a allele, while this allele was not found in Hokkaido spring wheat cultivars or Tohoku-Kyushu cultivars. Cultivars with a photoperiod-insensitive allele headed 6.9-9.8 days earlier in Kanto and 2.5 days earlier in Hokkaido than photoperiod-sensitive cultivars. The lower effect of photoperiod-insensitive alleles observed in Hokkaido could be due to the longer day-length at the spike formation stage compared with that in Kanto. Pedigree analysis showed that 'Purple Straw' and 'Tohoku 118' were donors of Ppd-A1a and Ppd-D1a in Hokkaido wheat cultivars, respectively. Wheat cultivars recently developed in Hokkaido carry photoperiod-insensitive alleles at a high frequency. For efficient utilization of Ppd-1 alleles in the Hokkaido wheat-breeding program, the effect of Ppd-1 on growth pattern and grain yield should be investigated. Ppd-A1a may be useful as a unique gene source for fine tuning the heading time in the Tohoku-Kyushu region since the effect of Ppd-A1a on photoperiod insensitivity appears to differ from the effect of Ppd-B1a and Ppd-D1a.

  5. Polygenic variation maintained by balancing selection: pleiotropy, sex-dependent allelic effects and G x E interactions.

    PubMed Central

    Turelli, Michael; Barton, N H

    2004-01-01

    We investigate three alternative selection-based scenarios proposed to maintain polygenic variation: pleiotropic balancing selection, G x E interactions (with spatial or temporal variation in allelic effects), and sex-dependent allelic effects. Each analysis assumes an additive polygenic trait with n diallelic loci under stabilizing selection. We allow loci to have different effects and consider equilibria at which the population mean departs from the stabilizing-selection optimum. Under weak selection, each model produces essentially identical, approximate allele-frequency dynamics. Variation is maintained under pleiotropic balancing selection only at loci for which the strength of balancing selection exceeds the effective strength of stabilizing selection. In addition, for all models, polymorphism requires that the population mean be close enough to the optimum that directional selection does not overwhelm balancing selection. This balance allows many simultaneously stable equilibria, and we explore their properties numerically. Both spatial and temporal G x E can maintain variation at loci for which the coefficient of variation (across environments) of the effect of a substitution exceeds a critical value greater than one. The critical value depends on the correlation between substitution effects at different loci. For large positive correlations (e.g., rho(ij)2>3/4), even extreme fluctuations in allelic effects cannot maintain variation. Surprisingly, this constraint on correlations implies that sex-dependent allelic effects cannot maintain polygenic variation. We present numerical results that support our analytical approximations and discuss our results in connection to relevant data and alternative variance-maintaining mechanisms. PMID:15020487

  6. Assigning breed origin to alleles in crossbred animals.

    PubMed

    Vandenplas, Jérémie; Calus, Mario P L; Sevillano, Claudia A; Windig, Jack J; Bastiaansen, John W M

    2016-08-22

    For some species, animal production systems are based on the use of crossbreeding to take advantage of the increased performance of crossbred compared to purebred animals. Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may differ between purebred and crossbred animals for several reasons: (1) differences in linkage disequilibrium between SNP alleles and a quantitative trait locus; (2) differences in genetic backgrounds (e.g., dominance and epistatic interactions); and (3) differences in environmental conditions, which result in genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, SNP effects may be breed-specific, which has led to the development of genomic evaluations for crossbred performance that take such effects into account. However, to estimate breed-specific effects, it is necessary to know breed origin of alleles in crossbred animals. Therefore, our aim was to develop an approach for assigning breed origin to alleles of crossbred animals (termed BOA) without information on pedigree and to study its accuracy by considering various factors, including distance between breeds. The BOA approach consists of: (1) phasing genotypes of purebred and crossbred animals; (2) assigning breed origin to phased haplotypes; and (3) assigning breed origin to alleles of crossbred animals based on a library of assigned haplotypes, the breed composition of crossbred animals, and their SNP genotypes. The accuracy of allele assignments was determined for simulated datasets that include crosses between closely-related, distantly-related and unrelated breeds. Across these scenarios, the percentage of alleles of a crossbred animal that were correctly assigned to their breed origin was greater than 90 %, and increased with increasing distance between breeds, while the percentage of incorrectly assigned alleles was always less than 2 %. For the remaining alleles, i.e. 0 to 10 % of all alleles of a crossbred animal, breed origin could not be assigned. The BOA approach accurately assigns

  7. HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in 6384 umbilical cord blood units and transplantation matching and engraftment statistics in the Zhejiang cord blood bank of China.

    PubMed

    Wang, F; He, J; Chen, S; Qin, F; Dai, B; Zhang, W; Zhu, F M; Lv, H J

    2014-02-01

    Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a widely accepted source of progenitor cells, and now, many cord blood banks were established. Here, we analysed the HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies, HLA matching possibilities for searching potential donors and outcome of UCB transplantations in Zhejiang cord blood bank of China. A total of 6384 UCB units were characterized for 17 HLA-A, 30 HLA-B and 13 HLA-DRB1 alleles at the first field resolution level. Additionally, B*14, B*15 and B*40 were typed to the second field level. A total of 1372 distinct A-B-DRB1 haplotypes were identified. The frequencies of 7 haplotypes were more than 1%, and 439 haplotypes were <0.01%. A*02-B*46-DRB1*09, A*33-B*58-DRB1*03 and A*30-B*13-DRB1*07 were the most common haplotypes, with frequencies of 4.4%, 3.3%, and 2.9%, respectively. Linkage disequilibrium(LD) analysis showed that there were 83 A-B, 106 B-DRB1, 54 A-DRB1 haplotypes with positive LD, in which 51 A-B, 60 B-DRB1, 32 A-DRB1 haplotypes exhibited a significant LD (P < 0.05). In 682 search requests, 12.9%, 40.0% and 42.7% of patients were found to have 6 of 6, 5 of 6 and 4 of 6 HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 matching donors, respectively. A total of 30 UCB units were transplanted to 24 patients (3 patients not evaluated due to early death); 14 of 21 patients (66.7%) engrafted. This study reveals the HLA distribution and its transplantation application in the cord blood bank of Zhejiang province. These data can help to select potential UCB donors for transplantation and used to assess the scale of new cord blood banking endeavours. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Time-varying higher order spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boashash, Boualem; O'Shea, Peter

    1991-12-01

    A general solution for the problem of time-frequency signal representation of nonlinear FM signals is provided, based on a generalization of the Wigner-Ville distribution. The Wigner- Ville distribution (WVD) is a second order time-frequency representation. That is, it is able to give ideal energy concentration for quadratic phase signals and its ensemble average is a second order time-varying spectrum. The same holds for Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions, which are smoothed versions of the WVD. The WVD may be extended so as to achieve ideal energy concentration for higher order phase laws, and such that the expectation is a time-varying higher order spectrum. The usefulness of these generalized Wigner-Ville distributions (GWVD) is twofold. Firstly, because they achieve ideal energy concentration for polynomial phase signals, they may be used for optimal instantaneous frequency estimation. Second, they are useful for discriminating between nonstationary processes of differing higher order moments. In the same way that the WVD is generalized, we generalize Cohen's class of TFDs by defining a class of generalized time-frequency distributions (GTFDs) obtained by a two dimensional smoothing of the GWVD. Another results derived from this approach is a method based on higher order spectra which allows the separation of cross-terms and auto- terms in the WVD.

  9. Detection of MPL mutations by a novel allele-specific PCR-based strategy.

    PubMed

    Furtado, Larissa V; Weigelin, Helmut C; Elenitoba-Johnson, Kojo S J; Betz, Bryan L

    2013-11-01

    MPL mutation testing is recommended in patients with suspected primary myelofibrosis or essential thrombocythemia who lack the JAK2 V617F mutation. MPL mutations can occur at allelic levels below 15%, which may escape detection by commonly used mutation screening methods such as Sanger sequencing. We developed a novel multiplexed allele-specific PCR assay capable of detecting most recurrent MPL exon 10 mutations associated with primary myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia (W515L, W515K, W515A, and S505N) down to a sensitivity of 2.5% mutant allele. Test results were reviewed from 15 reference cases and 1380 consecutive specimens referred to our laboratory for testing. Assay performance was compared to Sanger sequencing across a series of 58 specimens with MPL mutations. Positive cases consisted of 45 with W515L, 6 with S505N, 5 with W515K, 1 with W515A, and 1 with both W515L and S505N. Seven cases had mutations below 5% that were undetected by Sanger sequencing. Ten additional cases had mutation levels between 5% and 15% that were not consistently detected by sequencing. All results were easily interpreted in the allele-specific test. This assay offers a sensitive and reliable solution for MPL mutation testing. Sanger sequencing appears insufficiently sensitive for robust MPL mutation detection. Our data also suggest the relative frequency of S505N mutations may be underestimated, highlighting the necessity for inclusion of this mutation in MPL test platforms. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Use of allele scores as instrumental variables for Mendelian randomization

    PubMed Central

    Burgess, Stephen; Thompson, Simon G

    2013-01-01

    Background An allele score is a single variable summarizing multiple genetic variants associated with a risk factor. It is calculated as the total number of risk factor-increasing alleles for an individual (unweighted score), or the sum of weights for each allele corresponding to estimated genetic effect sizes (weighted score). An allele score can be used in a Mendelian randomization analysis to estimate the causal effect of the risk factor on an outcome. Methods Data were simulated to investigate the use of allele scores in Mendelian randomization where conventional instrumental variable techniques using multiple genetic variants demonstrate ‘weak instrument’ bias. The robustness of estimates using the allele score to misspecification (for example non-linearity, effect modification) and to violations of the instrumental variable assumptions was assessed. Results Causal estimates using a correctly specified allele score were unbiased with appropriate coverage levels. The estimates were generally robust to misspecification of the allele score, but not to instrumental variable violations, even if the majority of variants in the allele score were valid instruments. Using a weighted rather than an unweighted allele score increased power, but the increase was small when genetic variants had similar effect sizes. Naive use of the data under analysis to choose which variants to include in an allele score, or for deriving weights, resulted in substantial biases. Conclusions Allele scores enable valid causal estimates with large numbers of genetic variants. The stringency of criteria for genetic variants in Mendelian randomization should be maintained for all variants in an allele score. PMID:24062299

  11. Whole genome sequencing of Turkish genomes reveals functional private alleles and impact of genetic interactions with Europe, Asia and Africa.

    PubMed

    Alkan, Can; Kavak, Pinar; Somel, Mehmet; Gokcumen, Omer; Ugurlu, Serkan; Saygi, Ceren; Dal, Elif; Bugra, Kuyas; Güngör, Tunga; Sahinalp, S Cenk; Özören, Nesrin; Bekpen, Cemalettin

    2014-11-07

    Turkey is a crossroads of major population movements throughout history and has been a hotspot of cultural interactions. Several studies have investigated the complex population history of Turkey through a limited set of genetic markers. However, to date, there have been no studies to assess the genetic variation at the whole genome level using whole genome sequencing. Here, we present whole genome sequences of 16 Turkish individuals resequenced at high coverage (32×-48×). We show that the genetic variation of the contemporary Turkish population clusters with South European populations, as expected, but also shows signatures of relatively recent contribution from ancestral East Asian populations. In addition, we document a significant enrichment of non-synonymous private alleles, consistent with recent observations in European populations. A number of variants associated with skin color and total cholesterol levels show frequency differentiation between the Turkish populations and European populations. Furthermore, we have analyzed the 17q21.31 inversion polymorphism region (MAPT locus) and found increased allele frequency of 31.25% for H1/H2 inversion polymorphism when compared to European populations that show about 25% of allele frequency. This study provides the first map of common genetic variation from 16 western Asian individuals and thus helps fill an important geographical gap in analyzing natural human variation and human migration. Our data will help develop population-specific experimental designs for studies investigating disease associations and demographic history in Turkey.

  12. ALEA: a toolbox for allele-specific epigenomics analysis.

    PubMed

    Younesy, Hamid; Möller, Torsten; Heravi-Moussavi, Alireza; Cheng, Jeffrey B; Costello, Joseph F; Lorincz, Matthew C; Karimi, Mohammad M; Jones, Steven J M

    2014-04-15

    The assessment of expression and epigenomic status using sequencing based methods provides an unprecedented opportunity to identify and correlate allelic differences with epigenomic status. We present ALEA, a computational toolbox for allele-specific epigenomics analysis, which incorporates allelic variation data within existing resources, allowing for the identification of significant associations between epigenetic modifications and specific allelic variants in human and mouse cells. ALEA provides a customizable pipeline of command line tools for allele-specific analysis of next-generation sequencing data (ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, etc.) that takes the raw sequencing data and produces separate allelic tracks ready to be viewed on genome browsers. The pipeline has been validated using human and hybrid mouse ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data. The package, test data and usage instructions are available online at http://www.bcgsc.ca/platform/bioinfo/software/alea CONTACT: : mkarimi1@interchange.ubc.ca or sjones@bcgsc.ca Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Natural Selection and Origin of a Melanistic Allele in North American Gray Wolves.

    PubMed

    Schweizer, Rena M; Durvasula, Arun; Smith, Joel; Vohr, Samuel H; Stahler, Daniel R; Galaverni, Marco; Thalmann, Olaf; Smith, Douglas W; Randi, Ettore; Ostrander, Elaine A; Green, Richard E; Lohmueller, Kirk E; Novembre, John; Wayne, Robert K

    2018-05-01

    Pigmentation is often used to understand how natural selection affects genetic variation in wild populations since it can have a simple genetic basis, and can affect a variety of fitness-related traits (e.g., camouflage, thermoregulation, and sexual display). In gray wolves, the K locus, a β-defensin gene, causes black coat color via a dominantly inherited KB allele. The allele is derived from dog-wolf hybridization and is at high frequency in North American wolf populations. We designed a DNA capture array to probe the geographic origin, age, and number of introgression events of the KB allele in a panel of 331 wolves and 20 dogs. We found low diversity in KB, but not ancestral ky, wolf haplotypes consistent with a selective sweep of the black haplotype across North America. Further, North American wolf KB haplotypes are monophyletic, suggesting that a single adaptive introgression from dogs to wolves most likely occurred in the Northwest Territories or Yukon. We use a new analytical approach to date the origin of the KB allele in Yukon wolves to between 1,598 and 7,248 years ago, suggesting that introgression with early Native American dogs was the source. Using population genetic simulations, we show that the K locus is undergoing natural selection in four wolf populations. We find evidence for balancing selection, specifically in Yellowstone wolves, which could be a result of selection for enhanced immunity in response to distemper. With these data, we demonstrate how the spread of an adaptive variant may have occurred across a species' geographic range.

  14. Correlation Between HLA-A, B and DRB1 Alleles and Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xiao-mei; Jiang, Xiao-lin; Pang, Bo; Song, Yong-hong; Wang, Jian-xing; Pei, Yao-wen; Zhu, Chuan-fu; Wang, Xian-jun; Yu, Xue-jie

    2016-01-01

    Objective Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging hemorrhagic fever caused by a tick-borne bunyavirus (SFTSV) in East Asian countries. The role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) in resistance and susceptibility to SFTSV is not known. We investigated the correlation of HLA locus A, B and DRB1 alleles with the occurrence of SFTS. Methods A total of 84 confirmed SFTS patients (patient group) and 501 unrelated non-SFTS patients (healthy individuals as control group) from Shandong Province were genotyped by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP) for HLA-A, B and DRB1 loci.Allele frequency was calculated and compared using χ2 test or the Fisher's exact test. A corrected P value was calculated with a bonferronis correction. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by Woolf’s method. Results A total of 11 HLA-A, 23 HLA-B and 12 HLA-DRB1 alleles were identified in the patient group, whereas 15 HLA-A, 30 HLA-B and 13 HLA-DRB1 alleles were detected in the control group. The frequencies of A*30 and B*13 in the SFTS patient group were lower than that in the control group (P = 0.0341 and 0.0085, Pc = 0.5115 and 0.252). The ORs of A*30 and B*13 in the SFTS patient group were 0.54 and 0.49, respectively. The frequency of two-locus haplotype A*30-B*13 was lower in the patient group than in the control group(5.59% versus 12.27%, P = 0.037,OR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.18–0.96) without significance(Pc>0.05). A*30-B*13-DRB1*07 and A*02-B*15-DRB1*04 had strong associations with SFTS resistance and susceptibility respectively (Pc = 0.0412 and 0.0001,OR = 0.43 and 5.07). Conclusion The host HLA class I polymorphism might play an important role with the occurrence of SFTS. Negative associations were observed with HLA-A*30, HLA-B*13 and Haplotype A*30-B*13, although the associations were not statistically significant. A*30-B*13-DRB1*07 had negative correlation with the occurrence of SFTS; in contrast, haplotype A*02-B*15-DRB1

  15. HLA-DRB1 alleles associated with polymyalgia rheumatica in northern Italy: correlation with disease severity

    PubMed Central

    Salvarani, C.; Boiardi, L.; Mantovani, V.; Ranzi, A.; Cantini, F.; Olivieri, I.; Bragliani, M.; Collina, E.; Macchioni, P.

    1999-01-01

    OBJECTIVE—To examine the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in a Mediterranean country and to explore the role of HLA-DRB1 genes in determining disease severity.
METHODS—A five year prospective follow up study of 92 consecutive PMR patients diagnosed by the secondary referral centre of rheumatology of Reggio Emilia, Italy was conducted. HLA-DRB1 alleles were determined in the 92 patients, in 29 DR4 positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and in 148 controls from the same geographical area by polymerase chain reaction amplification and oligonucleotide hybridisation.
RESULTS—No significant differences were observed in the frequencies of HLA-DRB1 types and in the expression of HLA-DRB 70-74 shared motif between PMR and controls. The frequency of the patients with double dose of epitope was low and not significantly different in PMR and in controls. No significant differences in the distribution of HLA-DR4 subtypes were observed between DR4+ PMR, DR+ RA, and DR4+ controls. Results of the univariate analysis indicated that an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at diagnosis > 72 mm 1st h, the presence of HLA-DR1, DR10, rheumatoid epitope, and the type of rheumatoid epitope were significant risk factors associated with relapse/recurrence. Cox proportional hazards modelling identified two variables that independently increased the risk of relapse/recurrence: ESR at diagnosis > 72 mm 1st h (RR=1.5) and type 2 (encoded by a non-DR4 allele) rheumatoid epitope (RR=2.7).
CONCLUSION—These data from a Mediterranean country showed no association of rheumatoid epitope with PMR in northern Italian patients. A high ESR at diagnosis and the presence of rheumatoid epitope encoded by a non-DR4 allele are independent valuable markers of disease severity.

 PMID:10225816

  16. Temperature gradient affects differentiation of gene expression and SNP allele frequencies in the dominant Lake Baikal zooplankton species.

    PubMed

    Bowman, Larry L; Kondrateva, Elizaveta S; Timofeyev, Maxim A; Yampolsky, Lev Y

    2018-06-01

    Local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity are main mechanisms of organisms' resilience in changing environments. Both are affected by gene flow and are expected to be weak in zooplankton populations inhabiting large continuous water bodies and strongly affected by currents. Lake Baikal, the deepest and one of the coldest lakes on Earth, experienced epilimnion temperature increase during the last 100 years, exposing Baikal's zooplankton to novel selective pressures. We obtained a partial transcriptome of Epischura baikalensis (Copepoda: Calanoida), the dominant component of Baikal's zooplankton, and estimated SNP allele frequencies and transcript abundances in samples from regions of Baikal that differ in multiyear average surface temperatures. The strongest signal in both SNP and transcript abundance differentiation is the SW-NE gradient along the 600+ km long axis of the lake, suggesting isolation by distance. SNP differentiation is stronger for nonsynonymous than synonymous SNPs and is paralleled by differential survival during a laboratory exposure to increased temperature, indicating directional selection operating on the temperature gradient. Transcript abundance, generally collinear with the SNP differentiation, shows samples from the warmest, less deep location clustering together with the southernmost samples. Differential expression is more frequent among transcripts orthologous to candidate thermal response genes previously identified in model arthropods, including genes encoding cytoskeleton proteins, heat-shock proteins, proteases, enzymes of central energy metabolism, lipid and antioxidant pathways. We conclude that the pivotal endemic zooplankton species in Lake Baikal exists under temperature-mediated selection and possesses both genetic variation and plasticity to respond to novel temperature-related environmental pressures. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Sporophytic self-incompatibility in Senecio squalidus (Asteraceae): S allele dominance interactions and modifiers of cross-compatibility and selfing rates

    PubMed Central

    Brennan, A C; Tabah, D A; Harris, S A; Hiscock, S J

    2011-01-01

    Understanding genetic mechanisms of self-incompatibility (SI) and how they evolve is central to understanding the mating behaviour of most outbreeding angiosperms. Sporophytic SI (SSI) is controlled by a single multi-allelic locus, S, which is expressed in the diploid (sporophyte) plant to determine the SI phenotype of its haploid (gametophyte) pollen. This allows complex patterns of independent S allele dominance interactions in male (pollen) and female (pistil) reproductive tissues. Senecio squalidus is a useful model for studying the genetic regulation and evolution of SSI because of its population history as an alien invasive species in the UK. S. squalidus maintains a small number of S alleles (7–11) with a high frequency of dominance interactions. Some S. squalidus individuals also show partial selfing and/or greater levels of cross-compatibility than expected under SSI. We previously speculated that these might be adaptations to invasiveness. Here we describe a detailed characterization of the regulation of SSI in S. squalidus. Controlled crosses were used to determine the S allele dominance hierarchy of six S alleles and effects of modifiers on cross-compatibility and partial selfing. Complex dominance interactions among S alleles were found with at least three levels of dominance and tissue-specific codominance. Evidence for S gene modifiers that increase selfing and/or cross-compatibility was also found. These empirical findings are discussed in the context of theoretical predictions for maintenance of S allele dominance interactions, and the role of modifier loci in the evolution of SI. PMID:20372180

  18. A mass spectrometry-based multiplex SNP genotyping by utilizing allele-specific ligation and strand displacement amplification.

    PubMed

    Park, Jung Hun; Jang, Hyowon; Jung, Yun Kyung; Jung, Ye Lim; Shin, Inkyung; Cho, Dae-Yeon; Park, Hyun Gyu

    2017-05-15

    We herein describe a new mass spectrometry-based method for multiplex SNP genotyping by utilizing allele-specific ligation and strand displacement amplification (SDA) reaction. In this method, allele-specific ligation is first performed to discriminate base sequence variations at the SNP site within the PCR-amplified target DNA. The primary ligation probe is extended by a universal primer annealing site while the secondary ligation probe has base sequences as an overhang with a nicking enzyme recognition site and complementary mass marker sequence. The ligation probe pairs are ligated by DNA ligase only at specific allele in the target DNA and the resulting ligated product serves as a template to promote the SDA reaction using a universal primer. This process isothermally amplifies short DNA fragments, called mass markers, to be analyzed by mass spectrometry. By varying the sizes of the mass markers, we successfully demonstrated the multiplex SNP genotyping capability of this method by reliably identifying several BRCA mutations in a multiplex manner with mass spectrometry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Synthetic maps of human gene frequencies in Europeans.

    PubMed

    Menozzi, P; Piazza, A; Cavalli-Sforza, L

    1978-09-01

    Multivarate techniques can be used to condense the information for a large number of loci and alleles into one or a few synthetic variables. The geographic distribution of synthetic variables can be plotted by the same technique used in mapping the gene frequency of a single allele. Synthetic maps were constructed for Europe and the Near East, with the use of principal components to condense the information of 38 independent alleles from ten loci. The first principal component summarizes close to 30% of the total information and shows gradients. Maps thus constructed show clines in remarkable agreement with those expected on the basis of the spread of early farming in Europe, thus supporting the hypothesis that this spread was a demic spread rather than a cultural diffusion of farming technology.

  20. Haplotype block structure study of the CFTR gene. Most variants are associated with the M470 allele in several European populations.

    PubMed

    Pompei, Fiorenza; Ciminelli, Bianca Maria; Bombieri, Cristina; Ciccacci, Cinzia; Koudova, Monika; Giorgi, Silvia; Belpinati, Francesca; Begnini, Angela; Cerny, Milos; Des Georges, Marie; Claustres, Mireille; Ferec, Claude; Macek, Milan; Modiano, Guido; Pignatti, Pier Franco

    2006-01-01

    An average of about 1700 CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) alleles from normal individuals from different European populations were extensively screened for DNA sequence variation. A total of 80 variants were observed: 61 coding SNSs (results already published), 13 noncoding SNSs, three STRs, two short deletions, and one nucleotide insertion. Eight DNA variants were classified as non-CF causing due to their high frequency of occurrence. Through this survey the CFTR has become the most exhaustively studied gene for its coding sequence variability and, though to a lesser extent, for its noncoding sequence variability as well. Interestingly, most variation was associated with the M470 allele, while the V470 allele showed an 'extended haplotype homozygosity' (EHH). These findings make us suggest a role for selection acting either on the M470V itself or through an hitchhiking mechanism involving a second site. The possible ancient origin of the V allele in an 'out of Africa' time frame is discussed.

  1. Vesicle biomechanics in a time-varying magnetic field.

    PubMed

    Ye, Hui; Curcuru, Austen

    2015-01-01

    Cells exhibit distortion when exposed to a strong electric field, suggesting that the field imposes control over cellular biomechanics. Closed pure lipid bilayer membranes (vesicles) have been widely used for the experimental and theoretical studies of cellular biomechanics under this electrodeformation. An alternative method used to generate an electric field is by electromagnetic induction with a time-varying magnetic field. References reporting the magnetic control of cellular mechanics have recently emerged. However, theoretical analysis of the cellular mechanics under a time-varying magnetic field is inadequate. We developed an analytical theory to investigate the biomechanics of a modeled vesicle under a time-varying magnetic field. Following previous publications and to simplify the calculation, this model treated the inner and suspending media as lossy dielectrics, the membrane thickness set at zero, and the electric resistance of the membrane assumed to be negligible. This work provided the first analytical solutions for the surface charges, electric field, radial pressure, overall translational forces, and rotational torques introduced on a vesicle by the time-varying magnetic field. Frequency responses of these measures were analyzed, particularly the frequency used clinically by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The induced surface charges interacted with the electric field to produce a biomechanical impact upon the vesicle. The distribution of the induced surface charges depended on the orientation of the coil and field frequency. The densities of these charges were trivial at low frequency ranges, but significant at high frequency ranges. The direction of the radial force on the vesicle was dependent on the conductivity ratio between the vesicle and the medium. At relatively low frequencies (<200 KHz), including the frequency used in TMS, the computed radial pressure and translational forces on the vesicle were both negligible. This work

  2. Allelic variants of hereditary prions: The bimodularity principle.

    PubMed

    Tikhodeyev, Oleg N; Tarasov, Oleg V; Bondarev, Stanislav A

    2017-01-02

    Modern biology requires modern genetic concepts equally valid for all discovered mechanisms of inheritance, either "canonical" (mediated by DNA sequences) or epigenetic. Applying basic genetic terms such as "gene" and "allele" to protein hereditary factors is one of the necessary steps toward these concepts. The basic idea that different variants of the same prion protein can be considered as alleles has been previously proposed by Chernoff and Tuite. In this paper, the notion of prion allele is further developed. We propose the idea that any prion allele is a bimodular hereditary system that depends on a certain DNA sequence (DNA determinant) and a certain epigenetic mark (epigenetic determinant). Alteration of any of these 2 determinants may lead to establishment of a new prion allele. The bimodularity principle is valid not only for hereditary prions; it seems to be universal for any epigenetic hereditary factor.

  3. Distortion of maternal-fetal angiotensin II type 1 receptor allele transmission in pre-eclampsia.

    PubMed Central

    Morgan, L; Crawshaw, S; Baker, P N; Brookfield, J F; Broughton Pipkin, F; Kalsheker, N

    1998-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the fetal angiotensin II type 1 receptor genotype in pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Case-control study. POPULATION: Forty-one maternal-fetal pairs from pre-eclamptic pregnancies and 80 maternal-fetal pairs from normotensive pregnancies. METHODS: Maternal and fetal DNA was genotyped at three diallelic polymorphisms, at nucleotides 573, 1062, and 1166, in the coding exon of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene, and at a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in its 3' flanking region. RESULTS: Allele and genotype frequencies at the four polymorphic regions investigated did not differ between pre-eclamptic and normotensive groups, in either fetal or maternal samples. Mothers heterozygous for the dinucleotide repeat allele designated A4 transmitted this allele to the fetus in 15 of 18 informative pre-eclamptic pregnancies and in eight of 26 normotensive pregnancies. This was greater than the expected probability in pre-eclamptic pregnancies (p=0.04) and less than expected in normotensive pregnancies (p<0.005). The 573T variant, which is in partial linkage disequilibrium with the A4 allele, showed a similar distortion of maternal-fetal transmission. CONCLUSION: Angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene expression in the fetus may contribute to the aetiology of pre-eclampsia. It is unclear whether susceptibility is conferred by the fetal genotype acting alone, or by allele sharing by mother and fetus. Possible mechanisms for the effect of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene are suggested by the association of the 573T variant with low levels of surface receptor expression on platelets. If receptor expression is similarly genetically determined in the placenta, responsiveness to angiotensin II may be affected, with the potential to influence placentation or placental prostaglandin secretion. PMID:9719367

  4. Different Alleles of a Gene Encoding Leucoanthocyanidin Reductase (PaLAR3) Influence Resistance against the Fungus Heterobasidion parviporum in Picea abies1

    PubMed Central

    Ihrmark, Katarina

    2016-01-01

    Despite the fact that fungal diseases are a growing menace for conifers in modern silviculture, only a very limited number of molecular markers for pathogen resistance have been validated in conifer species. A previous genetic study indicated that the resistance of Norway spruce (Picea abies) to Heterobasidion annosum s.l., a pathogenic basidiomycete species complex, is linked to a quantitative trait loci that associates with differences in fungal growth in sapwood (FGS) that includes a gene, PaLAR3, which encodes a leucoanthocyanidin reductase. In this study, gene sequences showed the presence of two PaLAR3 allelic lineages in P. abies. Higher resistance was associated with the novel allele, which was found in low frequency in the four P. abies populations that we studied. Norway spruce plants carrying at least one copy of the novel allele showed a significant reduction in FGS after inoculation with Heterobasidion parviporum compared to their half-siblings carrying no copies, indicating dominance of this allele. The amount of (+) catechin, the enzymatic product of PaLAR3, was significantly higher in bark of trees homozygous for the novel allele. Although we observed that the in vitro activities of the enzymes encoded by the two alleles were similar, we could show that allele-specific transcript levels were significantly higher for the novel allele, indicating that regulation of gene expression is responsible for the observed effects in resistance, possibly caused by differences in cis-acting elements that we observe in the promoter region of the two alleles. PMID:27317690

  5. Genetic polymorphisms of genes coding to alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in western Mexicans: association of CYP2E1*c2/CYP2E1*5B allele with cirrhosis and liver function.

    PubMed

    García-Bañuelos, Jesús; Panduro, Arturo; Gordillo-Bastidas, Daniela; Gordillo-Bastidas, Elizabeth; Muñoz-Valle, José Francisco; Gurrola-Díaz, Carmen M; Sánchez-Enríquez, Sergio; Ruiz-Madrigal, Bertha; Bastidas-Ramírez, Blanca Estela

    2012-03-01

    Alcoholic cirrhosis constitutes a major public health problem in the world where ADH1B, ALDH2, and CYP2E1 polymorphisms could be playing an important role. We determined ADH1B*2, ALDH2*2, and CYP2E1*c2 allele frequencies in healthy control individuals (C) and patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC) from western Mexico. Ninety C and 41 patients with AC were studied. Genotype and allele frequency were determined through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Polymorphic allele distribution in AC was 1.6%ADH1B*2, 0.0%ALDH2*2, and 19.5%CYP2E1*c2; in C: 6.1%ADH1B*2, 0%ALDH2*2, and 10.6%CYP2E1*c2. CYP2E1*c2 polymorphic allele and c1/c2 genotype frequency were significantly higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) in patients with AC when compared to C. Patients with AC, carrying the CYP2E1*c2 allele, exhibited more decompensated liver functioning evaluated by total bilirubin and prothrombin time, than c1 allele carrying patients (p < 0.05). Cirrhosis severity, assessed by Child's Pugh score and mortality, was higher in patients carrying the c2 allele, although not statistically significant. In this study, CYP2E1*c2 allele was associated with susceptibility to AC; meanwhile, ADH1B*2 and ALDH2*2 alleles were not. CYP2E1*c2 allele was associated with AC severity, which could probably be attributed to the oxidative stress promoted by this polymorphic form. Further studies to clearly establish CYP2E1*c2 clinical relevance in the development of alcohol-induced liver damage and its usefulness as a probable prognostic marker, should be performed. Also, increasing the number of patients and including a control group conformed by alcoholic patients free of liver damage may render more conclusive results. These findings contribute to the understanding of the influence of gene variations in AC development among populations, alcohol metabolism, and pharmacogenetics. Copyright © 2011 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  6. Assessment of imprinting- and genetic variation-dependent monoallelic expression using reciprocal allele descendants between human family trios.

    PubMed

    Chuang, Trees-Juen; Tseng, Yu-Hsiang; Chen, Chia-Ying; Wang, Yi-Da

    2017-08-01

    Genomic imprinting is an important epigenetic process that silences one of the parentally-inherited alleles of a gene and thereby exhibits allelic-specific expression (ASE). Detection of human imprinting events is hampered by the infeasibility of the reciprocal mating system in humans and the removal of ASE events arising from non-imprinting factors. Here, we describe a pipeline with the pattern of reciprocal allele descendants (RADs) through genotyping and transcriptome sequencing data across independent parent-offspring trios to discriminate between varied types of ASE (e.g., imprinting, genetic variation-dependent ASE, and random monoallelic expression (RME)). We show that the vast majority of ASE events are due to sequence-dependent genetic variant, which are evolutionarily conserved and may themselves play a cis-regulatory role. Particularly, 74% of non-RAD ASE events, even though they exhibit ASE biases toward the same parentally-inherited allele across different individuals, are derived from genetic variation but not imprinting. We further show that the RME effect may affect the effectiveness of the population-based method for detecting imprinting events and our pipeline can help to distinguish between these two ASE types. Taken together, this study provides a good indicator for categorization of different types of ASE, opening up this widespread and complex mechanism for comprehensive characterization.

  7. Tracking human migrations by the analysis of the distribution of HLA alleles, lineages and haplotypes in closed and open populations

    PubMed Central

    Vina, Marcelo A. Fernandez; Hollenbach, Jill A.; Lyke, Kirsten E.; Sztein, Marcelo B.; Maiers, Martin; Klitz, William; Cano, Pedro; Mack, Steven; Single, Richard; Brautbar, Chaim; Israel, Shosahna; Raimondi, Eduardo; Khoriaty, Evelyne; Inati, Adlette; Andreani, Marco; Testi, Manuela; Moraes, Maria Elisa; Thomson, Glenys; Stastny, Peter; Cao, Kai

    2012-01-01

    The human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system shows extensive variation in the number and function of loci and the number of alleles present at any one locus. Allele distribution has been analysed in many populations through the course of several decades, and the implementation of molecular typing has significantly increased the level of diversity revealing that many serotypes have multiple functional variants. While the degree of diversity in many populations is equivalent and may result from functional polymorphism(s) in peptide presentation, homogeneous and heterogeneous populations present contrasting numbers of alleles and lineages at the loci with high-density expression products. In spite of these differences, the homozygosity levels are comparable in almost all of them. The balanced distribution of HLA alleles is consistent with overdominant selection. The genetic distances between outbred populations correlate with their geographical locations; the formal genetic distance measurements are larger than expected between inbred populations in the same region. The latter present many unique alleles grouped in a few lineages consistent with limited founder polymorphism in which any novel allele may have been positively selected to enlarge the communal peptide-binding repertoire of a given population. On the other hand, it has been observed that some alleles are found in multiple populations with distinctive haplotypic associations suggesting that convergent evolution events may have taken place as well. It appears that the HLA system has been under strong selection, probably owing to its fundamental role in varying immune responses. Therefore, allelic diversity in HLA should be analysed in conjunction with other genetic markers to accurately track the migrations of modern humans. PMID:22312049

  8. Phenotypic and genotypic expression of self-incompatibility haplotypes in Arabidopsis lyrata suggests unique origin of alleles in different dominance classes.

    PubMed

    Prigoda, Nadia L; Nassuth, Annette; Mable, Barbara K

    2005-07-01

    The highly divergent alleles of the SRK gene in outcrossing Arabidopsis lyrata have provided important insights into the evolutionary history of self-incompatibility (SI) alleles and serve as an ideal model for studies of the evolutionary and molecular interactions between alleles in cell-cell recognition systems in general. One tantalizing question is how new specificities arise in systems that require coordination between male and female components. Allelic recruitment via gene conversion has been proposed as one possibility, based on the division of DNA sequences at the SRK locus into two distinctive groups: (1) sequences whose relationships are not well resolved and display the long branch lengths expected for a gene under balancing selection (Class A); and (2) sequences falling into a well-supported group with shorter branch lengths (Class B) that are closely related to an unlinked paralogous locus. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in phenotype (site of expression assayed using allele-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) or function (dominance relationships assayed through controlled pollinations) accompany the sequence-based classification. Expression of Class A alleles was restricted to floral tissues, as predicted for genes involved in the SI response. In contrast, Class B alleles, despite being tightly linked to the SI phenotype, were unexpectedly expressed in both leaves and floral tissues; the same pattern found for a related unlinked paralogous sequence. Whereas Class A included haplotypes in three different dominance classes, all Class B haplotypes were found to be recessive to all except one Class A haplotype. In addition, mapping of expression and dominance patterns onto an S-domain-based genealogy suggested that allelic dominance may be determined more by evolutionary history than by frequency-dependent selection for lowered dominance as some theories suggest. The possibility that interlocus gene

  9. Apolipoprotein E genotyping in the Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups in Malaysia-a study on the distribution of the different apoE alleles and genotypes.

    PubMed

    Seet, Wan Tai; Mary Anne, Tan Jin Ai; Yen, Tan Si

    2004-02-01

    Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is encoded by a polymorphic gene located on chromosome 19. The three common apoE alleles are epsilon2, epsilon3 and epsilon4. We studied the frequencies of the apoE alleles and genotypes in the three ethnic groups-Malay, Chinese and Indian-in Malaysia using DNA amplification followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. EDTA blood was collected and DNA was extracted using proteinase K-SDS digestion and purified by phenol-chloroform extraction. The apoE gene sequence was amplified using the PCR and apoE genotyping was performed by restriction enzyme digestion with HhaI. Genotyping of the apoE gene produces six genotypes-E2/E2, E2/E3, E3/E3, E2/E4, E3/E4 and E4/E4. The most common apoE genotype in the Malays, Chinese and Indians studied was E3/E3, thus the most common apoE allele was epsilon3. The three common apoE genotypes were E3/E3 followed by E3/E4 and E2/E3, except in the Indians where E2/E3 was not detected. The three apoE alleles were confirmed in the Malays, Chinese and Indians except for the epsilon2 allele which was absent in the Indians. The combined frequency of the apoE alleles in the Malays, Chinese and Indians was 0.058, 0.829 and 0.114 for epsilon2, epsilon3 and epsilon4, respectively.

  10. TLR3 deficiency in herpes simplex encephalitis: high allelic heterogeneity and recurrence risk.

    PubMed

    Lim, Hye Kyung; Seppänen, Mikko; Hautala, Timo; Ciancanelli, Michael J; Itan, Yuval; Lafaille, Fabien G; Dell, William; Lorenzo, Lazaro; Byun, Minji; Pauwels, Elodie; Rönnelid, Ylva; Cai, Xin; Boucherit, Soraya; Jouanguy, Emmanuelle; Paetau, Anders; Lebon, Pierre; Rozenberg, Flore; Tardieu, Marc; Abel, Laurent; Yildiran, Alisan; Vergison, Anne; Roivainen, Reina; Etzioni, Amos; Tienari, Pentti J; Casanova, Jean-Laurent; Zhang, Shen-Ying

    2014-11-18

    To determine the proportion of children with herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) displaying TLR3 deficiency, the extent of TLR3 allelic heterogeneity, and the specific clinical features of TLR3 deficiency. We determined the sequence of all exons of TLR3 in 110 of the 120 patients with HSE enrolled in our study who do not carry any of the previously described HSE-predisposing mutations of TLR3 pathway genes (TLR3, UNC93B1, TRIF, TRAF3, and TBK1). All the new mutant TLR3 alleles detected were characterized experimentally in-depth to establish the causal relationship between the genotype and phenotype. In addition to the 3 previously reported TLR3-deficient patients from the same cohort, 6 other children or young adults with HSE carry 1 of 5 unique or extremely rare (minor allele frequency <0.001) missense TLR3 alleles. Two alleles (M374T, D592N) heterozygous in 3 patients are not deleterious in vitro. The other 3 are deleterious via different mechanisms: G743D+R811I and L360P heterozygous in 2 patients are loss-of-function due to low levels of expression and lack of cleavage, respectively, and R867Q homozygous in 1 patient is hypomorphic. The 3 patients' fibroblasts display impaired TLR3 responses and enhanced herpes simplex virus 1 susceptibility. Overall, TLR3 deficiency is therefore found in 6 (5%) of the 120 patients studied. There is high allelic heterogeneity, with 3 forms of autosomal dominant partial defect by negative dominance or haploinsufficiency, and 2 forms of autosomal recessive defect with complete or partial deficiency. Finally, 4 (66%) of the 6 TLR3-deficient patients had at least 1 late relapse of HSE, whereas relapse occurred in only 12 (10%) of the total cohort of 120 patients. Childhood-onset HSE is due to TLR3 deficiency in a traceable fraction of patients, in particular the ones with HSE recurrence. Mutations in TLR3 and TLR3 pathway genes should be searched and experimentally studied in children with HSE, and patients with proven TLR3

  11. Immunoglobulin light chain allelic inclusion in systemic lupus erythematosus.

    PubMed

    Fraser, Louise D; Zhao, Yuan; Lutalo, Pamela M K; D'Cruz, David P; Cason, John; Silva, Joselli S; Dunn-Walters, Deborah K; Nayar, Saba; Cope, Andrew P; Spencer, Jo

    2015-08-01

    The principles of allelic exclusion state that each B cell expresses a single light and heavy chain pair. Here, we show that B cells with both kappa and lambda light chains (Igκ and Igλ) are enriched in some patients with the systemic autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but not in the systemic autoimmune disease control granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Detection of dual Igκ and Igλ expression by flow cytometry could not be abolished by acid washing or by DNAse treatment to remove any bound polyclonal antibody or complexes, and was retained after two days in culture. Both surface and intracytoplasmic dual light chain expression was evident by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. We observed reduced frequency of rearrangements of the kappa-deleting element (KDE) in SLE and an inverse correlation between the frequency of KDE rearrangement and the frequency of dual light chain expressing B cells. We propose that dual expression of Igκ and Igλ by a single B cell may occur in some patients with SLE when this may be a consequence of reduced activity of the KDE. © 2015 The Authors. European Journal of Immunology published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Distribution of photoperiod-insensitive allele Ppd-A1a and its effect on heading time in Japanese wheat cultivars

    PubMed Central

    Seki, Masako; Chono, Makiko; Nishimura, Tsutomu; Sato, Mikako; Yoshimura, Yasuhiro; Matsunaka, Hitoshi; Fujita, Masaya; Oda, Shunsuke; Kubo, Katashi; Kiribuchi-Otobe, Chikako; Kojima, Hisayo; Nishida, Hidetaka; Kato, Kenji

    2013-01-01

    The Ppd-A1 genotype of 240 Japanese wheat cultivars and 40 foreign cultivars was determined using a PCR-based method. Among Japanese cultivars, only 12 cultivars, all of which were Hokkaido winter wheat, carried the Ppd-A1a allele, while this allele was not found in Hokkaido spring wheat cultivars or Tohoku-Kyushu cultivars. Cultivars with a photoperiod-insensitive allele headed 6.9–9.8 days earlier in Kanto and 2.5 days earlier in Hokkaido than photoperiod-sensitive cultivars. The lower effect of photoperiod-insensitive alleles observed in Hokkaido could be due to the longer day-length at the spike formation stage compared with that in Kanto. Pedigree analysis showed that ‘Purple Straw’ and ‘Tohoku 118’ were donors of Ppd-A1a and Ppd-D1a in Hokkaido wheat cultivars, respectively. Wheat cultivars recently developed in Hokkaido carry photoperiod-insensitive alleles at a high frequency. For efficient utilization of Ppd-1 alleles in the Hokkaido wheat-breeding program, the effect of Ppd-1 on growth pattern and grain yield should be investigated. Ppd-A1a may be useful as a unique gene source for fine tuning the heading time in the Tohoku-Kyushu region since the effect of Ppd-A1a on photoperiod insensitivity appears to differ from the effect of Ppd-B1a and Ppd-D1a. PMID:24273426

  13. Y-chromosome specific alleles and haplotypes in European and Asian populations: linkage disequilibrium and geographic diversity.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, R J; Earl, L; Fricke, B

    1997-10-01

    Variation on the Y chromosome may permit our understanding the evolution of the human paternal lineage and male gene flow. This study reports upon the distribution and non random association of alleles at four Y-chromosome specific loci in four populations, three Caucasoid (Italian, Greek and Slav) and one Asian. The markers include insertion/deletion (p12f), point mutation (92R7 and pY alpha I), and repeat sequence (p21A1) polymorphisms. Our data confirm that the p12f/TaqI 8 kb allele is a Caucasoid marker and that Asians are monomorphic at three of the loci (p12f, 92R7, and pY alpha I). The alleles at 92R7 and pY alpha I were found to be in complete disequilibrium in Europeans. Y-haplotype diversity was highly significant between Asians and all three European groups (P < 0.001), but the Greeks and Italians were also significantly different with respect to some alleles and haplotypes (P < 0.02). We find strong evidence that the p12f/TaqI 8 kb allele may have arisen only once, as a deletion event, and, additionally, that the present-day frequency distribution of Y chromosomes carrying the p12f/8 kb allele suggests that it may have been spread by colonising sea-faring peoples from the Near East, possibly the Phoenicians, rather than by expansion of Neolithic farmers into continental Europe. The p12f deletion is the key marker of a unique Y chromosome, found only in Caucasians to date, labelled 'Mediterranean' and this further increases the level of Y-chromosome diversity seen among Caucasoids when compared to the other major population groups.

  14. Search for DQ2.5 and DQ8 alleles using a lower cost technique in patients with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease in a population of southern Brazil.

    PubMed

    Bastos, Marília D; Kowalski, Thayne W; Puñales, Márcia; Tschiedel, Balduíno; Mariath, Luiza M; Pires, Ana Luiza G; Faccini, Lavínia S; Silveira, Themis R

    2017-12-01

    To evaluate the frequency of DQ2.5 and DQ8 alleles using the Tag-single-nucleotide polymorphism (Tag-SNP) technique in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and celiac disease (CD) in southern Brazil. In a prospective design, we performed the search for DQA1*0501 and DQB1*0201 alleles for DQ2.5 and DQB1*0302 for DQ8 through Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) technique, using TaqMan Genotyping Assays (Applied Biosystems, USA). The diagnosis of CD was established by duodenal biopsy and genotypic determination performed by StepOne Software v2.3. Allelic and genotypic frequencies were compared between groups using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests and the multiple comparisons using Finner's adjustment. Three hundred and sixty two patients with a median age of 14 years were divided into 3 groups: T1DM without CD (264); T1DM with CD (32) and CD without T1DM (66). In 97% of individuals with T1DM and CD and 76% of individuals with CD without T1DM, respectively, the alleles DQ2.5 and/or DQ8 were identified (p < 0.001). DQ2.5 was more common in individuals with CD (p = 0.004) and DQ8 was more common in individuals with type 1 diabetes (p = 0.008). The evaluation of the alleles for DQ2.5 and DQ8 by Tag-SNP technique showed a high negative predictive value among those with T1DM, similar to that described by the conventional technique. The high frequency of DQ8 alleles in individuals with T1DM did not allow differentiating those at higher risk of developing T1DM.

  15. Host mating system and the spread of a disease-resistant allele in a population

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    DeAngelis, D.L.; Koslow, Jennifer M.; Jiang, J.; Ruan, S.

    2008-01-01

    The model presented here modifies a susceptible-infected (SI) host-pathogen model to determine the influence of mating system on the outcome of a host-pathogen interaction. Both deterministic and stochastic (individual-based) versions of the model were used. This model considers the potential consequences of varying mating systems on the rate of spread of both the pathogen and resistance alleles within the population. We assumed that a single allele for disease resistance was sufficient to confer complete resistance in an individual, and that both homozygote and heterozygote resistant individuals had the same mean birth and death rates. When disease invaded a population with only an initial small fraction of resistant genes, inbreeding (selfing) tended to increase the probability that the disease would soon be eliminated from a small population rather than become endemic, while outcrossing greatly increased the probability that the population would become extinct due to the disease.

  16. Frequency of a natural truncated allele of MdMLO19 in the germplasm of Malus domestica.

    PubMed

    Pessina, Stefano; Palmieri, Luisa; Bianco, Luca; Gassmann, Jennifer; van de Weg, Eric; Visser, Richard G F; Magnago, Pierluigi; Schouten, Henk J; Bai, Yuling; Riccardo Velasco, R; Malnoy, Mickael

    2017-01-01

    Podosphaera leucotricha is the causal agent of powdery mildew (PM) in apple. To reduce the amount of fungicides required to control this pathogen, the development of resistant apple cultivars should become a priority. Resistance to PM was achieved in various crops by knocking out specific members of the MLO gene family that are responsible for PM susceptibility (S-genes). In apple, the knockdown of MdMLO19 resulted in PM resistance. However, since gene silencing technologies such as RNAi are perceived unfavorably in Europe, a different approach that exploits this type of resistance is needed. This work evaluates the presence of non-functional naturally occurring alleles of MdMLO19 in apple germplasm. The screening of the re-sequencing data of 63 apple individuals led to the identification of 627 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five MLO genes ( MdMLO5, MdMLO7, MdMLO11, MdMLO18 , and MdMLO19 ), 127 of which were located in exons. The T-1201 insertion of a single nucleotide in MdMLO19 caused the formation of an early stop codon, resulting in a truncated protein lacking 185 amino acids, including the calmodulin-binding domain. The presence of the insertion was evaluated in 115 individuals. It was heterozygous in 64 and homozygous in 25. Twelve of the 25 individuals carrying the insertion in homozygosity were susceptible to PM. After barley, pea, cucumber, and tomato, apple would be the fifth species for which a natural non-functional mlo allele has been found.

  17. Population structure and covariate analysis based on pairwise microsatellite allele matching frequencies.

    PubMed

    Givens, Geof H; Ozaksoy, Isin

    2007-01-01

    We describe a general model for pairwise microsatellite allele matching probabilities. The model can be used for analysis of population substructure, and is particularly focused on relating genetic correlation to measurable covariates. The approach is intended for cases when the existence of subpopulations is uncertain and a priori assignment of samples to hypothesized subpopulations is difficult. Such a situation arises, for example, with western Arctic bowhead whales, where genetic samples are available only from a possibly mixed migratory assemblage. We estimate genetic structure associated with spatial, temporal, or other variables that may confound the detection of population structure. In the bowhead case, the model permits detection of genetic patterns associated with a temporally pulsed multi-population assemblage in the annual migration. Hypothesis tests for population substructure and for covariate effects can be carried out using permutation methods. Simulated and real examples illustrate the effectiveness and reliability of the approach and enable comparisons with other familiar approaches. Analysis of the bowhead data finds no evidence for two temporally pulsed subpopulations using the best available data, although a significant pattern found by other researchers using preliminary data is also confirmed here. Code in the R language is available from www.stat.colostate.edu/~geof/gammmp.html.

  18. Sodium ion channel alkaloid resistance does not vary with toxicity in aposematic Dendrobates poison frogs: An examination of correlated trait evolution

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Ian J.

    2018-01-01

    Spatial heterogeneity in the strength or agents of selection can lead to geographic variation in ecologically important phenotypes. Many dendrobatid frogs sequester alkaloid toxins from their diets and often exhibit fixed mutations at NaV1.4, a voltage-gated sodium ion channel associated with alkaloid toxin resistance. Yet previous studies have noted an absence of resistance mutations in individuals from several species known to sequester alkaloid toxins, suggesting possible intraspecific variation for alkaloid resistance in these species. Toxicity and alkaloid profiles vary substantially between populations in several poison frog species (genus Dendrobates) and are correlated with variation in a suite of related traits such as aposematic coloration. If resistance mutations are costly, due to alterations of channel gating properties, we expect that low toxicity populations will have reduced frequencies and potentially even the loss of resistance alleles. Here, we examine whether intraspecific variation in toxicity in three dendrobatid frogs is associated with intraspecific variation in alleles conferring toxin resistance. Specifically, we examine two species that display marked variation in toxicity throughout their native ranges (Dendrobates pumilio and D. granuliferus) and one species with reduced toxicity in its introduced range (D. auratus). However, we find no evidence for population-level variation in alkaloid resistance at NaV1.4. In fact, contrary to previous studies, we found that alkaloid resistance alleles were not absent in any populations of these species. All three species exhibit fixed alkaloid resistance mutations throughout their ranges, suggesting that these mutations are maintained even when alkaloid sequestration is substantially reduced. PMID:29534110

  19. Analysis of tumor necrosis factor-alpha promoter polymorphism in type 1 diabetes: HLA-B and -DRB1 alleles are primarily associated with the disease in Japanese.

    PubMed

    Hamaguchi, K; Kimura, A; Seki, N; Higuchi, T; Yasunaga, S; Takahashi, M; Sasazuki, T; Kusuda, Y; Okeda, T; Itoh, K; Sakata, T

    2000-01-01

    Polymorphisms in the 5'-flanking region of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha gene were examined to study the genetic background of type 1 diabetes in Japanese. Five different biallelic polymorphisms were examined in 136 type 1 diabetic patients and 300 control subjects. The frequencies of individuals carrying TNF-alpha-857T allele (designated as TNFP-D allele) or -863A/-1,031C allele (designated as TNFP-B allele) were significantly increased in the patients as compared with the controls. Since these TNF-alpha alleles are in linkage disequilibria with certain DRB1 and HLA-B alleles, two-locus analyses were carried out. The TNFP-D allele did not increase the risk in either the presence or absence of the DRB1*0405 or HLA-B54 allele, while the DRB1*0405 and HLA-B54 alleles per se could confer susceptibility in both the TNFP-D allele-positive and -negative populations. Moreover, an odds ratio was remarkably elevated in the population carrying both DRB1*0405 and HLA-B54. Similarly, the TNFP-B allele did not show significant association with the disease in either the HLA-B61-positive or -negative population, while the HLA-B61 allele could significantly increase the risk in the TNFP-B allele-positive population. These data suggest that the associations of TNFP-D and -B alleles may be secondary to their linkage disequilibria with the susceptible HLA class I and class II alleles. Because HLA-B and DRB1 genes were independently associated, both of these genes may be contributed primarily to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes in Japanese.

  20. Allelic Expression of Deleterious Protein-Coding Variants across Human Tissues

    PubMed Central

    Kukurba, Kimberly R.; Zhang, Rui; Li, Xin; Smith, Kevin S.; Knowles, David A.; How Tan, Meng; Piskol, Robert; Lek, Monkol; Snyder, Michael; MacArthur, Daniel G.; Li, Jin Billy; Montgomery, Stephen B.

    2014-01-01

    Personal exome and genome sequencing provides access to loss-of-function and rare deleterious alleles whose interpretation is expected to provide insight into individual disease burden. However, for each allele, accurate interpretation of its effect will depend on both its penetrance and the trait's expressivity. In this regard, an important factor that can modify the effect of a pathogenic coding allele is its level of expression; a factor which itself characteristically changes across tissues. To better inform the degree to which pathogenic alleles can be modified by expression level across multiple tissues, we have conducted exome, RNA and deep, targeted allele-specific expression (ASE) sequencing in ten tissues obtained from a single individual. By combining such data, we report the impact of rare and common loss-of-function variants on allelic expression exposing stronger allelic bias for rare stop-gain variants and informing the extent to which rare deleterious coding alleles are consistently expressed across tissues. This study demonstrates the potential importance of transcriptome data to the interpretation of pathogenic protein-coding variants. PMID:24786518

  1. Low frequency dove coos vary across noise gradients in an urbanized environment.

    PubMed

    Guo, Fengyi; Bonebrake, Timothy C; Dingle, Caroline

    2016-08-01

    Urbanization poses a challenge to bird communication due to signal masking by ambient noise and reflective surfaces that lead to signal degradation. Bird species (especially oscines) have been shown to alter their singing behaviour to increase signal efficiency in highly urbanized environments. However, few studies on the effects of noise on song structure have included birds with low frequency vocal signals which may be especially vulnerable to noise pollution due to significant frequency overlap of their signals with traffic noise. We compared the perch coos of spotted doves (Streptopelia chinensis), a species with very low frequency vocalizations, in different background noise levels across urban and peri-urban areas in Hong Kong. We documented a 10% upward shift in the minimum frequency of coos of spotted doves across the noise gradient (a relatively small but significant shift), and a reduced maximum frequency in urban habitats with a higher density of built up area. Hong Kong doves had significantly higher minimum and maximum frequencies than doves from throughout their range (from mostly rural sites). Our results indicate that urban species with extremely low sound frequencies such as doves can alter their vocalizations in response to variable urban acoustic environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. European ACP1*C Allele Has Recessive Deleterious Effects on Early Life Viability

    PubMed Central

    WILDER, JASON A.; HAMMER, MICHAEL F.

    2005-01-01

    The acid phosphatase locus (ACP1) is a classical polymorphism that has been surveyed in hundreds of human populations worldwide. Among individuals of European ancestry, the ACP1*C allele occurs with an average frequency of approximately 0.05, whereas it is nearly absent in all other human populations. It has been hypothesized that this allele is maintained by over dominant selection among European populations. Here, we analyze ACP1 protein polymorphism data from more than 50,000 individuals previously surveyed in 67 populations across Europe as well as inheritance data from more than 6,000 European parent–offspring pairs to assess the signature of natural selection currently acting on this allele. Although we see a significant excess of ACP1*C heterozygotes relative to Hardy–Weinberg expectations, we find no evidence that natural selection favors ACP1*C heterozygotes. Instead, ACP1*C appears to have a strongly deleterious and recessive fitness effect. We observed only 48.9% of expected homozygous offspring from heterozygous parents and significantly fewer homozygotes than expected within populations. Because parent–offspring pairs indicate a significant deficiency of ACP1*C homozygotes, we infer that viability selection is acting on ACP1*C homozygotes very early in life, perhaps before birth. We estimate that approximately 1.2% of all couples of European ancestry are composed of individuals who both carry the APC1*C allele. As such, selection against ACP1*C homozygotes may represent a nonnegligible contribution to the overall number of spontaneous abortions among women of European ancestry and may cause substantial fertility reductions among some combinations of parental genotypes. PMID:15974295

  3. Two subsets of HLA-DQA1 alleles mark phenotypic variation in levels of insulin autoantibodies in first degree relatives at risk for insulin-dependent diabetes.

    PubMed Central

    Pugliese, A; Bugawan, T; Moromisato, R; Awdeh, Z L; Alper, C A; Jackson, R A; Erlich, H A; Eisenbarth, G S

    1994-01-01

    Levels of insulin autoantibodies (IAA) vary among different first degree relatives of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients, suggesting genetic regulation. We previously reported elevated IAA among DR4-positive at risk relatives. In this study, 72/82 at risk relatives were IAA positive, of whom 75% (54/72) carried DR4 versus 20% (2/10) of IAA-negative relatives (P = 0.0004). However, 69% (18/26) of DR4-negative relatives were IAA positive. Since DR4 did not account for all IAA positivity, we analyzed DQA1 and DQB1 alleles. Homozygosity for DQA1 alleles deriving from the evolutionary lineage 4 (*0401, *0501, *0601) was associated with low IAA levels, while lineage 1-3 alleles (*0101, *0102, *0103, *0201, *0301) correlated with higher levels. Most (93%, 65/70) relatives with lineage 1-3 alleles were IAA positive (mean = 360 +/- 63 SEM nU/ml). Only 7/12 relatives homozygous for lineage 4 alleles were IAA-positive, with lower levels than relatives with lineage 1-3 alleles (mean = 55 +/- 15 SEM nU/ml, P < 0.0001; 7/12 vs 65/70, P = 0.004). The amino acid sequences of lineage 1-3 alleles uniquely share glutamic acid (E) and phenylalanine (F) at positions 40 and 51 (EF alleles). Lineage 4 alleles have glycine (G) and leucine (L) at those positions (GL alleles). 90% (65/72) of IAA-positive relatives had an EF allele, while only 75% (54/72) had DR4 (P = 0.01). Homozygosity for GL alleles (often DQA1 *0501 on DR3 haplotypes) correlated with little or no humoral response to insulin. Thus, HLA-DQB1 GL alleles, or other genes on haplotypes (e.g., DR3) that carry these DQA1 alleles, may confer recessive low responsiveness to insulin. PMID:8200980

  4. HLA Class I Alleles Associated with Mortality in Thai Military Recruits with HIV-1 CRF01_AE Infection

    PubMed Central

    Bosch, Ronald J.; Rangsin, Ram; Chuenchitra, Thippawan; Sirisopana, Narongrid; Kim, Jerome H.; Robb, Merlin L.; Vejbaesya, Sasijit; Paris, Robert M.; Nelson, Kenrad E.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract In HIV-1-infected patients, variation at the HLA class I locus is associated with disease progression, but few studies have assessed the influence of HLA alleles on HIV-1 CRF01_AE infection, which is dominant in Thailand. We hypothesized that alleles predicted to confer more effective immune responses, such as HLA-B*46, would protect against disease progression. HLA typing was performed on HIV-1 incident cases surviving until 1998–1999 and HIV-1-negative matched controls from Thai army cohorts enrolled between 1991 and 1995. We assessed associations between class I alleles and disease progression subsequent to HLA typing. Ninety-nine HIV-1-incident cases were followed for a median of 3.7 years after HLA typing; during this time, 58 participants died. Two alleles were associated with mortality: HLA B*51 was protective (3-year survival B*51pos vs. B*51neg: 75% vs. 52%; p = 0.034) whereas Cw*04 was deleterious (3-year survival Cw*04pos vs. Cw*04neg: 39% vs. 60%; p = 0.027). HLA-B*46 was not associated with disease progression. Alleles present at different frequencies in HIV-1-incident compared with HIV-1-negative men included HLA-A*02:03, B*35, B*15, and C*08. 1. In conclusion in this Thai army cohort, HLA-B*51 was associated with lower mortality, confirming that this allele, which is protective in clade B HIV-1 infection, has a similar effect on HIV CRF01_AE infection. The deleterious effect of HLA-Cw*04 must be interpreted with caution because it may be in linkage disequilibrium with disease-susceptible HLA-B alleles. We did not find that HLA-B*46 was protective. These findings may inform vaccine development for areas of the world in which HIV-1 CRF01_AE infection is prevalent. PMID:26383907

  5. Molecular analysis of HLA-DPB1 alleles in idiopathic systemic sclerosis patients and uranium miners with systemic sclerosis.

    PubMed

    Rihs, H P; Conrad, K; Mehlhorn, J; May-Taube, K; Welticke, B; Frank, K H; Baur, X

    1996-03-01

    According to clinical mainifestation and autoantibody pattern [anti-Scl-70, anti-centromere antibodies (ACAs)], systemic sclerosis is a connective tissue disease with heterogenous subgroups. PCR-sequence-specific-oligonucleotide typing was used to study the genetic association of HLA-DPB1 alleles in 54 patients with idiopathic systemic sclerosis, 26 uranium miners with systemic sclerosis and 70 unrelated healthy control subjects. Systemic sclerosis patients with and without former employment in mines were divided into two subgroups according to their scleroderma-typical autoantibody specificities--anti-Scl-70 positive and ACA positive--and third subgroup comprising the rest. Statistical analysis revealed a significantly increased frequency of DPB1*1301(p=0.0001, corrected p=0.011) in idiopathic anti-Scl-70-positive systemic sclerosis cases when compared with unexposed controls. In the same group, we observed an enhanced frequency of DPB1*0601 and *1701 alleles. Since these three alleles carry the information for a glutamic acid residue in position 69 of DPB1, we tested the association of this residue with anti-Scl-70 expression. A strong association between anti-Scl-70 positivity in idiopathic systemic sclerosis patients and amino acid residue 69 of DPB1 was observed when compared with anti-Scl-70-negative idiopathic systemic sclerosis patients (p=0.0009) or unrelated controls (p=0.0007). ACA expression was not associated with the presence of any DPB1 allele tested. The data show that anti-Scl-70 expression in idiopathic systemic sclerosis patients is linked with DPB1*1301 whereas anti-Scl-70-positive miners do not show such a DPB1 association. Futhermore, the data indicate that glutamate 69 of DPB1 might be involved in the susceptibility to idiopathic anti-Scl-70 expression.

  6. Protective Effect of HLA-DQB1 Alleles Against Alloimmunization in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

    PubMed Central

    Tatari-Calderone, Zohreh; Gordish-Dressman, Heather; Fasano, Ross; Riggs, Michael; Fortier, Catherine; Andrew; Campbell, D.; Charron, Dominique; Gordeuk, Victor R.; Luban, Naomi L.C.; Vukmanovic, Stanislav; Tamouza, Ryad

    2015-01-01

    Background Alloimmunization or the development of alloantibodies to Red Blood Cell (RBC) antigens is considered one of the major complications after RBC transfusions in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and can lead to both acute and delayed hemolytic reactions. It has been suggested that polymorphisms in HLA genes, may play a role in alloimmunization. We conducted a retrospective study analyzing the influence of HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 genetic diversity on RBC-alloimmunization. Study design Two-hundred four multi-transfused SCD patients with and without RBC-alloimmunization were typed at low/medium resolution by PCR-SSO, using IMGT-HLA Database. HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 allele frequencies were analyzed using logistic regression models, and global p-value was calculated using multiple logistic regression. Results While only trends towards associations between HLA-DR diversity and alloimmunization were observed, analysis of HLA-DQ showed that HLA-DQ2 (p=0.02), -DQ3 (p=0.02) and -DQ5 (p=0.01) alleles were significantly higher in non-alloimmunized patients, likely behaving as protective alleles. In addition, multiple logistic regression analysis showed both HLA-DQ2/6 (p=0.01) and HLA-DQ5/5 (p=0.03) combinations constitute additional predictor of protective status. Conclusion Our data suggest that particular HLA-DQ alleles influence the clinical course of RBC transfusion in patients with SCD, which could pave the way towards predictive strategies. PMID:26476208

  7. HLA-DRB1 alleles in four Amerindian populations from Argentina and Paraguay

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is one of the biological systems of major polymorphisms. The study of HLA class II variability has allowed the identification of several alleles that are characteristic to Amerindian populations, and it is an excellent tool to define the relations and biological affinities among them. In this work, we analyzed the allelic distribution of the HLA-DRB1 class II locus in four Amerindian populations: Mapuche (n = 34) and Tehuelche (n = 23) from the Patagonian region of Argentina, and Wichi SV (n = 24) and Lengua (n = 17) from the Argentinean and Paraguayan Chaco regions, respectively. In all of these groups, relatively high frequencies of Amerindian HLA-DRB1 alleles were observed (DRB1*0403, DRB1*0407, DRB1*0411, DRB1*0417, DRB1*0802, DRB1*0901, DRB1*1402, DRB1*1406 and DRB1*1602). However, we also detected the presence of non-Amerindian variants in Mapuche (35%) and Tehuelche (22%). We compared our data with those obtained in six indigenous groups of the Argentinean Chaco region and in a sample from Buenos Aires City. The genetic distance dendrogram showed a clear-cut division between the Patagonian and Chaco populations, which formed two different clusters. In spite of their linguistic differences, it can be inferred that the biological affinities observed are in concordance with the geographic distributions and interethnic relations established among the groups studied. PMID:21637670

  8. Allelic Variation in Developmental Genes and Effects on Winter Wheat Heading Date in the U.S. Great Plains

    PubMed Central

    Brown-Guedira, Gina; Haley, Scott D.; McMaster, Gregory S.; Reid, Scott D.; Smith, Jared; Byrne, Patrick F.

    2016-01-01

    Heading date in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and other small grain cereals is affected by the vernalization and photoperiod pathways. The reduced-height loci also have an effect on growth and development. Heading date, which occurs just prior to anthesis, was evaluated in a population of 299 hard winter wheat entries representative of the U.S. Great Plains region, grown in nine environments during 2011–2012 and 2012–2013. The germplasm was evaluated for candidate genes at vernalization (Vrn-A1, Vrn-B1, and Vrn-D1), photoperiod (Ppd-A1, Ppd-B1 and Ppd-D1), and reduced-height (Rht-B1 and Rht-D1) loci using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) assays. Our objectives were to determine allelic variants known to affect flowering time, assess the effect of allelic variants on heading date, and investigate changes in the geographic and temporal distribution of alleles and haplotypes. Our analyses enhanced understanding of the roles developmental genes have on the timing of heading date in wheat under varying environmental conditions, which could be used by breeding programs to improve breeding strategies under current and future climate scenarios. The significant main effects and two-way interactions between the candidate genes explained an average of 44% of variability in heading date at each environment. Among the loci we evaluated, most of the variation in heading date was explained by Ppd-D1, Ppd-B1, and their interaction. The prevalence of the photoperiod sensitive alleles Ppd-A1b, Ppd-B1b, and Ppd-D1b has gradually decreased in U.S. Great Plains germplasm over the past century. There is also geographic variation for photoperiod sensitive and reduced-height alleles, with germplasm from breeding programs in the northern Great Plains having greater incidences of the photoperiod sensitive alleles and lower incidence of the semi-dwarf alleles than germplasm from breeding programs in the central or southern plains. PMID:27058239

  9. CYP2C19 polymorphism frequency in Russian patients in Central Russia and Siberia with acute coronary syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Mirzaev, Karin B; Zelenskaya, Elena M; Barbarash, Olga L; Ganyukov, Vladimir I; Apartsin, Konstantin A; Saraeva, Natalya O; Nikolaev, Konstantin Y; Ryzhikova, Kristina A; Lifshits, Galina I; Sychev, Dmitry A

    2017-01-01

    Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of CYP2C19*2, *3 allelic variants, associated with poor response to clopidogrel, and CYP2C19*17, associated with excessive response to clopidogrel, in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) from Siberia and Moscow regions of Russia. Patients and methods The study included 512 ACS patients who were subsequently treated with coronary arterial stenting. The subjects assigned were from the cities of Central (Novosibirsk, Kemerovo), Eastern (Irkutsk), Northern (Surgut) Siberia regions and from Moscow region. The mean age of patients enrolled was 63.9±10.9 years. Among the assigned subjects, the proportion of men accounted for 80% and women 20%. Results According to the results obtained in the present study, from 16% up to 27.5% of patients in different regions of Russia have at least one CYP2C19 “poor metabolizer” (PM) allele variant affecting clopidogrel metabolism and, therefore, suppressing its antiplatelet activity. CYP2C19*17 allele variant was identified with the frequency of 15.4% up to 33.3%. The study revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in CYP2C19*3 allele frequency between the Russian ethnic group patients from Eastern and Central Siberia (p=0.001; odds ratio=1.05 [95% confidence interval 1.01–1.09]). Conclusion The study revealed statistically significant differences between the allele frequencies in Eastern and Central Siberia, which can probably be caused by a considerable number of Buryats inhabiting Eastern Siberia. PMID:28442925

  10. Recent rapid rise of a permethrin knock down resistance allele in Aedes aegypti in México.

    PubMed

    García, Gustavo Ponce; Flores, Adriana E; Fernández-Salas, Ildefonso; Saavedra-Rodríguez, Karla; Reyes-Solis, Guadalupe; Lozano-Fuentes, Saul; Guillermo Bond, J; Casas-Martínez, Mauricio; Ramsey, Janine M; García-Rejón, Julián; Domínguez-Galera, Marco; Ranson, Hilary; Hemingway, Janet; Eisen, Lars; Black IV, William C

    2009-10-13

    -2008 collections, which ranged from 45.7% (+ or - 2.00% CI95) in the state of Veracruz to 51.2% (+ or - 4.36% CI95) in the Yucatán peninsula and 14.5% (+ or - 2.23% CI95) in and around Tapachula in the state of Chiapas. Spatial heterogeneity was also evident at smaller geographic scales. For example within the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Ile1,016 frequencies varied from 38.3%-88.3%. A linear regression analysis based on seven collections from 2007 revealed that the frequency of Ile1,016 homozygotes accurately predicted knockdown rate for mosquitoes exposed to permethrin in a bioassay (R(2) = 0.98). We have recorded a dramatic increase in the frequency of the Ile1,016 mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene of Ae. aegypti in México from 1996 to 2009. This may be related to heavy use of permethrin-based insecticides in mosquito control programs. Spatial heterogeneity in Ile1,016 frequencies in 2007 and 2008 collections may reflect differences in selection pressure or in the initial frequency of Ile1,016. The rapid recent increase in Ile1,016 is predicted by a simple model of positive directional selection on a recessive allele. Unfortunately this model also predicts rapid fixation of Ile1,016 unless there is negative fitness associated with Ile1,016 in the absence of permethrin. If so, then spatial refugia of susceptible Ae. aegypti or rotational schedules of different classes of adulticides could be established to slow or prevent fixation of Ile1,016.

  11. Recent Rapid Rise of a Permethrin Knock Down Resistance Allele in Aedes aegypti in México

    PubMed Central

    García, Gustavo Ponce; Flores, Adriana E.; Fernández-Salas, Ildefonso; Saavedra-Rodríguez, Karla; Reyes-Solis, Guadalupe; Lozano-Fuentes, Saul; Guillermo Bond, J.; Casas-Martínez, Mauricio; Ramsey, Janine M.; García-Rejón, Julián; Domínguez-Galera, Marco; Ranson, Hilary; Hemingway, Janet; Eisen, Lars; Black, William C.

    2009-01-01

    in Ile1,016 frequencies among 2007–2008 collections, which ranged from 45.7% (±2.00% CI95) in the state of Veracruz to 51.2% (±4.36% CI95) in the Yucatán peninsula and 14.5% (±2.23% CI95) in and around Tapachula in the state of Chiapas. Spatial heterogeneity was also evident at smaller geographic scales. For example within the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Ile1,016 frequencies varied from 38.3%–88.3%. A linear regression analysis based on seven collections from 2007 revealed that the frequency of Ile1,016 homozygotes accurately predicted knockdown rate for mosquitoes exposed to permethrin in a bioassay (R2 = 0.98). Conclusions We have recorded a dramatic increase in the frequency of the Ile1,016 mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene of Ae. aegypti in México from 1996 to 2009. This may be related to heavy use of permethrin-based insecticides in mosquito control programs. Spatial heterogeneity in Ile1,016 frequencies in 2007 and 2008 collections may reflect differences in selection pressure or in the initial frequency of Ile1,016. The rapid recent increase in Ile1,016 is predicted by a simple model of positive directional selection on a recessive allele. Unfortunately this model also predicts rapid fixation of Ile1,016 unless there is negative fitness associated with Ile1,016 in the absence of permethrin. If so, then spatial refugia of susceptible Ae. aegypti or rotational schedules of different classes of adulticides could be established to slow or prevent fixation of Ile1,016. PMID:19829709

  12. Erasure and reestablishment of random allelic expression imbalance after epigenetic reprogramming

    PubMed Central

    Jeffries, Aaron Richard; Uwanogho, Dafe Aghogho; Cocks, Graham; Perfect, Leo William; Dempster, Emma; Mill, Jonathan; Price, Jack

    2016-01-01

    Clonal level random allelic expression imbalance and random monoallelic expression provides cellular heterogeneity within tissues by modulating allelic dosage. Although such expression patterns have been observed in multiple cell types, little is known about when in development these stochastic allelic choices are made. We examine allelic expression patterns in human neural progenitor cells before and after epigenetic reprogramming to induced pluripotency, observing that loci previously characterized by random allelic expression imbalance (0.63% of expressed genes) are generally reset to a biallelic state in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We subsequently neuralized the iPSCs and profiled isolated clonal neural stem cells, observing that significant random allelic expression imbalance is reestablished at 0.65% of expressed genes, including novel loci not found to show allelic expression imbalance in the original parental neural progenitor cells. Allelic expression imbalance was associated with altered DNA methylation across promoter regulatory regions, with clones characterized by skewed allelic expression being hypermethylated compared to their biallelic sister clones. Our results suggest that random allelic expression imbalance is established during lineage commitment and is associated with increased DNA methylation at the gene promoter. PMID:27539784

  13. Frequency of a FAS ligand gene variant associated with inherited feline autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome in British shorthair cats in New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Aberdein, D; Munday, J S; Dittmer, K E; Heathcott, R W; Lyons, L A

    2017-11-01

    AIMS To determine the frequency of the FAS-ligand gene (FASLG) variant associated with feline autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (FALPS) and the proportion of carriers of the variant in three British shorthair (BSH) breeding catteries in New Zealand. METHODS Buccal swabs were collected from all cats in two BSH breeding catteries from the South Island and one from the North Island of New Zealand. DNA was extracted and was tested for the presence of the FASLG variant using PCR. Cats with the FASLG variant were identified and the frequency of the FASLG variant allele calculated. Pedigree analysis was performed and inbreeding coefficients were calculated for cats with the FASLG variant. RESULTS Of 32 BSH cats successfully tested for the presence of the FASLG variant, one kitten (3%) was homozygous (FALPS-affected), and seven (22%) cats were heterozygous (carriers) for the FASLG variant allele, and 24 (75%) cats were homozygous for the wild type allele. The overall frequency of the FASLG variant allele in these 32 cats was 0.14. Cats carrying the FASLG variant were from all three breeding catteries sampled, including two catteries that had not previously reported cases of FALPS. Pedigree analysis revealed common ancestry of FALPS-affected and carrier cats within six generations, as well as frequent inbreeding, with inbreeding coefficients >0.12 for five cats with the FASLG variant. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE There was a high frequency of the FASLG variant allele (0.14) in this small sample of BSH cats, with 22% of healthy cats identified as carriers of the FASLG variant. For an inherited disease, lethal at a young age, in a small population in which inbreeding is common, these results are significant. To prevent future cases of disease and stop further spread of the FASLG variant allele within the BSH population in New Zealand, it is recommended that all BSH and BSH-cross cats be tested for the presence of the FASLG variant before mating. Cats identified as

  14. Geostatistical analysis of allele presence patterns among American black bears in eastern North Carolina

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thompson, L.M.; Van Manen, F.T.; King, T.L.

    2005-01-01

    Highways are one of the leading causes of wildlife habitat fragmentation and may particularly affect wide-ranging species, such as American black bears (Ursus americanus). We initiated a research project in 2000 to determine potential effects of a 4-lane highway on black bear ecology in Washington County, North Carolina. The research design included a treatment area (highway construction) and a control area and a pre- and post-construction phase. We used data from the pre-construction phase to determine whether we could detect scale dependency or directionality among allele occurrence patterns using geostatistics. Detection of such patterns could provide a powerful tool to measure the effects of landscape fragmentation on gene flow. We sampled DNA from roots of black bear hair at 70 hair-sampling sites on each study area for 7 weeks during fall of 2000. We used microsatellite analysis based on 10 loci to determine unique multi-locus genotypes. We examined all alleles sampled at ???25 sites on each study area and mapped their presence or absence at each hair-sample site. We calculated semivariograms, which measure the strength of statistical correlation as a function of distance, and adjusted them for anisotropy to determine the maximum direction of spatial continuity. We then calculated the mean direction of spatial continuity for all examined alleles. The mean direction of allele frequency variation was 118.3?? (SE = 8.5) on the treatment area and 172.3?? (SE = 6.0) on the control area. Rayleigh's tests showed that these directions differed from random distributions (P = 0.028 and P < 0.001, respectively), indicating consistent directional patterns for the alleles we examined in each area. Despite the small spatial scale of our study (approximately 11,000 ha for each study area), we observed distinct and consistent patterns of allele occurrence, suggesting different directions of gene flow between the study areas. These directions seemed to coincide with the

  15. Mutant maize variety containing the glt1-1 allele

    DOEpatents

    Nelson, O.E.; Pan, D.

    1994-07-19

    A maize plant has in its genome a non-mutable form of a mutant allele designated vitX-8132. The allele is located at a locus designated as glt which conditions kernels having an altered starch characteristic. Maize plants including such a mutant allele produce a starch that does not increase in viscosity on cooling, after heating. 2 figs.

  16. Mutant maize variety containing the glt1-1 allele

    DOEpatents

    Nelson, Oliver E.; Pan, David

    1994-01-01

    A maize plant has in its genome a non-mutable form of a mutant allele designated vitX-8132. The allele is located at a locus designated as glt which conditions kernels having an altered starch characteristic. Maize plants including such a mutant allele produce a starch that does not increase in viscosity on cooling, after heating.

  17. Hatch plasticity in response to varied inundation frequency in Aedes albopictus.

    PubMed

    Vitek, Christopher J; Livdahl, Todd

    2009-07-01

    Eggs of container-breeding mosquitoes are able to withstand drought conditions as an egg and hatch when submerged. Frequent rainfall can be simulated by frequent submersion, and drought conditions can be simulated by infrequent submersion. We examined the hatch response of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) eggs to simulated drought conditions. Ae. albopictus eggs from a strain originating outside Kobe, Japan, were subjected to one of three treatments; high-frequency hatch stimulation consisting of submerging the eggs in a nutrient broth mixture every 3 d, low-frequency hatch stimulation consisting of submerging the eggs every 7 d, and delayed high-frequency hatch stimulation. Eggs that were subjected to lower-frequency stimulation showed a significant decrease in hatch delay, which was the opposite of the predicted response. This decrease in hatch delay may be an example of hatch plasticity in response to drought conditions. This response could not be explained as a result of the difference in the ages of the eggs on any given stimulus. A decreased hatch delay response to potential drought conditions combined with rapid larval development may enable Ae. albopictus, whose eggs are not as desiccation resistant as some other container-breeding mosquitoes, to survive extended drought.

  18. Erasure and reestablishment of random allelic expression imbalance after epigenetic reprogramming.

    PubMed

    Jeffries, Aaron Richard; Uwanogho, Dafe Aghogho; Cocks, Graham; Perfect, Leo William; Dempster, Emma; Mill, Jonathan; Price, Jack

    2016-10-01

    Clonal level random allelic expression imbalance and random monoallelic expression provides cellular heterogeneity within tissues by modulating allelic dosage. Although such expression patterns have been observed in multiple cell types, little is known about when in development these stochastic allelic choices are made. We examine allelic expression patterns in human neural progenitor cells before and after epigenetic reprogramming to induced pluripotency, observing that loci previously characterized by random allelic expression imbalance (0.63% of expressed genes) are generally reset to a biallelic state in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We subsequently neuralized the iPSCs and profiled isolated clonal neural stem cells, observing that significant random allelic expression imbalance is reestablished at 0.65% of expressed genes, including novel loci not found to show allelic expression imbalance in the original parental neural progenitor cells. Allelic expression imbalance was associated with altered DNA methylation across promoter regulatory regions, with clones characterized by skewed allelic expression being hypermethylated compared to their biallelic sister clones. Our results suggest that random allelic expression imbalance is established during lineage commitment and is associated with increased DNA methylation at the gene promoter. © 2016 Jeffries et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

  19. Maize ARGOS1 (ZAR1) transgenic alleles increase hybrid maize yield.

    PubMed

    Guo, Mei; Rupe, Mary A; Wei, Jun; Winkler, Chris; Goncalves-Butruille, Marymar; Weers, Ben P; Cerwick, Sharon F; Dieter, Jo Ann; Duncan, Keith E; Howard, Richard J; Hou, Zhenglin; Löffler, Carlos M; Cooper, Mark; Simmons, Carl R

    2014-01-01

    Crop improvement for yield and drought tolerance is challenging due to the complex genetic nature of these traits and environmental dependencies. This study reports that transgenic over-expression of Zea mays AR GOS1 (ZAR1) enhanced maize organ growth, grain yield, and drought-stress tolerance. The ZAR1 transgene exhibited environmental interactions, with yield increase under Temperate Dry and yield reduction under Temperate Humid or High Latitude environments. Native ZAR1 allele variation associated with drought-stress tolerance. Two founder alleles identified in the mid-maturity germplasm of North America now predominate in Pioneer's modern breeding programme, and have distinct proteins, promoters and expression patterns. These two major alleles show heterotic group partitioning, with one predominant in Pioneer's female and the other in the male heterotic groups, respectively. These two alleles also associate with favourable crop performance when heterozygous. Allele-specific transgene testing showed that, of the two alleles discussed here, each allele differed in their impact on yield and environmental interactions. Moreover, when transgenically stacked together the allelic pair showed yield and environmental performance advantages over either single allele, resembling heterosis effects. This work demonstrates differences in transgenic efficacy of native alleles and the differences reflect their association with hybrid breeding performance.

  20. Maize ARGOS1 (ZAR1) transgenic alleles increase hybrid maize yield

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Mei

    2014-01-01

    Crop improvement for yield and drought tolerance is challenging due to the complex genetic nature of these traits and environmental dependencies. This study reports that transgenic over-expression of Zea mays ARGOS1 (ZAR1) enhanced maize organ growth, grain yield, and drought-stress tolerance. The ZAR1 transgene exhibited environmental interactions, with yield increase under Temperate Dry and yield reduction under Temperate Humid or High Latitude environments. Native ZAR1 allele variation associated with drought-stress tolerance. Two founder alleles identified in the mid-maturity germplasm of North America now predominate in Pioneer’s modern breeding programme, and have distinct proteins, promoters and expression patterns. These two major alleles show heterotic group partitioning, with one predominant in Pioneer’s female and the other in the male heterotic groups, respectively. These two alleles also associate with favourable crop performance when heterozygous. Allele-specific transgene testing showed that, of the two alleles discussed here, each allele differed in their impact on yield and environmental interactions. Moreover, when transgenically stacked together the allelic pair showed yield and environmental performance advantages over either single allele, resembling heterosis effects. This work demonstrates differences in transgenic efficacy of native alleles and the differences reflect their association with hybrid breeding performance. PMID:24218327

  1. Using high-resolution variant frequencies to empower clinical genome interpretation.

    PubMed

    Whiffin, Nicola; Minikel, Eric; Walsh, Roddy; O'Donnell-Luria, Anne H; Karczewski, Konrad; Ing, Alexander Y; Barton, Paul J R; Funke, Birgit; Cook, Stuart A; MacArthur, Daniel; Ware, James S

    2017-10-01

    PurposeWhole-exome and whole-genome sequencing have transformed the discovery of genetic variants that cause human Mendelian disease, but discriminating pathogenic from benign variants remains a daunting challenge. Rarity is recognized as a necessary, although not sufficient, criterion for pathogenicity, but frequency cutoffs used in Mendelian analysis are often arbitrary and overly lenient. Recent very large reference datasets, such as the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), provide an unprecedented opportunity to obtain robust frequency estimates even for very rare variants.MethodsWe present a statistical framework for the frequency-based filtering of candidate disease-causing variants, accounting for disease prevalence, genetic and allelic heterogeneity, inheritance mode, penetrance, and sampling variance in reference datasets.ResultsUsing the example of cardiomyopathy, we show that our approach reduces by two-thirds the number of candidate variants under consideration in the average exome, without removing true pathogenic variants (false-positive rate<0.001).ConclusionWe outline a statistically robust framework for assessing whether a variant is "too common" to be causative for a Mendelian disorder of interest. We present precomputed allele frequency cutoffs for all variants in the ExAC dataset.

  2. Increased frequency of angiotensin-converting enzyme DD genotype in Saudi overweight and obese patients.

    PubMed

    El-Hazmi, Mohsen Af; Warsy, Arjumand S

    2003-01-01

    Several studies have been carried out to investigate the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in obese and normal weight individuals, often with contradictory results in different populatios. In some studies, the DD genotype occurs at a high frequency in obesity, while in others no association has been demonstrated. Since obesity and overweight are of frequent occurrence in the Saudi population, we initiated this study to investigate the I/D polymorphism of ACE in obese, overweight and normal weight Saudis. The study group included 457 Saudi males and females. The height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Based on the BMI value, the total study population was classified as normal, overweight and obese. A total of 117 obese (BMI >30 (kg/m(2))), 185 overweight (BMI=25-29.9 (kg/m(2))) and 155 normal weight individuals (BMI< (kg/m (2)) were enrolled. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and agarose gel electrophoresis were used to study the ACE polymorphism. For the deletion (D) form, a 190 bp and for the insertion (I) form, 490 bp DNA fragment were obtained on 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. The frequency of DD genotype was 76.9% in the obese, and 73.5% in the overweight individuals, compared to 19.66% and 24.86% of the ID genotype in the obese and overweight, respectively. Among the normal weight individuals, the frequency was significantly lower for DD and higher for the ID genotype, i.e., 58.7% for DD and 40% for ID. The allele frequencies in the obese were 0.867 and 0.133 for the D and I alleles, respectively. While in the overweight, the frequencies were 0.859 and 0.141 for these alleles, respectively, compared to 0.787 and 0.213 in the normal weight individuals. The DD genotype and D allele occur at a high frequency in Saudi overweight and obese individuals, and may have some role in fat accumulation by affecting metabolic pathways of fat, thus leading to the development of overweight and obesity.

  3. The M405V allele of the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase gene is an important marker for glutaric aciduria type I (GA-I) low excretors.

    PubMed

    Schillaci, Lori-Anne P; Greene, Carol L; Strovel, Erin; Rispoli-Joines, Jessica; Spector, Elaine; Woontner, Michael; Scharer, Gunter; Enns, Gregory M; Gallagher, Renata; Zinn, Arthur B; McCandless, Shawn E; Hoppel, Charles L; Goodman, Stephen I; Bedoyan, Jirair K

    2016-09-01

    Glutaric aciduria type I (GA-I) is an autosomal recessive organic aciduria resulting from a functional deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase, encoded by GCDH. Two clinically indistinguishable diagnostic subgroups of GA-I are known; low and high excretors (LEs and HEs, respectively). Early medical and dietary interventions can result in significantly better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients with GA-I. We report on nine cases of GA-I LE patients all sharing the M405V allele with two cases missed by newborn screening (NBS) using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). We describe a novel case with the known pathogenic M405V variant and a novel V133L variant, and present updated and previously unreported clinical, biochemical, functional and molecular data on eight other patients all sharing the M405V allele. Three of the nine patients are of African American ancestry, with two as siblings. GCDH activity was assayed in six of the nine patients and varied from 4 to 25% of the control mean. We support the use of urine glutarylcarnitine as a biochemical marker of GA-I by demonstrating that glutarylcarnitine is efficiently cleared by the kidney (50-90%) and that plasma and urine glutarylcarnitine follow a linear relationship. We report the allele frequencies for three known GA-I LE GCDH variants (M405V, V400M and R227P) and note that both the M405V and V400M variants are significantly more common in the population of African ancestry compared to the general population. This report highlights the M405V allele as another important molecular marker in patients with the GA-I LE phenotype. Therefore, the incorporation into newborn screening of molecular screening for the M405V and V400M variants in conjunction with MS/MS could help identify asymptomatic at-risk GA-I LE patients that could potentially be missed by current NBS programs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Comparison of oxidative stress and the frequency of polymorphisms in the HFE gene between hemoglobin S trait blood donors and sickle cell disease patients.

    PubMed

    Viana-Baracioli, L M S; Tukamoto Junior, N C; Ricci Junior, O; Mattos, L C; Ângulo, I L; Bonini-Domingos, C R

    2011-12-08

    It is well documented that Hb S and iron affect blood cells, and trigger oxidative processes and generation of free radicals with potential for lipid peroxidation. We evaluated the frequency of polymorphisms in the HFE gene in Hb AS blood donors and how these polymorphisms influenced lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity. Blood samples were collected from 211 Hb AS blood donors, 119 Hb AA blood donors as a control group, and 28 sickle cell disease patients (Hb SS). The H63D allele was found at a frequency of 10.5% in the Hb AS samples, and the C282Y allele frequency was 0.7%. In the control group, the frequencies of the H63D and C282Y alleles were 13.4 and 2.1%, respectively. In the sickle-cell disease patients, the H63D and the C282Y allele frequencies were 10.7 and 3.5%, respectively. The frequencies of the C282Y and H63D polymorphisms in Hb AS blood donors are similar to those reported for the Brazilian population. Serum malondialdehyde values, indicative of lipid peroxidation, were highest in sickle cell patients, independent of the polymorphisms in the HFE gene, with significant differences, showing the influence of Hb S allele in the levels of lipid peroxidation. However, the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity average levels, indicative of the antioxidant capacity, were reduced with significant differences, indicating that in spite of a lipid peroxidation raise, this is not followed by the increased of the antioxidant capacity, leading to oxidative stress.

  5. Chromosome 3p allele loss in early invasive breast cancer: detailed mapping and association with clinicopathological features

    PubMed Central

    Martinez, A; Walker, R A; Shaw, J A; Dearing, S J; Maher, E R; Latif, F

    2001-01-01

    Aims—Chromosome 3p allele loss is a frequent event in many common sporadic cancers including lung, breast, kidney, ovarian, and head and neck cancer. To analyse the extent and frequency of 3p allelic losses in T1N0 and T1N1 invasive sporadic breast cancer, 19 microsatellite markers spread along 3p were analysed in 40 such breast carcinomas with known clinicopathological parameters. Methods—Loss of heterozygosity analysis was carried out using 3p microsatellite markers that were non-randomly distributed and chosen to represent regions that show hemizygous and/or homozygous losses in lung cancer (lung cancer tumour suppressor gene region 1 ( LCTSGR1) at 3p21.3 and LCTSGR2 at 3p12), and regions demonstrating suppression of tumorigenicity in breast, kidney, lung, and ovarian cancer. Results—Allelic loss was seen at one or more loci in 22 of these clinically early stage sporadic breast tumours, but none had complete 3p allele loss. Several regions with non-overlapping deletions were defined, namely: (1) 18 tumours showed loss at 3p21–22, a physical distance of 12 Mb; (2) 11 tumours showed loss at 3p12 within a physical distance of 1 Mb, this region is contained within LCTSGR2; (3) six tumours showed loss at 3p25–24, including the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) locus; (4) five tumours showed loss at 3p14.2, including the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) locus. Conclusions—This is the largest study to date defining the extent and range of 3p allelic losses in early stage invasive breast cancer and the results indicate that region 3p21–22 containing LCTSGR1 and a region at 3p12 within LCTSGR2 are the most frequent sites of 3p allelic loss in these breast carcinomas. This suggests that tumour suppressor genes located in these regions may play important roles in the development of breast cancer. There was an association between increasing 3p allelic loss and increasing tumour grade and loss of progesterone (p = 0.0098) and oestrogen (p = 0.0472) receptor expression

  6. Chromosome 3p allele loss in early invasive breast cancer: detailed mapping and association with clinicopathological features.

    PubMed

    Martinez, A; Walker, R A; Shaw, J A; Dearing, S J; Maher, E R; Latif, F

    2001-10-01

    Chromosome 3p allele loss is a frequent event in many common sporadic cancers including lung, breast, kidney, ovarian, and head and neck cancer. To analyse the extent and frequency of 3p allelic losses in T1N0 and T1N1 invasive sporadic breast cancer, 19 microsatellite markers spread along 3p were analysed in 40 such breast carcinomas with known clinicopathological parameters. Loss of heterozygosity analysis was carried out using 3p microsatellite markers that were non-randomly distributed and chosen to represent regions that show hemizygous and/or homozygous losses in lung cancer (lung cancer tumour suppressor gene region 1 ( LCTSGR1) at 3p21.3 and LCTSGR2 at 3p12), and regions demonstrating suppression of tumorigenicity in breast, kidney, lung, and ovarian cancer. Allelic loss was seen at one or more loci in 22 of these clinically early stage sporadic breast tumours, but none had complete 3p allele loss. Several regions with non-overlapping deletions were defined, namely: (1) 18 tumours showed loss at 3p21-22, a physical distance of 12 Mb; (2) 11 tumours showed loss at 3p12 within a physical distance of 1 Mb, this region is contained within LCTSGR2; (3) six tumours showed loss at 3p25-24, including the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) locus; (4) five tumours showed loss at 3p14.2, including the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) locus. This is the largest study to date defining the extent and range of 3p allelic losses in early stage invasive breast cancer and the results indicate that region 3p21-22 containing LCTSGR1 and a region at 3p12 within LCTSGR2 are the most frequent sites of 3p allelic loss in these breast carcinomas. This suggests that tumour suppressor genes located in these regions may play important roles in the development of breast cancer. There was an association between increasing 3p allelic loss and increasing tumour grade and loss of progesterone (p = 0.0098) and oestrogen (p = 0.0472) receptor expression, indicating a link between 3p allelic loss and the

  7. Occurrence and Nature of Double Alleles in Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Patterns of More than 8,000 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Isolates in The Netherlands

    PubMed Central

    Kamst, Miranda; van Hunen, Rianne; de Zwaan, Carolina Catherina; Mulder, Arnout; Supply, Philip; Anthony, Richard; van der Hoek, Wim; van Soolingen, Dick

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Since 2004, variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates has been applied on a structural basis in The Netherlands to study the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB). Although this technique is faster and technically less demanding than the previously used restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing, reproducibility remains a concern. In the period from 2004 to 2015, 8,532 isolates were subjected to VNTR typing in The Netherlands, with 186 (2.2%) of these exhibiting double alleles at one locus. Double alleles were most common in loci 4052 and 2163b. The variables significantly associated with double alleles were urban living (odds ratio [OR], 1.503; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.084 to 2.084; P = 0.014) and pulmonary TB (OR, 1.703; 95% CI, 1.216 to 2.386; P = 0.002). Single-colony cultures of double-allele strains were produced and revealed single-allele profiles; a maximum of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was observed between the single- and double-allele isolates from the same patient when whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was applied. This indicates the presence of two bacterial populations with slightly different VNTR profiles in the parental population, related to genetic drift. This observation is confirmed by the fact that secondary cases from TB source cases with double-allele isolates sometimes display only one of the two alleles present in the source case. Double alleles occur at a frequency of 2.2% in VNTR patterns in The Netherlands. They are caused by biological variation rather than by technical aberrations and can be transmitted either as single- or double-allele variants. PMID:29142049

  8. Epistatic selection of a sequence 5{prime} of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis may account for the high frequency of this disease in the Caucasian population

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Macek, M. Jr.; Nash, E.; Cutting, G.R.

    1994-09-01

    Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the more common lethal autosomal recessive disorders in Caucasian populations. Numerous hypotheses including genetic drift, founder effect, sex ratio, segregation distortions and various forms of heterozygote advantage have been proposed to explain the relatively high frequency of CF alleles. The observation of high linkage disequilibrium between markers at the 5{prime} end of CFTR and mutations that cause CF raised the possibility of epistatic selection. CF-linked marker allele frequencies were determined in 417 elderly individuals from a stable Czech population that survived high levels of infant and childhood mortality in the pre-antibiotic era. These datamore » were compared with allele frequencies of 646 contemporary newborns and 345 young adults drawn from the same population who had significantly lower mortality rates in the antibiotic era. Allele frequencies of markers CS7/Hhal and KM19/Pstl from the D7S23 locus are significantly different (p<0.05) between elderly female and male subjects in this population. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in the allele frequencies of marker CS7/Hhal when newborn females and elderly women are compared (p<0.05). Taken together, these data suggest that the allele status at the CS7 region influenced female survival in the period of high infant and childhood mortality in the pre-antibiotic era. Under this selective pressure, CFTR mutations that occurred on the {open_quotes}favorable{close_quotes} background would marginally increase in frequency in each successive generation and more ancient mutations residing on this background would become the most frequent in the general population.« less

  9. Inferring modes of colonization for pest species using heterozygosity comparisons and a shared-allele test.

    PubMed

    Sved, J A; Yu, H; Dominiak, B; Gilchrist, A S

    2003-02-01

    Long-range dispersal of a species may involve either a single long-distance movement from a core population or spreading via unobserved intermediate populations. Where the new populations originate as small propagules, genetic drift may be extreme and gene frequency or assignment methods may not prove useful in determining the relation between the core population and outbreak samples. We describe computationally simple resampling methods for use in this situation to distinguish between the different modes of dispersal. First, estimates of heterozygosity can be used to test for direct sampling from the core population and to estimate the effective size of intermediate populations. Second, a test of sharing of alleles, particularly rare alleles, can show whether outbreaks are related to each other rather than arriving as independent samples from the core population. The shared-allele statistic also serves as a genetic distance measure that is appropriate for small samples. These methods were applied to data on a fruit fly pest species, Bactrocera tryoni, which is quarantined from some horticultural areas in Australia. We concluded that the outbreaks in the quarantine zone came from a heterogeneous set of genetically differentiated populations, possibly ones that overwinter in the vicinity of the quarantine zone.

  10. Inferring modes of colonization for pest species using heterozygosity comparisons and a shared-allele test.

    PubMed Central

    Sved, J A; Yu, H; Dominiak, B; Gilchrist, A S

    2003-01-01

    Long-range dispersal of a species may involve either a single long-distance movement from a core population or spreading via unobserved intermediate populations. Where the new populations originate as small propagules, genetic drift may be extreme and gene frequency or assignment methods may not prove useful in determining the relation between the core population and outbreak samples. We describe computationally simple resampling methods for use in this situation to distinguish between the different modes of dispersal. First, estimates of heterozygosity can be used to test for direct sampling from the core population and to estimate the effective size of intermediate populations. Second, a test of sharing of alleles, particularly rare alleles, can show whether outbreaks are related to each other rather than arriving as independent samples from the core population. The shared-allele statistic also serves as a genetic distance measure that is appropriate for small samples. These methods were applied to data on a fruit fly pest species, Bactrocera tryoni, which is quarantined from some horticultural areas in Australia. We concluded that the outbreaks in the quarantine zone came from a heterogeneous set of genetically differentiated populations, possibly ones that overwinter in the vicinity of the quarantine zone. PMID:12618417

  11. An evolutionary approach to major histocompatibility diversity based on allele supertypes.

    PubMed

    Naugler, Christopher; Liwski, Robert

    2008-01-01

    Human leukocyte antigens are traditionally classified by serologic or molecular techniques into a bewildering variety of alleles. It is generally believed that this allelic diversity is maintained by selection pressures for inbreeding avoidance and/or maximal immune system diversity. While the usual antigen-based classification of individual alleles may be most appropriate in the artificial situation of tissue transplantation, we hypothesize that a functional classification based on allele supertypes may represent a more biologically relevant way to view MHC diversity in the contexts of mate choice and disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, immune system diversity could be quantitatively estimated by calculating a Supertype Diversity Index (SDI) which is the number of different MHC supertypes possessed by an individual. This hypothesis generates a number of testable predictions. First, it predicts that a reduced inherited diversity of MHC allele supertypes may predispose to the development of malignancies because of a decreased native ability to present different tumor-associated antigens. Furthermore, specific autoimmune diseases may be associated with the presence or absence of a particular MHC supertype rather than a particular MHC haplotype. In transplant medicine, it is possible that unmatched alleles may trigger a weaker foreign antigen response if they are matched by allele supertype. Finally, there have been several studies documenting dissortative mating in humans for dissimilar MHC alleles. We predict that natural selection should favor maximization of the heterozygosity of allele supertypes instead of the heterozygosity of individual alleles and that the previously observed dissortative mating may actually be an adaptive strategy to maximize allele supertype diversity.

  12. Allelic loss and linkage studies in prostate cancer

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnson, D.R.; Bale, A.E.; Lytton, B.

    1994-09-01

    Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in U.S. males. Many examples of familial aggregation have been reported, and segregration analysis suggests that an autosomal dominant gene with a penetrance of 88% by age 85 accounts for 9% of all cases. Because many dominant cancer predisposition syndromes are related to germline mutations in tumor suppressor genes, we analyzed a series of sporadic and hereditary tumors for allelic loss. High grade sporadic, paraffin-embedded, primary prostate tumors were obtained from the archival collection in the Department of Pathology at Yale and hereditary tumors from three families were obtained by an advertisement inmore » the New York Times and from referrals by urologists. PCR analysis showed loss in 4/7 informative sporadic prostate tumors with NEFL (8p21), in 8/22 informative tumors with D10S169 (10q26-qter), in 2/8 informative tumors with D10S108 (10q) and in 4/23 informative tumors with D10S89 (10p) in agreement with previous studies. PYGM on chromosome 11 and D9S127 on chromosome 9 showed no loss. Linkage analysis with NEFL in 3 prostate cancer families gave strongly negative results for close linkage (Z=-2.1 at {theta}=0.01) but LOD scores were very dependent on parameters, e.g. gene frequency, phenocopy rate, and penetrance. Linkage analysis with chromosome 10 markers and systematic analysis of the genome for other area of allelic loss are underway.« less

  13. µ-Calpain, calpastatin, and growth hormone receptor genetic effects on preweaning performance, carcass quality traits, and residual variance of tenderness in Angus cattle selected to increase minor haplotype ... frequencies

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Genetic marker effects and interactions are estimated with poor precision when minor marker allele frequencies are low. An Angus population was subjected to marker assisted selection for multiple years to increase divergent haplotype and minor marker allele frequencies to 1) estimate effect size an...

  14. Allelic variants of hereditary prions: The bimodularity principle

    PubMed Central

    Tikhodeyev, Oleg N.; Tarasov, Oleg V.; Bondarev, Stanislav A.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Modern biology requires modern genetic concepts equally valid for all discovered mechanisms of inheritance, either “canonical” (mediated by DNA sequences) or epigenetic. Applying basic genetic terms such as “gene” and “allele” to protein hereditary factors is one of the necessary steps toward these concepts. The basic idea that different variants of the same prion protein can be considered as alleles has been previously proposed by Chernoff and Tuite. In this paper, the notion of prion allele is further developed. We propose the idea that any prion allele is a bimodular hereditary system that depends on a certain DNA sequence (DNA determinant) and a certain epigenetic mark (epigenetic determinant). Alteration of any of these 2 determinants may lead to establishment of a new prion allele. The bimodularity principle is valid not only for hereditary prions; it seems to be universal for any epigenetic hereditary factor. PMID:28281926

  15. Association of human leukocyte antigen class II allele and haplotypes in chikungunya viral infection in a western Indian population.

    PubMed

    Thanapati, Subrat; Hande, Aparna; Das, Rumki; Gurav, Yogesh; Tripathy, Anuradha S

    2014-05-01

    Genes coding for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecules are polymorphic and have been shown to influence susceptibility to viral diseases. One hundred patients with acute chikungunya with and without viral load and 250 chikungunya negative controls from western India were studied for the distribution of HLA class II alleles by PCR with sequence-specific primer (SSP) method. Frequency of DRB1*11 allele group (patients vs controls: p=0.002, Pc=0.036, OR=0.21) and haplotype DRB1*11/DQB1*03 (patients vs controls: p=0.007, OR=0.15) were significantly low, while haplotype DRB1*04/DQB1*03 (patients vs controls: p=0.042, OR=1.94) was significantly high in the patient population. HLA DQB1*04 allele was found only in the patient group with viral load (n=17), suggesting possible involvement of the same with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) replication. Association of HLA-DRB1*11 and the emergence of DRB1*11/DQB1*03 & DRB1*04/DQB1*03 as resistant and susceptible haplotypes towards CHIKV infection is being reported for the first time. Our results suggest that genetic susceptibility and/or resistance to chikungunya infection may be modulated by HLA class II alleles.

  16. Discovery of novel MHC-class I alleles and haplotypes in Filipino cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) by pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing: Mafa-class I polymorphism.

    PubMed

    Shiina, Takashi; Yamada, Yukiho; Aarnink, Alice; Suzuki, Shingo; Masuya, Anri; Ito, Sayaka; Ido, Daisuke; Yamanaka, Hisashi; Iwatani, Chizuru; Tsuchiya, Hideaki; Ishigaki, Hirohito; Itoh, Yasushi; Ogasawara, Kazumasa; Kulski, Jerzy K; Blancher, Antoine

    2015-10-01

    Although the low polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transplantation genes in the Filipino cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is expected to have important implications in the selection and breeding of animals for medical research, detailed polymorphism information is still lacking for many of the duplicated class I genes. To better elucidate the degree and types of MHC polymorphisms and haplotypes in the Filipino macaque population, we genotyped 127 unrelated animals by the Sanger sequencing method and high-resolution pyrosequencing and identified 112 different alleles, 28 at cynomolgus macaque MHC (Mafa)-A, 54 at Mafa-B, 12 at Mafa-I, 11 at Mafa-E, and seven at Mafa-F alleles, of which 56 were newly described. Of them, the newly discovered Mafa-A8*01:01 lineage allele had low nucleotide similarities (<86%) with primate MHC class I genes, and it was also conserved in the Vietnamese and Indonesian populations. In addition, haplotype estimations revealed 17 Mafa-A, 23 Mafa-B, and 12 Mafa-E haplotypes integrated with 84 Mafa-class I haplotypes and Mafa-F alleles. Of these, the two Mafa-class I haplotypes, F/A/E/B-Hp1 and F/A/E/B-Hp2, had the highest haplotype frequencies at 10.6 and 10.2%, respectively. This suggests that large scale genetic screening of the Filipino macaque population would identify these and other high-frequency Mafa-class I haplotypes that could be used as MHC control animals for the benefit of biomedical research.

  17. CAPN1, CAST, and DGAT1 genetic effects on preweaning performance, carcass quality traits, and residual variance of tenderness in a beef cattle population selected for haplotype and allele equalization

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Genetic marker effects and type of inheritance are estimated with poor precision when minor marker allele frequencies are low. A stable composite population (MARC III) was subjected to marker assisted selection for multiple years to equalize specific marker frequencies to 1) estimate effect size an...

  18. Distribution of HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 alleles in the Kensiu and Semai Orang Asli sub-groups in Peninsular Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Tasnim, Abd Razak; Allia, Shahril; Edinur, Hisham Atan; Panneerchelvam, Sundararajulu; Zafarina, Zainuddin; Norazmi, Mohd Nor

    2016-08-01

    The earliest settlers in Peninsular Malaysia are the Orang Asli population, namely Semang, Senoi and Proto Malays. In the present study, we typed the HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 loci of the Kensiu and Semai Orang Asli sub-groups. Sequence-based HLA typing was performed on 59 individuals from two Orang Asli sub-groups. A total of 11, 18 and 14 HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 alleles were identified, respectively. These data are available in the Allele Frequencies Net Database under the population name "Malaysia Kedah Kensiu" and "Malaysia Pahang Semai". Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Slow-fast stochastic diffusion dynamics and quasi-stationarity for diploid populations with varying size.

    PubMed

    Coron, Camille

    2016-01-01

    We are interested in the long-time behavior of a diploid population with sexual reproduction and randomly varying population size, characterized by its genotype composition at one bi-allelic locus. The population is modeled by a 3-dimensional birth-and-death process with competition, weak cooperation and Mendelian reproduction. This stochastic process is indexed by a scaling parameter K that goes to infinity, following a large population assumption. When the individual birth and natural death rates are of order K, the sequence of stochastic processes indexed by K converges toward a new slow-fast dynamics with variable population size. We indeed prove the convergence toward 0 of a fast variable giving the deviation of the population from quasi Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while the sequence of slow variables giving the respective numbers of occurrences of each allele converges toward a 2-dimensional diffusion process that reaches (0,0) almost surely in finite time. The population size and the proportion of a given allele converge toward a Wright-Fisher diffusion with stochastically varying population size and diploid selection. We insist on differences between haploid and diploid populations due to population size stochastic variability. Using a non trivial change of variables, we study the absorption of this diffusion and its long time behavior conditioned on non-extinction. In particular we prove that this diffusion starting from any non-trivial state and conditioned on not hitting (0,0) admits a unique quasi-stationary distribution. We give numerical approximations of this quasi-stationary behavior in three biologically relevant cases: neutrality, overdominance, and separate niches.

  20. D4 dopamine-receptor (DRD4) alleles and novelty seeking in substance-dependent, personality-disorder, and control subjects.

    PubMed Central

    Gelernter, J; Kranzler, H; Coccaro, E; Siever, L; New, A; Mulgrew, C L

    1997-01-01

    Two reports have been published suggesting an association between the personality trait of novelty seeking and the DRD4*7R allele at the D4 dopamine-receptor locus (with heterozygotes or homozygotes for DRD4*7R having higher novelty seeking). We studied novelty seeking and four coding-sequence polymorphisms affecting protein structure in the D4 dopamine-receptor gene (DRD4) in a sample of 341 American subjects, of whom 224 are of primarily European ancestry and 117 are of primarily African ancestry. These subjects had diagnoses of substance dependence or personality disorder (PD) or were screened to exclude major psychiatric diagnosis. We found that, although the substance-dependent subjects had significantly higher novelty seeking than the control and PD subjects, they did not differ in DRD4*7R allele frequency. There was no association between any DRD4 polymorphism and novelty seeking in any population or diagnostic group, except for a significant association between the DRD4*7R allele and lower novelty seeking among European American females and African American substance abusers. The novelty seeking of subjects heterozygous for a null mutation did not differ from that of subjects with two functional alleles. We conclude that the most likely explanation of these results is that the DRD4 VNTR does not influence directly the trait of novelty seeking, in these samples. PMID:9345090

  1. Allelic association at the D14S43 locus in early onset Alzheimer`s disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brice, A.; Tardieu, S.; Campion, D.

    1995-04-24

    The D14S43 marker is closely linked to the major gene for early onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer`s disease on chromosome 14. Allelic frequencies at the D14S43 locus were compared in 113 familial and isolated cases of early onset Alzheimer`s disease (<60 years of age at onset) (EOAD) and 109 unaffected individuals of the same geographic origin. Allele 7 was significantly (P = 0.033) more frequent in type 1 EOAD patients (13.2%), defined by the presence of at least another first degree relative with EOAD, than in controls (4.1%). Since an autosomal dominant gene is probably responsible for type 1 patients, allelicmore » association may reflect linkage disequilibrium at the D14S43 locus. This would mean that some patients share a common ancestral mutation. However, since multiple tests were carried out, this result must be interpreted with caution, and needs confirmation in an independent sample. 16 refs., 2 tabs.« less

  2. Distribution of HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 alleles in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

    PubMed

    Yeo, S W; Chang, K H; Suh, B D; Kim, T G; Han, H

    2000-09-01

    This study was performed to investigate the association between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and susceptibility to sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the Korean population. HLA-A and HLA-B typing using a standard microlymphocytotoxicity technique and HLA-DRB1 genotyping were performed in 35 patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and in 206 healthy controls. Prednisone (usual dose 60 mg/day) was administered for 6 days and tapered for an additional 4-6 days. Both initial hearing levels at the onset of deafness and final hearing levels after treatment were examined and evaluated for association with HLA alleles. The frequency of HLA-DRB1*14 was increased in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss compared with controls (relative risk [RR] = 2.7, p = 0.016). The frequencies of HLA-A2, -A31, -B52, -B61, -DRB1*04, -DRB1*11 and -DRB1*12 were slightly higher than in the controls, but did not reach statistical significance. When an association between the treatment results and HLA alleles was also evaluated, the frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 was found to be increased in the patients who did not respond to steroid treatment compared with both patients who responded well to steroid (50%, vs 16%, p = 0.034) and controls (RR = 3.0, p = 0.046). These results suggest that there is an association between HLA-DRB1*14 and disease susceptibility and that the presence of HLA-DRB1*04 may be an useful marker for predicting a poor prognosis in Korean patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

  3. KIR2DL2/2DL3-E35 alleles are functionally stronger than -Q35 alleles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bari, Rafijul; Thapa, Rajoo; Bao, Ju; Li, Ying; Zheng, Jie; Leung, Wing

    2016-03-01

    KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL3 segregate as alleles of a single locus in the centromeric motif of the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene family. Although KIR2DL2/L3 polymorphism is known to be associated with many human diseases and is an important factor for donor selection in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the molecular determinant of functional diversity among various alleles is unclear. In this study we found that KIR2DL2/L3 with glutamic acid at position 35 (E35) are functionally stronger than those with glutamine at the same position (Q35). Cytotoxicity assay showed that NK cells from HLA-C1 positive donors with KIR2DL2/L3-E35 could kill more target cells lacking their ligands than NK cells with the weaker -Q35 alleles, indicating better licensing of KIR2DL2/L3+ NK cells with the stronger alleles. Molecular modeling analysis reveals that the glutamic acid, which is negatively charged, interacts with positively charged histidine located at position 55, thereby stabilizing KIR2DL2/L3 dimer and reducing entropy loss when KIR2DL2/3 binds to HLA-C ligand. The results of this study will be important for future studies of KIR2DL2/L3-associated diseases as well as for donor selection in allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

  4. Major histocompatibility complex alleles associated with parasite susceptibility in wild giant pandas.

    PubMed

    Zhang, L; Wu, Q; Hu, Y; Wu, H; Wei, F

    2015-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphism is thought to be driven by antagonistic coevolution between pathogens and hosts, mediated through either overdominance or frequency-dependent selection. However, investigations under natural conditions are still rare for endangered mammals which often exhibit depleted variation, and the mechanism of selection underlying the maintenance of characteristics remains a considerable debate. In this study, 87 wild giant pandas were used to investigate MHC variation associated with parasite load. With the knowledge of the MHC profile provided by the genomic data of the giant panda, seven DRB1, seven DQA1 and eight DQA2 alleles were identified at each single locus. Positive selection evidenced by a significantly higher number of non-synonymous substitutions per non-synonymous codon site relative to synonymous substitutions per synonymous codon site could only be detected at the DRB1 locus, which leads to the speculation that DRB1 may have a more important role in dealing with parasite infection for pandas. Coprological analyses revealed that 55.17% of individuals exhibited infection with 1-2 helminthes and 95.3% of infected pandas carried Baylisascaris shroederi. Using a generalized linear model, we found that Aime-DRB1*10 was significantly associated with parasite infection, but no resistant alleles could be detected. MHC heterozygosity of the pandas was found to be uncorrelated with the infection status or the infection intensity. These results suggested that the possible selection mechanisms in extant wild pandas may be frequency dependent rather than being determined by overdominance selection. Our findings could guide the candidate selection for the ongoing reintroduction or translocation of pandas.

  5. Major histocompatibility complex alleles associated with parasite susceptibility in wild giant pandas

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, L; Wu, Q; Hu, Y; Wu, H; Wei, F

    2015-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphism is thought to be driven by antagonistic coevolution between pathogens and hosts, mediated through either overdominance or frequency-dependent selection. However, investigations under natural conditions are still rare for endangered mammals which often exhibit depleted variation, and the mechanism of selection underlying the maintenance of characteristics remains a considerable debate. In this study, 87 wild giant pandas were used to investigate MHC variation associated with parasite load. With the knowledge of the MHC profile provided by the genomic data of the giant panda, seven DRB1, seven DQA1 and eight DQA2 alleles were identified at each single locus. Positive selection evidenced by a significantly higher number of non-synonymous substitutions per non-synonymous codon site relative to synonymous substitutions per synonymous codon site could only be detected at the DRB1 locus, which leads to the speculation that DRB1 may have a more important role in dealing with parasite infection for pandas. Coprological analyses revealed that 55.17% of individuals exhibited infection with 1–2 helminthes and 95.3% of infected pandas carried Baylisascaris shroederi. Using a generalized linear model, we found that Aime-DRB1*10 was significantly associated with parasite infection, but no resistant alleles could be detected. MHC heterozygosity of the pandas was found to be uncorrelated with the infection status or the infection intensity. These results suggested that the possible selection mechanisms in extant wild pandas may be frequency dependent rather than being determined by overdominance selection. Our findings could guide the candidate selection for the ongoing reintroduction or translocation of pandas. PMID:25248466

  6. Influence of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Alleles and Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors (KIR) Types on Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT).

    PubMed

    Karnes, Jason H; Shaffer, Christian M; Cronin, Robert; Bastarache, Lisa; Gaudieri, Silvana; James, Ian; Pavlos, Rebecca; Steiner, Heidi E; Mosley, Jonathan D; Mallal, Simon; Denny, Joshua C; Phillips, Elizabeth J; Roden, Dan M

    2017-09-01

    Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an unpredictable, life-threatening, immune-mediated reaction to heparin. Variation in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes is now used to prevent immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. Combinations of HLA alleles and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) are associated with multiple autoimmune diseases and infections. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of HLA alleles and KIR types, alone or in the presence of different HLA ligands, with HIT. HIT cases and heparin-exposed controls were identified in BioVU, an electronic health record coupled to a DNA biobank. HLA sequencing and KIR type imputation using Illumina OMNI-Quad data were performed. Odds ratios for HLA alleles and KIR types and HLA*KIR interactions using conditional logistic regressions were determined in the overall population and by race/ethnicity. Analysis was restricted to KIR types and HLA alleles with a frequency greater than 0.01. The p values for HLA and KIR association were corrected by using a false discovery rate q<0.05 and HLA*KIR interactions were considered significant at p<0.05. Sixty-five HIT cases and 350 matched controls were identified. No statistical differences in baseline characteristics were observed between cases and controls. The HLA-DRB3*01:01 allele was significantly associated with HIT in the overall population (odds ratio 2.81 [1.57-5.02], p=2.1×10 -4 , q=0.02) and in individuals with European ancestry, independent of other alleles. No KIR types were associated with HIT, although a significant interaction was observed between KIR2DS5 and the HLA-C1 KIR binding group (p=0.03). The HLA-DRB3*01:01 allele was identified as a potential risk factor for HIT. This class II HLA gene and allele represent biologically plausible candidates for influencing HIT pathogenesis. We found limited evidence of the role of KIR types in HIT pathogenesis. Replication and further study of the HLA-DRB3*01:01 association is

  7. Wide allelic heterogeneity with predominance of large IDS gene complex rearrangements in a sample of Mexican patients with Hunter syndrome.

    PubMed

    Alcántara-Ortigoza, M A; García-de Teresa, B; González-Del Angel, A; Berumen, J; Guardado-Estrada, M; Fernández-Hernández, L; Navarrete-Martínez, J I; Maza-Morales, M; Rius-Domínguez, R

    2016-05-01

    Hunter syndrome or mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPSII) is caused by pathogenic variants in the IDS gene. This is the first study that examines the mutational spectrum in 25 unrelated Mexican MPSII families. The responsible genotype was identified in 96% of the families (24/25) with 10 novel pathogenic variants: c.133G>C, c.1003C>T, c.1025A>C, c.463_464delinsCCGTATAGCTGG, c.754_767del, c.1132_1133del, c.1463del, c.508-1G>C, c.1006+1G>T and c.(-217_103del). Extensive IDS gene deletions were identified in four patients; using DNA microarray analysis two patients showed the loss of the entire AFF2 gene, and epilepsy developed in only one of them. Wide allelic heterogeneity was noted, with large gene alterations (e.g. IDS/IDSP1 gene inversions, partial to extensive IDS deletions, and one chimeric IDS-IDSP1 allele) that occurred at higher frequencies than previously reported (36% vs 18.9-29%). The frequency of carrier mothers (80%) is consistent with previous descriptions (>70%). Carrier assignment allowed molecular prenatal diagnoses. Notably, somatic and germline mosaicism was identified in one family, and two patients presented thrombocytopenic purpura and pancytopenia after idursulfase enzyme replacement treatment. Our findings suggest a wide allelic heterogeneity in Mexican MPSII patients; DNA microarray analysis contributes to further delineation of the resulting phenotype for IDS and neighboring loci deletions. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. The PTPN22 1858T allele but not variants in the proximal promoter region of IL-21 gene is associated with the susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and the presence of autoantibodies in a Brazilian cohort

    PubMed Central

    Mainardi-Novo, D T O; Santos, A S; Fukui, R T; Gamberini, M; Correia, M R S; Ruiz, M O; Mangueira, C L P; Matioli, S R; Vasconcelos, D M; Silva, M E R

    2013-01-01

    Interleukin (IL)-21 and protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor 22 (PTPN22) regulate lymphocyte function and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes. We sequenced the proximal promoter of the IL-21 gene for the first time and analysed the PTPN22 1858T polymorphism in type 1A diabetes (T1AD) patients and healthy controls (HC). We correlated the frequencies of islet and extra-pancreatic autoantibodies with genotypes from both loci. The case series comprised 612 T1AD patients and 792 HC. Genotyping of PTPN22 C1858T was performed on 434 T1AD patients and 689 HC. The −448 to +83 base pairs (bp) region of the IL-21 gene was sequenced in 309 Brazilian T1AD and 189 HC subjects. We also evaluated human leucocyte antigen (HLA) DR3/DR4 alleles. The frequencies of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65), tyrosine phosphatase-like protein (IA)-2, anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (TG), thyrotrophin receptor autoantibody (TRAb), anti-smooth muscle (ASM) and 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) autoantibodies were higher in T1AD patients than in HC. The PTPN22 1858T allele was associated with an increased risk for developing T1AD [odds ratio (OR) = 1·94; P < 0·001], particularly in patients of European ancestry, and with a higher frequency of GAD65 and TG autoantibodies. HLA-DR3/DR4 alleles predominated in T1AD patients. A heterozygous allelic IL-21 gene variant (g.-241 T > A) was found in only one patient. In conclusion, only PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism and HLA-DR3 and/or DR4 alleles, but not allelic variants in the 5′-proximal region of the IL-21 gene were associated with T1AD risk. Patients with T1AD had increased frequencies of anti-islet-cell, anti-thyroid, anti-nuclear, anti-smooth muscle and anti-21-OH autoantibodies. The C1858T PTPN22 polymorphism was also associated with a higher frequency of GAD65 and TG autoantibodies. PMID:23480181

  9. The PTPN22 1858T allele but not variants in the proximal promoter region of IL-21 gene is associated with the susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and the presence of autoantibodies in a Brazilian cohort.

    PubMed

    Mainardi-Novo, D T O; Santos, A S; Fukui, R T; Gamberini, M; Correia, M R S; Ruiz, M O; Mangueira, C L P; Matioli, S R; Vasconcelos, D M; Silva, M E R

    2013-04-01

    Interleukin (IL)-21 and protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor 22 (PTPN22) regulate lymphocyte function and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes. We sequenced the proximal promoter of the IL-21 gene for the first time and analysed the PTPN22 1858T polymorphism in type 1A diabetes (T1AD) patients and healthy controls (HC). We correlated the frequencies of islet and extra-pancreatic autoantibodies with genotypes from both loci. The case series comprised 612 T1AD patients and 792 HC. Genotyping of PTPN22 C1858T was performed on 434 T1AD patients and 689 HC. The -448 to +83 base pairs (bp) region of the IL-21 gene was sequenced in 309 Brazilian T1AD and 189 HC subjects. We also evaluated human leucocyte antigen (HLA) DR3/DR4 alleles. The frequencies of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65), tyrosine phosphatase-like protein (IA)-2, anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (TG), thyrotrophin receptor autoantibody (TRAb), anti-smooth muscle (ASM) and 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) autoantibodies were higher in T1AD patients than in HC. The PTPN22 1858T allele was associated with an increased risk for developing T1AD [odds ratio (OR) = 1·94; P < 0·001], particularly in patients of European ancestry, and with a higher frequency of GAD65 and TG autoantibodies. HLA-DR3/DR4 alleles predominated in T1AD patients. A heterozygous allelic IL-21 gene variant (g.-241 T > A) was found in only one patient. In conclusion, only PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism and HLA-DR3 and/or DR4 alleles, but not allelic variants in the 5'-proximal region of the IL-21 gene were associated with T1AD risk. Patients with T1AD had increased frequencies of anti-islet-cell, anti-thyroid, anti-nuclear, anti-smooth muscle and anti-21-OH autoantibodies. The C1858T PTPN22 polymorphism was also associated with a higher frequency of GAD65 and TG autoantibodies. © 2012 British Society for Immunology.

  10. Frequencies of VNTR and RFLP polymorphisms associated with factor VIII gene in Singapore

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fong, I.; Lai, P.S.; Ouah, T.C.

    1994-09-01

    The allelic frequency of any polymorphism within a population determines its usefulness for genetic counselling. This is important in populations of non-Caucasian origin as RFLPs may significantly differ among ethnic groups. We report a study of five intragenic polymorphisms in factor VIII gene carried out in Singapore. The three PCR-based RFLP markers studied were Intron 18/Bcl I, Intron 19/Hind III and Intron 22/Xba I. In an analysis of 148 unrelated normal X chromosomes, the allele frequencies were found to be A1 = 0.18, A2 = 0.82 (Bcl I RFLP), A1 = 0.80, A2 = 0.20 (Hind III RFLP) and A1more » = 0.58, and A2 = 0.42 (Xba I RFLP). The heterozygosity rates of 74 females analyzed separately were 31%, 32% and 84.2%, respectively. Linkage disequilibrium was also observed to some degree between Bcl I and Hind III polymorphism in our population. We have also analyzed a sequence polymorphism in Intron 7 using hybridization with radioactive-labelled {sup 32}P allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. This polymorphism was not very polymorphic in our population with only 2% of 117 individuals analyzed being informative. However, the use of a hypervariable dinucleotide repeat sequence (VNTR) in Intron 13 showed that 25 of our of 27 (93%) females were heterozygous. Allele frequencies ranged from 1 to 55 %. We conclude that a viable strategy for molecular analysis of Hemophilia A families in our population should include the use of Intron 18/Bcl I and Intron 22/Xba I RFLP markers and the Intron 13 VNTR marker.« less

  11. Assessment of biodiversity in Chilean cattle using the distribution of major histocompatibility complex class II BoLA-DRB3 allele.

    PubMed

    Takeshima, S-N; Miyasaka, T; Matsumoto, Y; Xue, G; Diaz, V de la Barra; Rogberg-Muñoz, A; Giovambattista, G; Ortiz, M; Oltra, J; Kanemaki, M; Onuma, M; Aida, Y

    2015-01-01

    Bovine leukocyte antigens (BoLAs) are used extensively as markers for bovine disease and immunological traits. In this study, we estimated BoLA-DRB3 allele frequencies using 888 cattle from 10 groups, including seven cattle breeds and three crossbreeds: 99 Red Angus, 100 Black Angus, 81 Chilean Wagyu, 49 Hereford, 95 Hereford × Angus, 71 Hereford × Jersey, 20 Hereford × Overo Colorado, 113 Holstein, 136 Overo Colorado, and 124 Overo Negro cattle. Forty-six BoLA-DRB3 alleles were identified, and each group had between 12 and 29 different BoLA-DRB3 alleles. Overo Negro had the highest number of alleles (29); this breed is considered in Chile to be an 'Old type' European Holstein Friesian descendant. By contrast, we detected 21 alleles in Holstein cattle, which are considered to be a 'Present type' Holstein Friesian cattle. Chilean cattle groups and four Japanese breeds were compared by neighbor-joining trees and a principal component analysis (PCA). The phylogenetic tree showed that Red Angus and Black Angus cattle were in the same clade, crossbreeds were closely related to their parent breeds, and Holstein cattle from Chile were closely related to Holstein cattle in Japan. Overall, the tree provided a thorough description of breed history. It also showed that the Overo Negro breed was closely related to the Holstein breed, consistent with historical data indicating that Overo Negro is an 'Old type' Holstein Friesian cattle. This allelic information will be important for investigating the relationship between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and disease. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. CGG allele size somatic mosaicism and methylation in FMR1 premutation alleles

    PubMed Central

    Pretto, Dalyir I.; Mendoza-Morales, Guadalupe; Lo, Joyce; Cao, Ru; Hadd, Andrew; Latham, Gary J.; Durbin-Johnson, Blythe; Hagerman, Randi; Tassone, Flora

    2014-01-01

    Background Greater than 200 CGG repeats in the 5′UTR of the FMR1 gene leads to epigenetic silencing and lack of the FMR1 protein, causing Fragile X Syndrome. Individuals carriers of a premutation (PM) allele with 55–200 CGG repeats are typically unmethylated and can present with clinical features defined as FMR1 associated conditions. Methods Blood samples from 17 male PM carriers were assessed clinically and molecularly by Southern Blot, Western Blot, PCR and QRT-PCR. Blood and brain tissue from additional 18 PM males were also similarly examined. Continuous outcomes were modeled using linear regression and binary outcomes were modeled using logistic regression. Results Methylated alleles were detected in different fractions of blood cells in all PM cases (n= 17). CGG repeat numbers correlated with percent of methylation and mRNA levels and, especially in the upper PM range, with greater number of clinical involvements. Inter/intra- tissue somatic instability and differences in percent methylation were observed between blood and fibroblasts (n=4) and also observed between blood and different brain regions in three of the 18 premutation cases examined. CGG repeat lengths in lymphocytes remained unchanged over a period of time ranging from 2–6 years, three cases for whom multiple samples were available. Conclusion In addition to CGG size instability, individuals with a PM expanded alleles can exhibit methylation and display more clinical features likely due to RNA toxicity and/or FMR1 silencing. The observed association between CGG repeat length and percent of methylation with the severity of the clinical phenotypes underscores the potential value of methylation in affected PM to further understand penetrance, inform diagnosis and to expand treatment options. PMID:24591415

  13. The Microcephalin Ancestral Allele in a Neanderthal Individual

    PubMed Central

    Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Milani, Lucio; Corti, Giorgio; Balsamo, Carlotta; Vai, Stefania; Catalano, Giulio; Pilli, Elena; Longo, Laura; Condemi, Silvana; Giunti, Paolo; Hänni, Catherine; De Bellis, Gianluca; Orlando, Ludovic; Barbujani, Guido; Caramelli, David

    2010-01-01

    Background The high frequency (around 0.70 worlwide) and the relatively young age (between 14,000 and 62,000 years) of a derived group of haplotypes, haplogroup D, at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus led to the proposal that haplogroup D originated in a human lineage that separated from modern humans >1 million years ago, evolved under strong positive selection, and passed into the human gene pool by an episode of admixture circa 37,000 years ago. The geographic distribution of haplogroup D, with marked differences between Africa and Eurasia, suggested that the archaic human form admixing with anatomically modern humans might have been Neanderthal. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report the first PCR amplification and high- throughput sequencing of nuclear DNA at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus from Neanderthal individual from Mezzena Rockshelter (Monti Lessini, Italy). We show that a well-preserved Neanderthal fossil dated at approximately 50,000 years B.P., was homozygous for the ancestral, non-D, allele. The high yield of Neanderthal mtDNA sequences of the studied specimen, the pattern of nucleotide misincorporation among sequences consistent with post-mortem DNA damage and an accurate control of the MCPH1 alleles in all personnel that manipulated the sample, make it extremely unlikely that this result might reflect modern DNA contamination. Conclusions/Significance The MCPH1 genotype of the Monti Lessini (MLS) Neanderthal does not prove that there was no interbreeding between anatomically archaic and modern humans in Europe, but certainly shows that speculations on a possible Neanderthal origin of what is now the most common MCPH1 haplogroup are not supported by empirical evidence from ancient DNA. PMID:20498832

  14. The microcephalin ancestral allele in a Neanderthal individual.

    PubMed

    Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Milani, Lucio; Corti, Giorgio; Balsamo, Carlotta; Vai, Stefania; Catalano, Giulio; Pilli, Elena; Longo, Laura; Condemi, Silvana; Giunti, Paolo; Hänni, Catherine; De Bellis, Gianluca; Orlando, Ludovic; Barbujani, Guido; Caramelli, David

    2010-05-14

    The high frequency (around 0.70 worldwide) and the relatively young age (between 14,000 and 62,000 years) of a derived group of haplotypes, haplogroup D, at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus led to the proposal that haplogroup D originated in a human lineage that separated from modern humans >1 million years ago, evolved under strong positive selection, and passed into the human gene pool by an episode of admixture circa 37,000 years ago. The geographic distribution of haplogroup D, with marked differences between Africa and Eurasia, suggested that the archaic human form admixing with anatomically modern humans might have been Neanderthal. Here we report the first PCR amplification and high-throughput sequencing of nuclear DNA at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus from Neanderthal individual from Mezzena Rockshelter (Monti Lessini, Italy). We show that a well-preserved Neanderthal fossil dated at approximately 50,000 years B.P., was homozygous for the ancestral, non-D, allele. The high yield of Neanderthal mtDNA sequences of the studied specimen, the pattern of nucleotide misincorporation among sequences consistent with post-mortem DNA damage and an accurate control of the MCPH1 alleles in all personnel that manipulated the sample, make it extremely unlikely that this result might reflect modern DNA contamination. The MCPH1 genotype of the Monti Lessini (MLS) Neanderthal does not prove that there was no interbreeding between anatomically archaic and modern humans in Europe, but certainly shows that speculations on a possible Neanderthal origin of what is now the most common MCPH1 haplogroup are not supported by empirical evidence from ancient DNA.

  15. Pitfalls in genetic testing: a case of a SNP in primer-annealing region leading to allele dropout in BRCA1.

    PubMed

    Silva, Felipe Carneiro; Torrezan, Giovana Tardin; Brianese, Rafael Canfield; Stabellini, Raquel; Carraro, Dirce Maria

    2017-07-01

    Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is characterized by mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes and PCR-based screening techniques, such as capillary sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS), are considered gold standard methods for detection of pathogenic mutations in these genes. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) constitute a vast source of variation in the human genome and represent a risk for misdiagnosis in genetic testing, since the presence of a SNP in primer-annealing sites may cause false negative results due to allele dropout. However, few reports are available and the frequency of this phenomenon in diagnostic assays remains unknown. In this article, we investigated the causes of a false negative capillary sequencing result in BRCA1 involving a mother-daughter dyad. Using several molecular strategies, including different DNA polymerases, primer redesign, allele-specific PCR and NGS, we established that the initial misdiagnosis was caused by a SNP located in the primer-annealing region, leading to allele dropout of the mutated allele. Assuming that this problem can also occur in any PCR-based method that are widely used in diagnostic settings, the clinical report presented here draws attention for one of the limitations of genetic testing in general, for which medical and laboratory communities need to be aware.

  16. High NPM1-mutant allele burden at diagnosis predicts unfavorable outcomes in de novo AML.

    PubMed

    Patel, Sanjay S; Kuo, Frank C; Gibson, Christopher J; Steensma, David P; Soiffer, Robert J; Alyea, Edwin P; Chen, Yi-Bin A; Fathi, Amir T; Graubert, Timothy A; Brunner, Andrew M; Wadleigh, Martha; Stone, Richard M; DeAngelo, Daniel J; Nardi, Valentina; Hasserjian, Robert P; Weinberg, Olga K

    2018-06-21

    Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with mutated NPM1 is a newly recognized separate entity in the revised 2016 World Health Organization classification and is associated with a favorable prognosis. Although previous studies have evaluated NPM1 in a binary fashion, little is known about the significance of its mutant allele burden at diagnosis, nor has the effect of comutations (other than FLT3 ) been extensively evaluated. We retrospectively used targeted sequencing data from 109 patients with de novo AML with mutated NPM1 to evaluate the potential significance of NPM1 variant allele frequency (VAF), comutations, and clinical parameters with regard to patient outcomes. We observed that high NPM1 VAF (uppermost quartile) correlated with shortened overall survival (median, 12.1 months vs not reached; P < .0001) as well as event-free survival (median, 7.5 vs 65.44 months; P < .0001) compared with the other NPM1 -mutated cases. In both univariate and multivariable analyses, high NPM1 VAF had a particularly adverse prognostic effect in the subset of patients treated with stem-cell transplantation in first remission ( P = .0004) and in patients with mutated DNMT3A ( P < .0001). Our findings indicate that the prognostic effect of NPM1 mutation in de novo AML may be influenced by the relative abundance of the mutated allele. © 2018 by The American Society of Hematology.

  17. Frequency of rs731236 (Taql), rs2228570 (Fok1) of Vitamin-D Receptor (VDR) gene in Emirati healthy population

    PubMed Central

    Osman, Enas; Al Anouti, Fatme; El ghazali, Gehad; Haq, Afrozul; Mirgani, Rajaa; Al Safar, Habiba

    2015-01-01

    Vitamin D is getting more attention everyday due to its importance in maintaining bone and calcium homeostasis, cellular proliferation, differentiation and immune response. Vitamin D is derived from diet or elicited in the skin by the activation of 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is an inert molecule that must be activated by ultraviolet light to form pre-vitamin D3. Recent studies connected the gene encoding for vitamin D (VDR) to the genetic control of bone mass and other diseases. As VDR SNPs have been associated with several disorders and diseases, it's important to investigate the allelic and genotypic distribution among populations. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of rs731236 (Taq1) and rs2228570 (Fok1) variants in healthy Emirati individuals and compare their genotype and allele distribution with other populations. In this study 282 (female, 187; male, 95) unrelated healthy UAE nationals were involved. Two hundreds and eight two DNA samples been collected to genotype rs731236 (Taq1) and rs2228570 (Fok1) VDR SNPs. Our results indicate that the distribution of the alleles and genotypes of rs731236 (Taq1) and rs2228570 (Fok1) vary considerably in different populations. In the Emirati population the distribution of rs731236 (Taq1) and rs2228570 (Fok1) were AA 38%, AG 42%, GG 20% and AA 27%, AG 42%, GG 31% respectively. The Emirati population genotype and allele distribution of rs731236 (Taq1) and rs2228570 (Fok1) had no difference with Caucasians from USA and France. However, there was significant difference with Asian populations. PMID:26504744

  18. Allelic inhibition of displacement activity: a simplified one tube allele-specific PCR for evaluation of ITPA polymorphisms.

    PubMed

    Galmozzi, E; Facchetti, F; Degasperi, E; Aghemo, A; Lampertico, P

    2013-02-01

    Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have identified two functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) gene, that are associated strongly and independently with hemolytic anemia in patients exposed to pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) combined therapy. Here has been developed a simplified allele discrimination polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay named allelic inhibition of displacement activity (AIDA) for evaluation of ITPA polymorphisms. AIDA system relies on three unlabeled primers only, two outer common primers and one inner primer with allele-specific 3' terminus mismatch. DNA samples from 192 patients with chronic HCV infection were used to validate the AIDA system and results were compared with the gold standard TaqMan(®) SNP genotyping assay. Concordant data were obtained for all samples, granting for high specificity of the method. In conclusion, AIDA is a practical one-tube method to reproducibly and to assess accurately rs7270101 and rs1127354 ITPA SNPs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. A high-fat diet and the threonine-encoding allele (Thr54) polymorphism of fatty acid–binding protein 2 reduce plasma triglyceride–rich lipoproteins

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The Thr54 allele of the fatty acid binding protein 2 (FABP2) DNA polymorphism is associated with increased triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and insulin resistance. We investigated whether the triglyceride-rich lipoprotein response to diets of varied fat content is affected by the fatty acid binding pr...

  20. A Model of Compound Heterozygous, Loss-of-Function Alleles Is Broadly Consistent with Observations from Complex-Disease GWAS Datasets

    PubMed Central

    Sanjak, Jaleal S.; Long, Anthony D.; Thornton, Kevin R.

    2017-01-01

    The genetic component of complex disease risk in humans remains largely unexplained. A corollary is that the allelic spectrum of genetic variants contributing to complex disease risk is unknown. Theoretical models that relate population genetic processes to the maintenance of genetic variation for quantitative traits may suggest profitable avenues for future experimental design. Here we use forward simulation to model a genomic region evolving under a balance between recurrent deleterious mutation and Gaussian stabilizing selection. We consider multiple genetic and demographic models, and several different methods for identifying genomic regions harboring variants associated with complex disease risk. We demonstrate that the model of gene action, relating genotype to phenotype, has a qualitative effect on several relevant aspects of the population genetic architecture of a complex trait. In particular, the genetic model impacts genetic variance component partitioning across the allele frequency spectrum and the power of statistical tests. Models with partial recessivity closely match the minor allele frequency distribution of significant hits from empirical genome-wide association studies without requiring homozygous effect sizes to be small. We highlight a particular gene-based model of incomplete recessivity that is appealing from first principles. Under that model, deleterious mutations in a genomic region partially fail to complement one another. This model of gene-based recessivity predicts the empirically observed inconsistency between twin and SNP based estimated of dominance heritability. Furthermore, this model predicts considerable levels of unexplained variance associated with intralocus epistasis. Our results suggest a need for improved statistical tools for region based genetic association and heritability estimation. PMID:28103232