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Sample records for loci high variation

  1. Four loci explain 83% of size variation in the horse.

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    Shokouh Makvandi-Nejad

    Full Text Available Horse body size varies greatly due to intense selection within each breed. American Miniatures are less than one meter tall at the withers while Shires and Percherons can exceed two meters. The genetic basis for this variation is not known. We hypothesize that the breed population structure of the horse should simplify efforts to identify genes controlling size. In support of this, here we show with genome-wide association scans (GWAS that genetic variation at just four loci can explain the great majority of horse size variation. Unlike humans, which are naturally reproducing and possess many genetic variants with weak effects on size, we show that horses, like other domestic mammals, carry just a small number of size loci with alleles of large effect. Furthermore, three of our horse size loci contain the LCORL, HMGA2 and ZFAT genes that have previously been found to control human height. The LCORL/NCAPG locus is also implicated in cattle growth and HMGA2 is associated with dog size. Extreme size diversification is a hallmark of domestication. Our results in the horse, complemented by the prior work in cattle and dog, serve to pinpoint those very few genes that have played major roles in the rapid evolution of size during domestication.

  2. Population structure of African buffalo inferred from mtDNA sequences and microsatellite loci: high variation but low differentiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, Bo Thisted; Siegismund, H R; Arctander, P

    1998-01-01

    The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is found in most major vegetation types, wherever permanent sources of water are available, making it physically able to disperse through a wide range of habitats. Despite this, the buffalo has been assumed...... and analysis of variation at six microsatellite loci among 11 localities in eastern and southern Africa. High levels of genetic variability were found, suggesting that reported severe population bottlenecks due to outbreak of rinderpest during the last century did not strongly reduce the genetic variability...

  3. Standing genetic variation in contingency loci drives the rapid adaptation of Campylobacter jejuni to a novel host.

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    John P Jerome

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The genome of the food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni contains multiple highly mutable sites, or contingency loci. It has been suggested that standing variation at these loci is a mechanism for rapid adaptation to a novel environment, but this phenomenon has not been shown experimentally. In previous work we showed that the virulence of C. jejuni NCTC11168 increased after serial passage through a C57BL/6 IL-10(-/- mouse model of campylobacteriosis. Here we sought to determine the genetic basis of this adaptation during passage. Re-sequencing of the 1.64 Mb genome to 200-500 X coverage allowed us to define variation in 23 contingency loci to an unprecedented depth both before and after in vivo adaptation. Mutations in the mouse-adapted C. jejuni were largely restricted to the homopolymeric tracts of thirteen contingency loci. These changes cause significant alterations in open reading frames of genes in surface structure biosynthesis loci and in genes with only putative functions. Several loci with open reading frame changes also had altered transcript abundance. The increase in specific phases of contingency loci during in vivo passage of C. jejuni, coupled with the observed virulence increase and the lack of other types of genetic changes, is the first experimental evidence that these variable regions play a significant role in C. jejuni adaptation and virulence in a novel host.

  4. The effect of subdivision on variation at multi-allelic loci under balancing selection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, M H; Vekemans, X; Charlesworth, D

    2000-01-01

    Simulations are used to investigate the expected pattern of variation at loci under different forms of multi-allelic balancing selection in a finite island model of a subdivided population. The objective is to evaluate the effect of restricted migration among demes on the distribution of polymorp......Simulations are used to investigate the expected pattern of variation at loci under different forms of multi-allelic balancing selection in a finite island model of a subdivided population. The objective is to evaluate the effect of restricted migration among demes on the distribution...

  5. A Set of Plastid Loci for Use in Multiplex Fragment Length Genotyping for Intraspecific Variation in Pinus (Pinaceae

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    Austin M. Wofford

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Recently released Pinus plastome sequences support characterization of 15 plastid simple sequence repeat (cpSSR loci originally published for P. contorta and P. thunbergii. This allows selection of loci for single-tube PCR multiplexed genotyping in any subsection of the genus. Methods: Unique placement of primers and primer conservation across the genus were investigated, and a set of six loci were selected for single-tube multiplexing. We compared interspecific variation between cpSSRs and nucleotide sequences ofycf1 and tested intraspecific variation for cpSSRs using 911 samples in the P. ponderosa species complex. Results: The cpSSR loci contain mononucleotide and complex repeats with additional length variation in flanking regions. They are not located in hypervariable regions, and most primers are conserved across the genus. A single PCR per sample multiplexed for six loci yielded 45 alleles in 911 samples. Discussion: The protocol allows efficient genotyping of many samples. The cpSSR loci are too variable for Pinus phylogenies but are useful for the study of genetic structure within and among populations. The multiplex method could easily be extended to other plant groups by choosing primers for cpSSR loci in a plastome alignment for the target group.

  6. A set of plastid loci for use in multiplex fragment length genotyping for intraspecific variation in Pinus (Pinaceae)1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wofford, Austin M.; Finch, Kristen; Bigott, Adam; Willyard, Ann

    2014-01-01

    • Premise of the study: Recently released Pinus plastome sequences support characterization of 15 plastid simple sequence repeat (cpSSR) loci originally published for P. contorta and P. thunbergii. This allows selection of loci for single-tube PCR multiplexed genotyping in any subsection of the genus. • Methods: Unique placement of primers and primer conservation across the genus were investigated, and a set of six loci were selected for single-tube multiplexing. We compared interspecific variation between cpSSRs and nucleotide sequences of ycf1 and tested intraspecific variation for cpSSRs using 911 samples in the P. ponderosa species complex. • Results: The cpSSR loci contain mononucleotide and complex repeats with additional length variation in flanking regions. They are not located in hypervariable regions, and most primers are conserved across the genus. A single PCR per sample multiplexed for six loci yielded 45 alleles in 911 samples. • Discussion: The protocol allows efficient genotyping of many samples. The cpSSR loci are too variable for Pinus phylogenies but are useful for the study of genetic structure within and among populations. The multiplex method could easily be extended to other plant groups by choosing primers for cpSSR loci in a plastome alignment for the target group. PMID:25202625

  7. Evidence of novel fine-scale structural variation at autism spectrum disorder candidate loci

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    Hedges Dale J

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorders (ASD represent a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a core set of social-communicative and behavioral impairments. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, acting primarily via the GABA receptors (GABR. Multiple lines of evidence, including altered GABA and GABA receptor expression in autistic patients, indicate that the GABAergic system may be involved in the etiology of autism. Methods As copy number variations (CNVs, particularly rare and de novo CNVs, have now been implicated in ASD risk, we examined the GABA receptors and genes in related pathways for structural variation that may be associated with autism. We further extended our candidate gene set to include 19 genes and regions that had either been directly implicated in the autism literature or were directly related (via function or ancestry to these primary candidates. For the high resolution CNV screen we employed custom-designed 244 k comparative genomic hybridization (CGH arrays. Collectively, our probes spanned a total of 11 Mb of GABA-related and additional candidate regions with a density of approximately one probe every 200 nucleotides, allowing a theoretical resolution for detection of CNVs of approximately 1 kb or greater on average. One hundred and sixty-eight autism cases and 149 control individuals were screened for structural variants. Prioritized CNV events were confirmed using quantitative PCR, and confirmed loci were evaluated on an additional set of 170 cases and 170 control individuals that were not included in the original discovery set. Loci that remained interesting were subsequently screened via quantitative PCR on an additional set of 755 cases and 1,809 unaffected family members. Results Results include rare deletions in autistic individuals at JAKMIP1, NRXN1, Neuroligin4Y, OXTR, and ABAT. Common insertion/deletion polymorphisms were detected at several

  8. Common genetic variation and novel loci associated with volumetric mammographic density.

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    Brand, Judith S; Humphreys, Keith; Li, Jingmei; Karlsson, Robert; Hall, Per; Czene, Kamila

    2018-04-17

    Mammographic density (MD) is a strong and heritable intermediate phenotype of breast cancer, but much of its genetic variation remains unexplained. We conducted a genetic association study of volumetric MD in a Swedish mammography screening cohort (n = 9498) to identify novel MD loci. Associations with volumetric MD phenotypes (percent dense volume, absolute dense volume, and absolute nondense volume) were estimated using linear regression adjusting for age, body mass index, menopausal status, and six principal components. We also estimated the proportion of MD variance explained by additive contributions from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP-based heritability [h 2 SNP ]) in 4948 participants of the cohort. In total, three novel MD loci were identified (at P associated with breast cancer in available meta-analysis data including 122,977 breast cancer cases and 105,974 control subjects (P < 0.05). h 2 SNP (SE) estimates for percent dense, absolute dense, and nondense volume were 0.29 (0.07), 0.31 (0.07), and 0.25 (0.07), respectively. Corresponding ratios of h 2 SNP to previously observed narrow-sense h 2 estimates in the same cohort were 0.46, 0.72, and 0.41, respectively. These findings provide new insights into the genetic basis of MD and biological mechanisms linking MD to breast cancer risk. Apart from identifying three novel loci, we demonstrate that at least 25% of the MD variance is explained by common genetic variation with h 2 SNP /h 2 ratios varying between dense and nondense MD components.

  9. Adaptive genetic variation at three loci in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus and the role of selection within primates

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    Willem G. Coetzer

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus are one of the most widely distributed non-human primate species found in South Africa. They occur across all the South African provinces, inhabiting a large variety of habitats. These habitats vary sufficiently that it can be assumed that various factors such as pathogen diversity could influence populations in different ways. In turn, these factors could lead to varied levels of selection at specific fitness linked loci. The Toll-like receptor (TLR gene family, which play an integral role in vertebrate innate immunity, is a group of fitness linked loci which has been the focus of much research. In this study, we assessed the level of genetic variation at partial sequences of two TLR loci (TLR4 and 7 and a reproductively linked gene, acrosin (ACR, across the different habitat types within the vervet monkey distribution range. Gene variation and selection estimates were also made among 11–21 primate species. Low levels of genetic variation for all three gene regions were observed within vervet monkeys, with only two polymorphic sites identified for TLR4, three sites for TLR7 and one site for ACR. TLR7 variation was positively correlated with high mean annual rainfall, which was linked to increased pathogen abundance. The observed genetic variation at TLR4 might have been influenced by numerous factors including pathogens and climatic conditions. The ACR exonic regions showed no variation in vervet monkeys, which could point to the occurrence of a selective sweep. The TLR4 and TLR7 results for the among primate analyses was mostly in line with previous studies, indicating a higher rate of evolution for TLR4. Within primates, ACR coding regions also showed signs of positive selection, which was congruent with previous reports on mammals. Important additional information to the already existing vervet monkey knowledge base was gained from this study, which can guide future research projects on this highly

  10. Interactions Between SNP Alleles at Multiple Loci and Variation in Skin Pigmentation in 122 Caucasians

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    Sumiko Anno

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was undertaken to clarify the molecular basis for human skin color variation and the environmental adaptability to ultraviolet irradiation, with the ultimate goal of predicting the impact of changes in future environments on human health risk. One hundred twenty-two Caucasians living in Toledo, Ohio participated. Back and cheek skin were assayed for melanin as a quantitative trait marker. Buccal cell samples were collected and used for DNA extraction. DNA was used for SNP genotyping using the Masscode™ system, which entails two-step PCR amplification and a platform chemistry which allows cleavable mass spectrometry tags. The results show gene-gene interaction between SNP alleles at multiple loci (not necessarily on the same chromosome contributes to inter-individual skin color variation while suggesting a high probability of linkage disequilibrium. Confirmation of these findings requires further study with other ethic groups to analyze the associations between SNP alleles at multiple loci and human skin color variation. Our overarching goal is to use remote sensing data to clarify the interaction between atmospheric environments and SNP allelic frequency and investigate human adaptability to ultraviolet irradiation. Such information should greatly assist in the prediction of the health effects of future environmental changes such as ozone depletion and increased ultraviolet exposure. If such health effects are to some extent predictable, it might be possible to prepare for such changes in advance and thus reduce the extent of their impact.

  11. Genetic effects at pleiotropic loci are context-dependent with consequences for the maintenance of genetic variation in populations.

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    Heather A Lawson

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Context-dependent genetic effects, including genotype-by-environment and genotype-by-sex interactions, are a potential mechanism by which genetic variation of complex traits is maintained in populations. Pleiotropic genetic effects are also thought to play an important role in evolution, reflecting functional and developmental relationships among traits. We examine context-dependent genetic effects at pleiotropic loci associated with normal variation in multiple metabolic syndrome (MetS components (obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes-related traits. MetS prevalence is increasing in Western societies and, while environmental in origin, presents substantial variation in individual response. We identify 23 pleiotropic MetS quantitative trait loci (QTL in an F(16 advanced intercross between the LG/J and SM/J inbred mouse strains (Wustl:LG,SM-G16; n = 1002. Half of each family was fed a high-fat diet and half fed a low-fat diet; and additive, dominance, and parent-of-origin imprinting genotypic effects were examined in animals partitioned into sex, diet, and sex-by-diet cohorts. We examine the context-dependency of the underlying additive, dominance, and imprinting genetic effects of the traits associated with these pleiotropic QTL. Further, we examine sequence polymorphisms (SNPs between LG/J and SM/J as well as differential expression of positional candidate genes in these regions. We show that genetic associations are different in different sex, diet, and sex-by-diet settings. We also show that over- or underdominance and ecological cross-over interactions for single phenotypes may not be common, however multidimensional synthetic phenotypes at loci with pleiotropic effects can produce situations that favor the maintenance of genetic variation in populations. Our findings have important implications for evolution and the notion of personalized medicine.

  12. Novel association strategy with copy number variation for identifying new risk Loci of human diseases.

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    Xianfeng Chen

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Copy number variations (CNV are important causal genetic variations for human disease; however, the lack of a statistical model has impeded the systematic testing of CNVs associated with disease in large-scale cohort.Here, we developed a novel integrated strategy to test CNV-association in genome-wide case-control studies. We converted the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP signal to copy number states using a well-trained hidden Markov model. We mapped the susceptible CNV-loci through SNP site-specific testing to cope with the physiological complexity of CNVs. We also ensured the credibility of the associated CNVs through further window-based CNV-pattern clustering. Genome-wide data with seven diseases were used to test our strategy and, in total, we identified 36 new susceptible loci that are associated with CNVs for the seven diseases: 5 with bipolar disorder, 4 with coronary artery disease, 1 with Crohn's disease, 7 with hypertension, 9 with rheumatoid arthritis, 7 with type 1 diabetes and 3 with type 2 diabetes. Fifteen of these identified loci were validated through genotype-association and physiological function from previous studies, which provide further confidence for our results. Notably, the genes associated with bipolar disorder converged in the phosphoinositide/calcium signaling, a well-known affected pathway in bipolar disorder, which further supports that CNVs have impact on bipolar disorder.Our results demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of our CNV-association analysis and provided an alternative avenue for discovering new associated loci of human diseases.

  13. High-density genotyping of immune loci in Koreans and Europeans identifies eight new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci.

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    Kim, Kwangwoo; Bang, So-Young; Lee, Hye-Soon; Cho, Soo-Kyung; Choi, Chan-Bum; Sung, Yoon-Kyoung; Kim, Tae-Hwan; Jun, Jae-Bum; Yoo, Dae Hyun; Kang, Young Mo; Kim, Seong-Kyu; Suh, Chang-Hee; Shim, Seung-Cheol; Lee, Shin-Seok; Lee, Jisoo; Chung, Won Tae; Choe, Jung-Yoon; Shin, Hyoung Doo; Lee, Jong-Young; Han, Bok-Ghee; Nath, Swapan K; Eyre, Steve; Bowes, John; Pappas, Dimitrios A; Kremer, Joel M; Gonzalez-Gay, Miguel A; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Luis; Ärlestig, Lisbeth; Okada, Yukinori; Diogo, Dorothée; Liao, Katherine P; Karlson, Elizabeth W; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Rantapää-Dahlqvist, Solbritt; Martin, Javier; Klareskog, Lars; Padyukov, Leonid; Gregersen, Peter K; Worthington, Jane; Greenberg, Jeffrey D; Plenge, Robert M; Bae, Sang-Cheol

    2015-03-01

    A highly polygenic aetiology and high degree of allele-sharing between ancestries have been well elucidated in genetic studies of rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, the high-density genotyping array Immunochip for immune disease loci identified 14 new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci among individuals of European ancestry. Here, we aimed to identify new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci using Korean-specific Immunochip data. We analysed Korean rheumatoid arthritis case-control samples using the Immunochip and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) array to search for new risk alleles of rheumatoid arthritis with anticitrullinated peptide antibodies. To increase power, we performed a meta-analysis of Korean data with previously published European Immunochip and GWAS data for a total sample size of 9299 Korean and 45,790 European case-control samples. We identified eight new rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility loci (TNFSF4, LBH, EOMES, ETS1-FLI1, COG6, RAD51B, UBASH3A and SYNGR1) that passed a genome-wide significance threshold (p<5×10(-8)), with evidence for three independent risk alleles at 1q25/TNFSF4. The risk alleles from the seven new loci except for the TNFSF4 locus (monomorphic in Koreans), together with risk alleles from previously established RA risk loci, exhibited a high correlation of effect sizes between ancestries. Further, we refined the number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that represent potentially causal variants through a trans-ethnic comparison of densely genotyped SNPs. This study demonstrates the advantage of dense-mapping and trans-ancestral analysis for identification of potentially causal SNPs. In addition, our findings support the importance of T cells in the pathogenesis and the fact of frequent overlap of risk loci among diverse autoimmune diseases. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  14. Identification of the sequence variations of 15 autosomal STR loci in a Chinese population.

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    Chen, Wenjing; Cheng, Jianding; Ou, Xueling; Chen, Yong; Tong, Dayue; Sun, Hongyu

    2014-01-01

    DNA sequence variation including base(s) changes and insertion or deletion in the primer binding region may cause a null allele and, if this changes the length of the amplified fragment out of the allelic ladder, off-ladder (OL) alleles may be detected. In order to provide accurate and reliable DNA evidence for forensic DNA analysis, it is essential to clarify sequence variations in prevalently used STR loci. Suspected null alleles and OL alleles of PlowerPlex16® System from 21,934 unrelated Chinese individuals were verified by alternative systems and sequenced. A total of 17 cases with null alleles were identified, including 12 kinds of point mutations in 16 cases and a 19-base deletion in one case. The total frequency of null alleles was 7.751 × 10(-4). Eight hundred and forty-four OL alleles classified as being of 97 different kinds were observed at 15 STR loci of the PowerPlex®16 system except vWA. All the frequencies of OL alleles were under 0.01. Null alleles should be confirmed by alternative primers and OL alleles should be named appropriately. Particular attention should be paid to sequence variation, since incorrect designation could lead to false conclusions.

  15. Genetic variation of twenty autosomal STR loci and evaluate the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SAM

    2014-03-12

    Mar 12, 2014 ... the second objective of the study was to evaluate the importance of these loci for forensic genetic purposes. ... of discrimination values for all tested loci was from 75 to 96%; therefore, those loci can be safely used to establish a ..... lists the frequency distribution of individual alleles within a given genetic ...

  16. Genetic variation at minisatellite loci D1S7, D4S139, D5S110 and D17S79 among three population groups of eastern India.

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    Dutta, R; Kashyap, V K

    2001-04-01

    Genetic variation at four minisatellite loci D1S7, D4S139, D5S110 and D17S79 in three predominant population groups of eastern India, namely Brahmin, Kayastha and Garo, are reported in this study. The Brahmin and Kayastha are of Indo-Caucasoid origin while the Garo community represents the Indo-Mongoloid ethnic group. The methodology employed comprised generation of HaeIII-restricted fragments of isolated DNA, Southern blotting, and hybridization using chemiluminescent probes MS1, pH30, LH1 and V1 for the four loci. All four loci were highly polymorphic in the population groups. Heterozygosity values for the four loci ranged between 0.68 and 0.95. Neither departure from Hardy Weinberg expectations nor evidence of any association across alleles among the selected loci was observed. The gene differentiation value among the loci is moderate (GST = 0.027). A neighbour-joining tree constructed on the basis of the generated data shows very low genetic distance between the Brahmin and Kayastha communities in relation to the Garo. Our results based on genetic distance analysis are consistent with results of earlier studies based on serological markers and linguistic as well as morphological affiliations of these populations and their Indo-Caucasoid and Indo-Mongoloid origin. The minisatellite loci studied here were found to be not only useful in showing significant genetic variation between the populations but also to be suitable for human identity testing among eastern Indian populations.

  17. Novel Associations of Nonstructural Loci with Paraoxonase Activity

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    Ellen E. Quillen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The high-density-lipoprotein-(HDL- associated esterase paraoxonase 1 (PON1 is a likely contributor to the antioxidant and antiatherosclerotic capabilities of HDL. Two nonsynonymous mutations in the structural gene, PON1, have been associated with variation in activity levels, but substantial interindividual differences remain unexplained and are greatest for substrates other than the eponymous paraoxon. PON1 activity levels were measured for three substrates—organophosphate paraoxon, arylester phenyl acetate, and lactone dihydrocoumarin—in 767 Mexican American individuals from San Antonio, Texas. Genetic influences on activity levels for each substrate were evaluated by association with approximately one million single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs while conditioning on PON1 genotypes. Significant associations were detected at five loci including regions on chromosomes 4 and 17 known to be associated with atherosclerosis and lipoprotein regulation and loci on chromosome 3 that regulate ubiquitous transcription factors. These loci explain 7.8% of variation in PON1 activity with lactone as a substrate, 5.6% with the arylester, and 3.0% with paraoxon. In light of the potential importance of PON1 in preventing cardiovascular disease/events, these novel loci merit further investigation.

  18. Genetic variation observed at three tetrameric short tandem repeat loci HumTHO1, TPOX, and CSF1PO--in five ethnic population groups of northeastern India.

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    Ranjan, D; Kashyap, V K

    2001-01-01

    This paper portrays the genetic variation observed at three tetrameric short tandem repeat (STR) loci HumTHO1, TPOX, and CSF1PO in five ethnic population groups from northeastern India. The study also specifies the suitability of use of these markers for forensic testing. The populations studied included three tribal groups (Kuki, Naga and Hmar), one Mongoloid caste group (Meitei), and a religious caste group (Manipuri Muslims). The loci were highly polymorphic in the populations, and all loci met Hardy-Weinberg expectations. No evidence for association of alleles among the loci was detected. The probability of match for the three loci of the most frequent genotype in the five population groups ranged between 2.6 x 10(-4) and 6.6 x 10(-5). The average heterozygosity among the population groups was approximately 70% with the overall extent of gene differentiation among the five groups being high (Gst = 0.046). Genetic affinity among the populations reveal very close association between the Kuki, Hmar, Naga, and Meitei. The Manipuri Muslims, despite being found in the same region, have had no admixture with these populations and maintain a substantial distance with the other groups. The genetic polymorphism data suggest that the studied systems can be used for human identity testing to estimate the frequency of a multiple locus STR DNA profile in population groups of northeastern India.

  19. CoLIde: a bioinformatics tool for CO-expression-based small RNA Loci Identification using high-throughput sequencing data.

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    Mohorianu, Irina; Stocks, Matthew Benedict; Wood, John; Dalmay, Tamas; Moulton, Vincent

    2013-07-01

    Small RNAs (sRNAs) are 20-25 nt non-coding RNAs that act as guides for the highly sequence-specific regulatory mechanism known as RNA silencing. Due to the recent increase in sequencing depth, a highly complex and diverse population of sRNAs in both plants and animals has been revealed. However, the exponential increase in sequencing data has also made the identification of individual sRNA transcripts corresponding to biological units (sRNA loci) more challenging when based exclusively on the genomic location of the constituent sRNAs, hindering existing approaches to identify sRNA loci. To infer the location of significant biological units, we propose an approach for sRNA loci detection called CoLIde (Co-expression based sRNA Loci Identification) that combines genomic location with the analysis of other information such as variation in expression levels (expression pattern) and size class distribution. For CoLIde, we define a locus as a union of regions sharing the same pattern and located in close proximity on the genome. Biological relevance, detected through the analysis of size class distribution, is also calculated for each locus. CoLIde can be applied on ordered (e.g., time-dependent) or un-ordered (e.g., organ, mutant) series of samples both with or without biological/technical replicates. The method reliably identifies known types of loci and shows improved performance on sequencing data from both plants (e.g., A. thaliana, S. lycopersicum) and animals (e.g., D. melanogaster) when compared with existing locus detection techniques. CoLIde is available for use within the UEA Small RNA Workbench which can be downloaded from: http://srna-workbench.cmp.uea.ac.uk.

  20. Novel microsatellite loci for studies of Thamnophis Gartersnake genetic identity and hybridization

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    Sloss, Brian L.; Schuurman, Gregor W.; Paloski, Rori A.; Boyle, Owen D.; Kapfer, Joshua M.

    2012-01-01

    Butler’s Gartersnakes (BGS; Thamnophis butleri) are confined to open and semi-open canopy wetlands and adjacent uplands, habitats under threat of development in Wisconsin. To address issues of species identity and putative hybridization with congeneric snakes, a suite of 18 microsatellite loci capable of cross-species amplification of Plains Gartersnakes (T. radix) and Common Gartersnakes (T. sirtalis) was developed. All loci were polymorphic in BGS with mean number of alleles per locus of 16.11 (range = 3–41) and mean observed heterozygosity of 0.659 (range = 0.311–0.978). Loci amplified efficiently in the congeneric species with high levels of intra- and inter-specific variation. These loci will aid ongoing efforts to effectively identify and manage BGS in Wisconsin.

  1. Quantitative trait loci affecting phenotypic variation in the vacuolated lens mouse mutant, a multigenic mouse model of neural tube defects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korstanje, Ron; Desai, Jigar; Lazar, Gloria; King, Benjamin; Rollins, Jarod; Spurr, Melissa; Joseph, Jamie; Kadambi, Sindhuja; Li, Yang; Cherry, Allison; Matteson, Paul G.; Paigen, Beverly; Millonig, James H.

    Korstanje R, Desai J, Lazar G, King B, Rollins J, Spurr M, Joseph J, Kadambi S, Li Y, Cherry A, Matteson PG, Paigen B, Millonig JH. Quantitative trait loci affecting phenotypic variation in the vacuolated lens mouse mutant, a multigenic mouse model of neural tube defects. Physiol Genomics 35:

  2. Variation in the complex carbohydrate biosynthesis loci of Acinetobacter baumannii genomes.

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    Johanna J Kenyon

    Full Text Available Extracellular polysaccharides are major immunogenic components of the bacterial cell envelope. However, little is known about their biosynthesis in the genus Acinetobacter, which includes A. baumannii, an important nosocomial pathogen. Whether Acinetobacter sp. produce a capsule or a lipopolysaccharide carrying an O antigen or both is not resolved. To explore these issues, genes involved in the synthesis of complex polysaccharides were located in 10 complete A. baumannii genome sequences, and the function of each of their products was predicted via comparison to enzymes with a known function. The absence of a gene encoding a WaaL ligase, required to link the carbohydrate polymer to the lipid A-core oligosaccharide (lipooligosaccharide forming lipopolysaccharide, suggests that only a capsule is produced. Nine distinct arrangements of a large capsule biosynthesis locus, designated KL1 to KL9, were found in the genomes. Three forms of a second, smaller variable locus, likely to be required for synthesis of the outer core of the lipid A-core moiety, were designated OCL1 to OCL3 and also annotated. Each K locus includes genes for capsule export as well as genes for synthesis of activated sugar precursors, and for glycosyltransfer, glycan modification and oligosaccharide repeat-unit processing. The K loci all include the export genes at one end and genes for synthesis of common sugar precursors at the other, with a highly variable region that includes the remaining genes in between. Five different capsule loci, KL2, KL6, KL7, KL8 and KL9 were detected in multiply antibiotic resistant isolates belonging to global clone 2, and two other loci, KL1 and KL4, in global clone 1. This indicates that this region is being substituted repeatedly in multiply antibiotic resistant isolates from these clones.

  3. The use of high-throughput DNA sequencing in the investigation of antigenic variation: application to Neisseria species.

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    John K Davies

    Full Text Available Antigenic variation occurs in a broad range of species. This process resembles gene conversion in that variant DNA is unidirectionally transferred from partial gene copies (or silent loci into an expression locus. Previous studies of antigenic variation have involved the amplification and sequencing of individual genes from hundreds of colonies. Using the pilE gene from Neisseria gonorrhoeae we have demonstrated that it is possible to use PCR amplification, followed by high-throughput DNA sequencing and a novel assembly process, to detect individual antigenic variation events. The ability to detect these events was much greater than has previously been possible. In N. gonorrhoeae most silent loci contain multiple partial gene copies. Here we show that there is a bias towards using the copy at the 3' end of the silent loci (copy 1 as the donor sequence. The pilE gene of N. gonorrhoeae and some strains of Neisseria meningitidis encode class I pilin, but strains of N. meningitidis from clonal complexes 8 and 11 encode a class II pilin. We have confirmed that the class II pili of meningococcal strain FAM18 (clonal complex 11 are non-variable, and this is also true for the class II pili of strain NMB from clonal complex 8. In addition when a gene encoding class I pilin was moved into the meningococcal strain NMB background there was no evidence of antigenic variation. Finally we investigated several members of the opa gene family of N. gonorrhoeae, where it has been suggested that limited variation occurs. Variation was detected in the opaK gene that is located close to pilE, but not at the opaJ gene located elsewhere on the genome. The approach described here promises to dramatically improve studies of the extent and nature of antigenic variation systems in a variety of species.

  4. Genetic analysis of two STR loci (VWA and TPOX in the Iranian province of Khuzestan

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    Ali Mohammad Foroughmand

    2014-08-01

    Conclusion: The examined STR loci in this study have proven a relatively high genetic variation in the Iranian population. The data could be used for construction of a forensic genetic database for the Iranian population.

  5. High density genetic mapping identifies new susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyre, Steve; Bowes, John; Diogo, Dorothée; Lee, Annette; Barton, Anne; Martin, Paul; Zhernakova, Alexandra; Stahl, Eli; Viatte, Sebastien; McAllister, Kate; Amos, Christopher I.; Padyukov, Leonid; Toes, Rene E.M.; Huizinga, Tom W.J.; Wijmenga, Cisca; Trynka, Gosia; Franke, Lude; Westra, Harm-Jan; Alfredsson, Lars; Hu, Xinli; Sandor, Cynthia; de Bakker, Paul I.W.; Davila, Sonia; Khor, Chiea Chuen; Heng, Khai Koon; Andrews, Robert; Edkins, Sarah; Hunt, Sarah E; Langford, Cordelia; Symmons, Deborah; Concannon, Pat; Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna; Rich, Stephen S; Deloukas, Panos; Gonzalez-Gay, Miguel A.; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Luis; Ärlsetig, Lisbeth; Martin, Javier; Rantapää-Dahlqvist, Solbritt; Plenge, Robert; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Klareskog, Lars; Gregersen, Peter K; Worthington, Jane

    2012-01-01

    Summary Using the Immunochip custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, designed for dense genotyping of 186 genome wide association study (GWAS) confirmed loci we analysed 11,475 rheumatoid arthritis cases of European ancestry and 15,870 controls for 129,464 markers. The data were combined in meta-analysis with GWAS data from additional independent cases (n=2,363) and controls (n=17,872). We identified fourteen novel loci; nine were associated with rheumatoid arthritis overall and 5 specifically in anti-citrillunated peptide antibody positive disease, bringing the number of confirmed European ancestry rheumatoid arthritis loci to 46. We refined the peak of association to a single gene for 19 loci, identified secondary independent effects at six loci and association to low frequency variants (minor allele frequency <0.05) at 4 loci. Bioinformatic analysis of the data generated strong hypotheses for the causal SNP at seven loci. This study illustrates the advantages of dense SNP mapping analysis to inform subsequent functional investigations. PMID:23143596

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  7. Variation in MHC genotypes in two populations of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) with different population histories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borg, Asa Alexandra; Pedersen, Sindre Andre; Jensen, Henrik; Westerdahl, Helena

    2011-10-01

    Small populations are likely to have a low genetic ability for disease resistance due to loss of genetic variation through inbreeding and genetic drift. In vertebrates, the highest genetic diversity of the immune system is located at genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Interestingly, parasite-mediated selection is thought to potentially maintain variation at MHC loci even in populations that are monomorphic at other loci. Therefore, general loss of genetic variation in the genome may not necessarily be associated with low variation at MHC loci. We evaluated inter- and intrapopulation variation in MHC genotypes between an inbred (Aldra) and a relatively outbred population (Hestmannøy) of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in a metapopulation at Helgeland, Norway. Genomic (gDNA) and transcribed (cDNA) alleles of functional MHC class I and IIB loci, along with neutral noncoding microsatellite markers, were analyzed to obtain relevant estimates of genetic variation. We found lower allelic richness in microsatellites in the inbred population, but high genetic variation in MHC class I and IIB loci in both populations. This suggests that also the inbred population could be under balancing selection to maintain genetic variation for pathogen resistance.

  8. High genetic diversity and fine-scale spatial structure in the marine flagellate Oxyrrhis marina (Dinophyceae uncovered by microsatellite loci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris D Lowe

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Free-living marine protists are often assumed to be broadly distributed and genetically homogeneous on large spatial scales. However, an increasing application of highly polymorphic genetic markers (e.g., microsatellites has provided evidence for high genetic diversity and population structuring on small spatial scales in many free-living protists. Here we characterise a panel of new microsatellite markers for the common marine flagellate Oxyrrhis marina. Nine microsatellite loci were used to assess genotypic diversity at two spatial scales by genotyping 200 isolates of O. marina from 6 broad geographic regions around Great Britain and Ireland; in one region, a single 2 km shore line was sampled intensively to assess fine-scale genetic diversity. Microsatellite loci resolved between 1-6 and 7-23 distinct alleles per region in the least and most variable loci respectively, with corresponding variation in expected heterozygosities (H(e of 0.00-0.30 and 0.81-0.93. Across the dataset, genotypic diversity was high with 183 genotypes detected from 200 isolates. Bayesian analysis of population structure supported two model populations. One population was distributed across all sampled regions; the other was confined to the intensively sampled shore, and thus two distinct populations co-occurred at this site. Whilst model-based analysis inferred a single UK-wide population, pairwise regional F(ST values indicated weak to moderate population sub-division (0.01-0.12, but no clear correlation between spatial and genetic distance was evident. Data presented in this study highlight extensive genetic diversity for O. marina; however, it remains a substantial challenge to uncover the mechanisms that drive genetic diversity in free-living microorganisms.

  9. The role of copy number variation in susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: genome-wide association study and comparison with published loci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise V Wain

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The genetic contribution to sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS has not been fully elucidated. There are increasing efforts to characterise the role of copy number variants (CNVs in human diseases; two previous studies concluded that CNVs may influence risk of sporadic ALS, with multiple rare CNVs more important than common CNVs. A little-explored issue surrounding genome-wide CNV association studies is that of post-calling filtering and merging of raw CNV calls. We undertook simulations to define filter thresholds and considered optimal ways of merging overlapping CNV calls for association testing, taking into consideration possibly overlapping or nested, but distinct, CNVs and boundary estimation uncertainty.In this study we screened Illumina 300K SNP genotyping data from 730 ALS cases and 789 controls for copy number variation. Following quality control filters using thresholds defined by simulation, a total of 11321 CNV calls were made across 575 cases and 621 controls. Using region-based and gene-based association analyses, we identified several loci showing nominally significant association. However, the choice of criteria for combining calls for association testing has an impact on the ranking of the results by their significance. Several loci which were previously reported as being associated with ALS were identified here. However, of another 15 genes previously reported as exhibiting ALS-specific copy number variation, only four exhibited copy number variation in this study. Potentially interesting novel loci, including EEF1D, a translation elongation factor involved in the delivery of aminoacyl tRNAs to the ribosome (a process which has previously been implicated in genetic studies of spinal muscular atrophy were identified but must be treated with caution due to concerns surrounding genomic location and platform suitability.Interpretation of CNV association findings must take into account the effects of filtering and combining

  10. High mutation rates explain low population genetic divergence at copy-number-variable loci in Homo sapiens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xin-Sheng; Yeh, Francis C; Hu, Yang; Deng, Li-Ting; Ennos, Richard A; Chen, Xiaoyang

    2017-02-22

    Copy-number-variable (CNV) loci differ from single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) sites in size, mutation rate, and mechanisms of maintenance in natural populations. It is therefore hypothesized that population genetic divergence at CNV loci will differ from that found at SNP sites. Here, we test this hypothesis by analysing 856 CNV loci from the genomes of 1184 healthy individuals from 11 HapMap populations with a wide range of ancestry. The results show that population genetic divergence at the CNV loci is generally more than three times lower than at genome-wide SNP sites. Populations generally exhibit very small genetic divergence (G st  = 0.05 ± 0.049). The smallest divergence is among African populations (G st  = 0.0081 ± 0.0025), with increased divergence among non-African populations (G st  = 0.0217 ± 0.0109) and then among African and non-African populations (G st  = 0.0324 ± 0.0064). Genetic diversity is high in African populations (~0.13), low in Asian populations (~0.11), and intermediate in the remaining 11 populations. Few significant linkage disequilibria (LDs) occur between the genome-wide CNV loci. Patterns of gametic and zygotic LDs indicate the absence of epistasis among CNV loci. Mutation rate is about twice as large as the migration rate in the non-African populations, suggesting that the high mutation rates play dominant roles in producing the low population genetic divergence at CNV loci.

  11. Development of new VNTR markers for pike and assessment of variability at di- and tetranucleotide repeat microsatellite loci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Michael Møller; Taggart, J.B.; Meldrup, Dorte

    1999-01-01

    Levels of variation at six VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats) loci, one minisatellite and five microsatellite loci, isolated from tri- and tetranucleotide enriched DNA libraries for northern pike were generally low in two Danish populations (1-4 alleles; expected heterozygosity 0-0.57), tho......Levels of variation at six VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats) loci, one minisatellite and five microsatellite loci, isolated from tri- and tetranucleotide enriched DNA libraries for northern pike were generally low in two Danish populations (1-4 alleles; expected heterozygosity 0...

  12. Amplification Biases and Consistent Recovery of Loci in a Double-Digest RAD-seq Protocol

    Science.gov (United States)

    DaCosta, Jeffrey M.; Sorenson, Michael D.

    2014-01-01

    A growing variety of “genotype-by-sequencing” (GBS) methods use restriction enzymes and high throughput DNA sequencing to generate data for a subset of genomic loci, allowing the simultaneous discovery and genotyping of thousands of polymorphisms in a set of multiplexed samples. We evaluated a “double-digest” restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) protocol by 1) comparing results for a zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) sample with in silico predictions from the zebra finch reference genome; 2) assessing data quality for a population sample of indigobirds (Vidua spp.); and 3) testing for consistent recovery of loci across multiple samples and sequencing runs. Comparison with in silico predictions revealed that 1) over 90% of predicted, single-copy loci in our targeted size range (178–328 bp) were recovered; 2) short restriction fragments (38–178 bp) were carried through the size selection step and sequenced at appreciable depth, generating unexpected but nonetheless useful data; 3) amplification bias favored shorter, GC-rich fragments, contributing to among locus variation in sequencing depth that was strongly correlated across samples; 4) our use of restriction enzymes with a GC-rich recognition sequence resulted in an up to four-fold overrepresentation of GC-rich portions of the genome; and 5) star activity (i.e., non-specific cutting) resulted in thousands of “extra” loci sequenced at low depth. Results for three species of indigobirds show that a common set of thousands of loci can be consistently recovered across both individual samples and sequencing runs. In a run with 46 samples, we genotyped 5,996 loci in all individuals and 9,833 loci in 42 or more individuals, resulting in <1% missing data for the larger data set. We compare our approach to similar methods and discuss the range of factors (fragment library preparation, natural genetic variation, bioinformatics) influencing the recovery of a consistent set of loci among

  13. Population genomics of Pacific lamprey: adaptive variation in a highly dispersive species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hess, Jon E; Campbell, Nathan R; Close, David A; Docker, Margaret F; Narum, Shawn R

    2013-06-01

    Unlike most anadromous fishes that have evolved strict homing behaviour, Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) seem to lack philopatry as evidenced by minimal population structure across the species range. Yet unexplained findings of within-region population genetic heterogeneity coupled with the morphological and behavioural diversity described for the species suggest that adaptive genetic variation underlying fitness traits may be responsible. We employed restriction site-associated DNA sequencing to genotype 4439 quality filtered single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci for 518 individuals collected across a broad geographical area including British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. A subset of putatively neutral markers (N = 4068) identified a significant amount of variation among three broad populations: northern British Columbia, Columbia River/southern coast and 'dwarf' adults (F(CT) = 0.02, P ≪ 0.001). Additionally, 162 SNPs were identified as adaptive through outlier tests, and inclusion of these markers revealed a signal of adaptive variation related to geography and life history. The majority of the 162 adaptive SNPs were not independent and formed four groups of linked loci. Analyses with matsam software found that 42 of these outlier SNPs were significantly associated with geography, run timing and dwarf life history, and 27 of these 42 SNPs aligned with known genes or highly conserved genomic regions using the genome browser available for sea lamprey. This study provides both neutral and adaptive context for observed genetic divergence among collections and thus reconciles previous findings of population genetic heterogeneity within a species that displays extensive gene flow. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Isolation and characterization of 21 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the Japanese dace (Tribolodon hakonensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koizumi, Noriyuki; Quinn, Thomas W.; Park, Myeongsoo; Fike, Jennifer A.; Nishida, Kazuya; Takemura, Takeshi; Watabe, Keiji; Mori, Atsushi

    2011-01-01

    Twenty one polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Japanese dace (Tribolodon hakonensis) were isolated and characterized. The number of observed alleles per locus in 32 individuals ranged from 3 to 30. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.125 to 0.969 and from 0.175 to 0.973, respectively. All loci conformed to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, no linkage disequilibrium was observed between pairs of loci and no loci showed evidence of null alleles. These microsatellite loci will be useful for investigating the intraspecific genetic variation and population structure of this species.

  15. Evaluating the potential roles of the Gray and Extension loci in the coat coloration of Thoroughbred racing horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakamoto, Takahiro; Fawcett, Jeffrey A; Innan, Hideki

    2017-01-01

    Horses have substantial variation in coat color, and the genetic loci responsible for the coat color variations have been well investigated. It has been believed that some color variations should follow a single-locus Mendelian law. Examples include the Gray locus that causes the gray phenotype and the Extension locus that specifies the chestnut phenotype. We reevaluated the roles of the Gray and Extension loci by using a large number of mating records of Thoroughbred racing horses. We showed that the data indeed fits the Mendelian law extremely well for the two loci. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the Extension and Agouti loci might have an additional role in determining the degree of melanin that should distinguish bay, dark bay, and brown.

  16. Quantitative trait loci for maysin synthesis in maize (Zea mays L.) lines selected for high silk maysin content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, J D F; Snook, M E; Houchins, K E; Rector, B G; Widstrom, N W; McMullen, M D

    2007-06-01

    Maysin is a naturally occurring C-glycosyl flavone found in maize (Zea mays L.) silk tissue that confers resistance to corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea, Boddie). Recently, two new maize populations were derived for high silk maysin. The two populations were named the exotic populations of maize (EPM) and the southern inbreds of maize (SIM). Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was employed to determine which loci were responsible for elevated maysin levels in inbred lines derived from the EPM and SIM populations. The candidate genes consistent with QTL position included the p (pericarp color), c2 (colorless2), whp1 (white pollen1) and in1 (intensifier1) loci. The role of these loci in controlling high maysin levels in silks was tested by expression analysis and use of the loci as genetic markers onto the QTL populations. These studies support p, c2 and whp1, but not in1, as loci controlling maysin. Through this study, we determined that the p locus regulates whp1 transcription and that increased maysin in these inbred lines was primarily due to alleles at both structural and regulatory loci promoting increased flux through the flavone pathway by increasing chalcone synthase activity.

  17. No variation and low synonymous substitution rates in coral mtDNA despite high nuclear variation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hellberg Michael E

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA of most animals evolves more rapidly than nuclear DNA, and often shows higher levels of intraspecific polymorphism and population subdivision. The mtDNA of anthozoans (corals, sea fans, and their kin, by contrast, appears to evolve slowly. Slow mtDNA evolution has been reported for several anthozoans, however this slow pace has been difficult to put in phylogenetic context without parallel surveys of nuclear variation or calibrated rates of synonymous substitution that could permit quantitative rate comparisons across taxa. Here, I survey variation in the coding region of a mitochondrial gene from a coral species (Balanophyllia elegans known to possess high levels of nuclear gene variation, and estimate synonymous rates of mtDNA substitution by comparison to another coral (Tubastrea coccinea. Results The mtDNA surveyed (630 bp of cytochrome oxidase subunit I was invariant among individuals sampled from 18 populations spanning 3000 km of the range of B. elegans, despite high levels of variation and population subdivision for allozymes over these same populations. The synonymous substitution rate between B. elegans and T. coccinea (0.05%/site/106 years is similar to that in most plants, but 50–100 times lower than rates typical for most animals. In addition, while substitutions to mtDNA in most animals exhibit a strong bias toward transitions, mtDNA from these corals does not. Conclusion Slow rates of mitochondrial nucleotide substitution result in low levels of intraspecific mtDNA variation in corals, even when nuclear loci vary. Slow mtDNA evolution appears to be the basal condition among eukaryotes. mtDNA substitution rates switch from slow to fast abruptly and unidirectionally. This switch may stem from the loss of just one or a few mitochondrion-specific DNA repair or replication genes.

  18. SSR allelic variation of rice variety Hangxiangnuo bred by space mutation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Tifeng; Liu Chuanguang; Pan Dajian; Fan Zhilan; Li Chen; Chen Jianyou; Liu Bin; Jiang Yijun; Gao Yun; Zhou Hanqin

    2011-01-01

    Hangxiangnuo, an indica fragrant glutinous rice mutant, was induced by space environment. Comparing with its wild type Nanfengnuo, the yield and blast resistance of Hangxiangnuo are improved significantly and the grain shape became slender and with fragrance. To understand the mechanisms of space mutation and identify the changes at molecular level associated with phenotypic variations, SSR allelic variation analysis were performed on Hangxiangnuo and Nanfengnuo in this study. The results showed that 45 loci were polymorphic among the 156 SSR loci tested throughout the genome, the frequency of variation was 28.85%. Among the polymorphic loci, 42 loci only showed variations in the molecular weight of the amplified bands, only on locus increased the number of amplification bands in Hangxiangnuo and two loci were differed by heterozygous loci (with two amplification bands at one locus) detected in Nanfengnuo and homozygous loci in Hangxiangnuo. It suggests that the change of some loci in mutants was due to the normal segregation and recombination of heterozygous loci of the wild type. The variation frequencies among different chromosomes were quite different, with the highest one at 50.00% detected on chromosomes 7, 8 and 12, and the lowest at 6.25% on chromosome 6. The polymorphic loci were clustered on chromosomes throughout the genome indicating that large DNA segments mutation is one of the major variation patterns induced by space environment. Some of reported QTLs involved in grain shape, yield, fragrance and blast resistance were found to be located exactly in the mutated regions. Therefore, further study is needed to confirm that these QTLs are responsible for the trait variations. (authors)

  19. Discovery and Fine-Mapping of Glycaemic and Obesity-Related Trait Loci Using High-Density Imputation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horikoshi, Momoko; Mӓgi, Reedik; van de Bunt, Martijn; Surakka, Ida; Sarin, Antti-Pekka; Mahajan, Anubha; Marullo, Letizia; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Hӓgg, Sara; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Ladenvall, Claes; Ried, Janina S; Winkler, Thomas W; Willems, Sara M; Pervjakova, Natalia; Esko, Tõnu; Beekman, Marian; Nelson, Christopher P; Willenborg, Christina; Wiltshire, Steven; Ferreira, Teresa; Fernandez, Juan; Gaulton, Kyle J; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Hamsten, Anders; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Willemsen, Gonneke; Milaneschi, Yuri; Robertson, Neil R; Groves, Christopher J; Bennett, Amanda J; Lehtimӓki, Terho; Viikari, Jorma S; Rung, Johan; Lyssenko, Valeriya; Perola, Markus; Heid, Iris M; Herder, Christian; Grallert, Harald; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Roden, Michael; Hypponen, Elina; Isaacs, Aaron; van Leeuwen, Elisabeth M; Karssen, Lennart C; Mihailov, Evelin; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine J; de Craen, Anton J M; Deelen, Joris; Havulinna, Aki S; Blades, Matthew; Hengstenberg, Christian; Erdmann, Jeanette; Schunkert, Heribert; Kaprio, Jaakko; Tobin, Martin D; Samani, Nilesh J; Lind, Lars; Salomaa, Veikko; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Slagboom, P Eline; Metspalu, Andres; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Eriksson, Johan G; Peters, Annette; Gieger, Christian; Jula, Antti; Groop, Leif; Raitakari, Olli T; Power, Chris; Penninx, Brenda W J H; de Geus, Eco; Smit, Johannes H; Boomsma, Dorret I; Pedersen, Nancy L; Ingelsson, Erik; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Stefansson, Kari; Ripatti, Samuli; Prokopenko, Inga; McCarthy, Mark I; Morris, Andrew P

    2015-07-01

    Reference panels from the 1000 Genomes (1000G) Project Consortium provide near complete coverage of common and low-frequency genetic variation with minor allele frequency ≥0.5% across European ancestry populations. Within the European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE) Consortium, we have undertaken the first large-scale meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), supplemented by 1000G imputation, for four quantitative glycaemic and obesity-related traits, in up to 87,048 individuals of European ancestry. We identified two loci for body mass index (BMI) at genome-wide significance, and two for fasting glucose (FG), none of which has been previously reported in larger meta-analysis efforts to combine GWAS of European ancestry. Through conditional analysis, we also detected multiple distinct signals of association mapping to established loci for waist-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (RSPO3) and FG (GCK and G6PC2). The index variant for one association signal at the G6PC2 locus is a low-frequency coding allele, H177Y, which has recently been demonstrated to have a functional role in glucose regulation. Fine-mapping analyses revealed that the non-coding variants most likely to drive association signals at established and novel loci were enriched for overlap with enhancer elements, which for FG mapped to promoter and transcription factor binding sites in pancreatic islets, in particular. Our study demonstrates that 1000G imputation and genetic fine-mapping of common and low-frequency variant association signals at GWAS loci, integrated with genomic annotation in relevant tissues, can provide insight into the functional and regulatory mechanisms through which their effects on glycaemic and obesity-related traits are mediated.

  20. Discovery and Fine-Mapping of Glycaemic and Obesity-Related Trait Loci Using High-Density Imputation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Momoko Horikoshi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Reference panels from the 1000 Genomes (1000G Project Consortium provide near complete coverage of common and low-frequency genetic variation with minor allele frequency ≥0.5% across European ancestry populations. Within the European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE Consortium, we have undertaken the first large-scale meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS, supplemented by 1000G imputation, for four quantitative glycaemic and obesity-related traits, in up to 87,048 individuals of European ancestry. We identified two loci for body mass index (BMI at genome-wide significance, and two for fasting glucose (FG, none of which has been previously reported in larger meta-analysis efforts to combine GWAS of European ancestry. Through conditional analysis, we also detected multiple distinct signals of association mapping to established loci for waist-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (RSPO3 and FG (GCK and G6PC2. The index variant for one association signal at the G6PC2 locus is a low-frequency coding allele, H177Y, which has recently been demonstrated to have a functional role in glucose regulation. Fine-mapping analyses revealed that the non-coding variants most likely to drive association signals at established and novel loci were enriched for overlap with enhancer elements, which for FG mapped to promoter and transcription factor binding sites in pancreatic islets, in particular. Our study demonstrates that 1000G imputation and genetic fine-mapping of common and low-frequency variant association signals at GWAS loci, integrated with genomic annotation in relevant tissues, can provide insight into the functional and regulatory mechanisms through which their effects on glycaemic and obesity-related traits are mediated.

  1. Chromosomal localization of microsatellite loci in Drosophila mediopunctata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renato Cavasini

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Drosophila mediopunctata has been used as a model organism for genetics and evolutionary studies in the last three decades. A linkage map with 48 microsatellite loci recently published for this species showed five syntenic groups, which had their homology determined to Drosophila melanogaster chromosomes. Then, by inference, each of the groups was associated with one of the five major chromosomes of D. mediopunctata. Our objective was to carry out a genetic (chromosomal analysis to increase the number of available loci with known chromosomal location. We made a simultaneous analysis of visible mutant phenotypes and microsatellite genotypes in a backcross of a standard strain and a mutant strain, which had each major autosome marked. Hence, we could establish the chromosomal location of seventeen loci; including one from each of the five major linkage groups previously published, and twelve new loci. Our results were congruent with the previous location and they open new possibilities to future work integrating microsatellites, chromosomal inversions, and genetic determinants of physiological and morphological variation.

  2. A three-component system incorporating Ppd-D1, copy number variation at Ppd-B1, and numerous small-effect quantitative trait loci facilitates adaptation of heading time in winter wheat cultivars of worldwide origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Würschum, Tobias; Langer, Simon M; Longin, C Friedrich H; Tucker, Matthew R; Leiser, Willmar L

    2018-06-01

    The broad adaptability of heading time has contributed to the global success of wheat in a diverse array of climatic conditions. Here, we investigated the genetic architecture underlying heading time in a large panel of 1,110 winter wheat cultivars of worldwide origin. Genome-wide association mapping, in combination with the analysis of major phenology loci, revealed a three-component system that facilitates the adaptation of heading time in winter wheat. The photoperiod sensitivity locus Ppd-D1 was found to account for almost half of the genotypic variance in this panel and can advance or delay heading by many days. In addition, copy number variation at Ppd-B1 was the second most important source of variation in heading, explaining 8.3% of the genotypic variance. Results from association mapping and genomic prediction indicated that the remaining variation is attributed to numerous small-effect quantitative trait loci that facilitate fine-tuning of heading to the local climatic conditions. Collectively, our results underpin the importance of the two Ppd-1 loci for the adaptation of heading time in winter wheat and illustrate how the three components have been exploited for wheat breeding globally. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Copy number and haplotype variation at the VRN-A1 and central FR-A2 loci are associated with frost tolerance in hexaploid wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jie; Pearce, Stephen; Burke, Adrienne; See, Deven Robert; Skinner, Daniel Z; Dubcovsky, Jorge; Garland-Campbell, Kimberly

    2014-05-01

    The interaction between VRN - A1 and FR - A2 largely affect the frost tolerance of hexaploid wheat. Frost tolerance is critical for wheat survival during cold winters. Natural variation for this trait is mainly associated with allelic differences at the VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) and FROST RESISTANCE 2 (FR2) loci. VRN1 regulates the transition between vegetative and reproductive stages and FR2, a locus including several tandemly duplicated C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) transcription factors, regulates the expression of Cold-regulated genes. We identified sequence and copy number variation at these two loci among winter and spring wheat varieties and characterized their association with frost tolerance. We identified two FR-A2 haplotypes-'FR-A2-S' and 'FR-A2-T'-distinguished by two insertion/deletions and ten single nucleotide polymorphisms within the CBF-A12 and CBF-A15 genes. Increased copy number of CBF-A14 was frequently associated with the FR-A2-T haplotype and with higher CBF14 transcript levels in response to cold. Factorial ANOVAs revealed significant interactions between VRN1 and FR-A2 for frost tolerance in both winter and spring panels suggesting a crosstalk between vernalization and cold acclimation pathways. The model including these two loci and their interaction explained 32.0 and 20.7 % of the variation in frost tolerance in the winter and spring panels, respectively. The interaction was validated in a winter wheat F 4:5 population segregating for both genes. Increased VRN-A1 copy number was associated with improved frost tolerance among varieties carrying the FR-A2-T allele but not among those carrying the FR-A2-S allele. These results suggest that selection of varieties carrying the FR-A2-T allele and three copies of the recessive vrn-A1 allele would be a good strategy to improve frost tolerance in wheat.

  4. Recruitment of PfSET2 by RNA polymerase II to variant antigen encoding loci contributes to antigenic variation in P. falciparum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uchechi E Ukaegbu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Histone modifications are important regulators of gene expression in all eukaryotes. In Plasmodium falciparum, these epigenetic marks regulate expression of genes involved in several aspects of host-parasite interactions, including antigenic variation. While the identities and genomic positions of many histone modifications have now been cataloged, how they are targeted to defined genomic regions remains poorly understood. For example, how variant antigen encoding loci (var are targeted for deposition of unique histone marks is a mystery that continues to perplex the field. Here we describe the recruitment of an ortholog of the histone modifier SET2 to var genes through direct interactions with the C-terminal domain (CTD of RNA polymerase II. In higher eukaryotes, SET2 is a histone methyltransferase recruited by RNA pol II during mRNA transcription; however, the ortholog in P. falciparum (PfSET2 has an atypical architecture and its role in regulating transcription is unknown. Here we show that PfSET2 binds to the unphosphorylated form of the CTD, a property inconsistent with its recruitment during mRNA synthesis. Further, we show that H3K36me3, the epigenetic mark deposited by PfSET2, is enriched at both active and silent var gene loci, providing additional evidence that its recruitment is not associated with mRNA production. Over-expression of a dominant negative form of PfSET2 designed to disrupt binding to RNA pol II induced rapid var gene expression switching, confirming both the importance of PfSET2 in var gene regulation and a role for RNA pol II in its recruitment. RNA pol II is known to transcribe non-coding RNAs from both active and silent var genes, providing a possible mechanism by which it could recruit PfSET2 to var loci. This work unifies previous reports of histone modifications, the production of ncRNAs, and the promoter activity of var introns into a mechanism that contributes to antigenic variation by malaria parasites.

  5. Limited phylogeographic signal in sex-linked and autosomal loci despite geographically, ecologically, and phenotypically concordant structure of mtDNA variation in the Holarctic avian genus Eremophila.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergei V Drovetski

    Full Text Available Phylogeographic studies of Holarctic birds are challenging because they involve vast geographic scale, complex glacial history, extensive phenotypic variation, and heterogeneous taxonomic treatment across countries, all of which require large sample sizes. Knowledge about the quality of phylogeographic information provided by different loci is crucial for study design. We use sequences of one mtDNA gene, one sex-linked intron, and one autosomal intron to elucidate large scale phylogeographic patterns in the Holarctic lark genus Eremophila. The mtDNA ND2 gene identified six geographically, ecologically, and phenotypically concordant clades in the Palearctic that diverged in the Early-Middle Pleistocene and suggested paraphyly of the horned lark (E. alpestris with respect to the Temminck's lark (E. bilopha. In the Nearctic, ND2 identified five subclades which diverged in the Late Pleistocene. They overlapped geographically and were not concordant phenotypically or ecologically. Nuclear alleles provided little information on geographic structuring of genetic variation in horned larks beyond supporting the monophyly of Eremophila and paraphyly of the horned lark. Multilocus species trees based on two nuclear or all three loci provided poor support for haplogroups identified by mtDNA. The node ages calculated using mtDNA were consistent with the available paleontological data, whereas individual nuclear loci and multilocus species trees appeared to underestimate node ages. We argue that mtDNA is capable of discovering independent evolutionary units within avian taxa and can provide a reasonable phylogeographic hypothesis when geographic scale, geologic history, and phenotypic variation in the study system are too complex for proposing reasonable a priori hypotheses required for multilocus methods. Finally, we suggest splitting the currently recognized horned lark into five Palearctic and one Nearctic species.

  6. The role of height-associated loci identified in genome wide association studies in the determination of pediatric stature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frackelton Edward C

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human height is considered highly heritable and correlated with certain disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. Despite environmental influences, genetic factors are known to play an important role in stature determination. A number of genetic determinants of adult height have already been established through genome wide association studies. Methods To examine 51 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs corresponding to the 46 previously reported genomic loci for height in 8,184 European American children with height measurements. We leveraged genotyping data from our ongoing GWA study of height variation in children in order to query the 51 SNPs in this pediatric cohort. Results Sixteen of these SNPs yielded at least nominally significant association to height, representing fifteen different loci including EFEMP1-PNPT1, GPR126, C6orf173, SPAG17, Histone class 1, HLA class III and GDF5-UQCC. Other loci revealed no evidence for association, including HMGA1 and HMGA2. For the 16 associated variants, the genotype score explained 1.64% of the total variation for height z-score. Conclusion Among 46 loci that have been reported to associate with adult height to date, at least 15 also contribute to the determination of height in childhood.

  7. Immunogenetic variation and differential pathogen exposure in free-ranging cheetahs across Namibian farmlands.

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    Aines Castro-Prieto

    Full Text Available Genes under selection provide ecologically important information useful for conservation issues. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I and II genes are essential for the immune defence against pathogens from intracellular (e.g. viruses and extracellular (e.g. helminths origins, respectively. Serosurvey studies in Namibian cheetahs (Acinonyx juabuts revealed higher exposure to viral pathogens in individuals from north-central than east-central regions. Here we examined whether the observed differences in exposure to viruses influence the patterns of genetic variation and differentiation at MHC loci in 88 free-ranging Namibian cheetahs.Genetic variation at MHC I and II loci was assessed through single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP analysis and sequencing. While the overall allelic diversity did not differ, we observed a high genetic differentiation at MHC class I loci between cheetahs from north-central and east-central Namibia. No such differentiation in MHC class II and neutral markers were found.Our results suggest that MHC class I variation mirrors the variation in selection pressure imposed by viruses in free-ranging cheetahs across Namibian farmland. This is of high significance for future management and conservation programs of this species.

  8. Variation in sperm displacement and its association with accessory gland protein loci in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, A G; Aguadé, M; Prout, T; Harshman, L G; Langley, C H

    1995-01-01

    Genes that influence mating and/or fertilization success may be targets for strong natural selection. If females remate frequently relative to the duration of sperm storage and rate of sperm use, sperm displacement may be an important component of male reproductive success. Although it has long been known that mutant laboratory stocks of Drosophila differ in sperm displacement, the magnitude of the naturally occurring genetic variation in this character has not been systematically quantified. Here we report the results of a screen for variation in sperm displacement among 152 lines of Drosophilia melanogaster that were made homozygous for second and/or third chromosomes recovered from natural populations. Sperm displacement was assayed by scoring the progeny of cn;bw females that had been mated sequentially to cn;bw and tested males in either order. Highly significant differences were seen in both the ability to displace sperm that is resident in the female's reproductive tract and in the ability to resist displacement by subsequent sperm. Most lines exhibited nearly complete displacement, having nearly all progeny sired by the second male, but several lines had as few as half the progeny fathered by the second male. Lines that were identified in the screen for naturally occurring variation in sperm displacement were also characterized for single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP) at seven accessory gland protein (Acp) genes, Glucose dehydrogenase (Gld), and Esterase-6 (Est-6). Acp genes encode proteins that are in some cases known to be transmitted to the female in the seminal fluid and are likely candidates for genes that might mediate the phenomenon of sperm displacement. Significant associations were found between particular Acp alleles at four different loci (Acp26Aa/Ab, Acp29B, Acp36DE and Acp53E) and the ability of males to resist displacement by subsequent sperm. There was no correlation between the ability to displace resident sperm and the ability

  9. Biological, clinical and population relevance of 95 loci for blood lipids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teslovich, Tanya M; Musunuru, Kiran; Smith, Albert V

    2010-01-01

    polymorphisms (SNPs) near known lipid regulators (for example, CYP7A1, NPC1L1 and SCARB1) as well as in scores of loci not previously implicated in lipoprotein metabolism. The 95 loci contribute not only to normal variation in lipid traits but also to extreme lipid phenotypes and have an impact on lipid traits...... in three non-European populations (East Asians, South Asians and African Americans). Our results identify several novel loci associated with plasma lipids that are also associated with CAD. Finally, we validated three of the novel genes-GALNT2, PPP1R3B and TTC39B-with experiments in mouse models. Taken...

  10. Three new loci for determining x chromosome inactivation patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bertelsen, Birgitte; Tümer, Zeynep; Ravn, Kirstine

    2011-01-01

    . The reliability of the loci was validated by showing a high correlation between the results obtained by employing the new loci and the AR locus using DNA from 15 females who were informative for all four loci. Altogether, we show that these loci can be applied easily in molecular diagnostic laboratories, either...

  11. The African Genome Variation Project shapes medical genetics in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurdasani, Deepti; Carstensen, Tommy; Tekola-Ayele, Fasil; Pagani, Luca; Tachmazidou, Ioanna; Hatzikotoulas, Konstantinos; Karthikeyan, Savita; Iles, Louise; Pollard, Martin O.; Choudhury, Ananyo; Ritchie, Graham R. S.; Xue, Yali; Asimit, Jennifer; Nsubuga, Rebecca N.; Young, Elizabeth H.; Pomilla, Cristina; Kivinen, Katja; Rockett, Kirk; Kamali, Anatoli; Doumatey, Ayo P.; Asiki, Gershim; Seeley, Janet; Sisay-Joof, Fatoumatta; Jallow, Muminatou; Tollman, Stephen; Mekonnen, Ephrem; Ekong, Rosemary; Oljira, Tamiru; Bradman, Neil; Bojang, Kalifa; Ramsay, Michele; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Bekele, Endashaw; Motala, Ayesha; Norris, Shane A.; Pirie, Fraser; Kaleebu, Pontiano; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Rotimi, Charles; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Sandhu, Manjinder S.

    2015-01-01

    Given the importance of Africa to studies of human origins and disease susceptibility, detailed characterization of African genetic diversity is needed. The African Genome Variation Project provides a resource with which to design, implement and interpret genomic studies in sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide. The African Genome Variation Project represents dense genotypes from 1,481 individuals and whole-genome sequences from 320 individuals across sub-Saharan Africa. Using this resource, we find novel evidence of complex, regionally distinct hunter-gatherer and Eurasian admixture across sub-Saharan Africa. We identify new loci under selection, including loci related to malaria susceptibility and hypertension. We show that modern imputation panels (sets of reference genotypes from which unobserved or missing genotypes in study sets can be inferred) can identify association signals at highly differentiated loci across populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Using whole-genome sequencing, we demonstrate further improvements in imputation accuracy, strengthening the case for large-scale sequencing efforts of diverse African haplotypes. Finally, we present an efficient genotype array design capturing common genetic variation in Africa.

  12. The African Genome Variation Project shapes medical genetics in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurdasani, Deepti; Carstensen, Tommy; Tekola-Ayele, Fasil; Pagani, Luca; Tachmazidou, Ioanna; Hatzikotoulas, Konstantinos; Karthikeyan, Savita; Iles, Louise; Pollard, Martin O; Choudhury, Ananyo; Ritchie, Graham R S; Xue, Yali; Asimit, Jennifer; Nsubuga, Rebecca N; Young, Elizabeth H; Pomilla, Cristina; Kivinen, Katja; Rockett, Kirk; Kamali, Anatoli; Doumatey, Ayo P; Asiki, Gershim; Seeley, Janet; Sisay-Joof, Fatoumatta; Jallow, Muminatou; Tollman, Stephen; Mekonnen, Ephrem; Ekong, Rosemary; Oljira, Tamiru; Bradman, Neil; Bojang, Kalifa; Ramsay, Michele; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Bekele, Endashaw; Motala, Ayesha; Norris, Shane A; Pirie, Fraser; Kaleebu, Pontiano; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Rotimi, Charles; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Sandhu, Manjinder S

    2015-01-15

    Given the importance of Africa to studies of human origins and disease susceptibility, detailed characterization of African genetic diversity is needed. The African Genome Variation Project provides a resource with which to design, implement and interpret genomic studies in sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide. The African Genome Variation Project represents dense genotypes from 1,481 individuals and whole-genome sequences from 320 individuals across sub-Saharan Africa. Using this resource, we find novel evidence of complex, regionally distinct hunter-gatherer and Eurasian admixture across sub-Saharan Africa. We identify new loci under selection, including loci related to malaria susceptibility and hypertension. We show that modern imputation panels (sets of reference genotypes from which unobserved or missing genotypes in study sets can be inferred) can identify association signals at highly differentiated loci across populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Using whole-genome sequencing, we demonstrate further improvements in imputation accuracy, strengthening the case for large-scale sequencing efforts of diverse African haplotypes. Finally, we present an efficient genotype array design capturing common genetic variation in Africa.

  13. HLA class II variation in the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona: alleles, haplotypes, and a high frequency epitope at the HLA-DR locus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, R C; McAuley, J E

    1992-01-01

    A genetic distribution for the HLA class II loci is described for 349 "full-blooded" Pima and Tohono O'odham Indians (Pimans) in the Gila River Indian Community. A high frequency epitope in the *DRw52 family was defined by reactions with 31 alloantisera, which we have designated *DR3X6. It segregates as a codominant allele at HLA-DR with alleles *DR2, *DR4, and *DRw8, and has the highest frequency yet reported for an HLA-DR specificity, 0.735. It forms a common haplotype with *DRw52 and *DQw3 that is a valuable marker for genetic admixture and anthropological studies. Phenotype and allele frequencies, and haplotype frequencies for two and three loci, are presented. Variation at these loci is highly restricted, the mean heterozygosity for HLA-DR and HLA-DQ being 0.361. The Pimans represent a contemporary model for the Paleo-Indians who first entered North America 20,000 to 40,000 years ago.

  14. A Nondegenerate Code of Deleterious Variants in Mendelian Loci Contributes to Complex Disease Risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blair, David R.; Lyttle, Christopher S.; Mortensen, Jonathan M.

    2013-01-01

    Although countless highly penetrant variants have been associated with Mendelian disorders, the genetic etiologies underlying complex diseases remain largely unresolved. By mining the medical records of over 110 million patients, we examine the extent to which Mendelian variation contributes to c...... of complex diseases. Overall, this study illustrates a complementary approach for mapping complex disease loci and provides unique predictions concerning the etiologies of specific diseases....

  15. Discovery of novel heart rate-associated loci using the Exome Chip

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van den Berg, Marten E; Warren, Helen R; Cabrera, Claudia P

    2017-01-01

    Resting heart rate is a heritable trait, and an increase in heart rate is associated with increased mortality risk. Genome-wide association study analyses have found loci associated with resting heart rate, at the time of our study these loci explained 0.9% of the variation. This study aims to di......) and fetal muscle samples by including our novel variants.Our findings advance the knowledge of the genetic architecture of heart rate, and indicate new candidate genes for follow-up functional studies....

  16. Polymorphisms within novel risk loci for type 2 diabetes determine beta-cell function.

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    Harald Staiger

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes arises when insulin resistance-induced compensatory insulin secretion exhausts. Insulin resistance and/or beta-cell dysfunction result from the interaction of environmental factors (high-caloric diet and reduced physical activity with a predisposing polygenic background. Very recently, genetic variations within four novel genetic loci (SLC30A8, HHEX, EXT2, and LOC387761 were reported to be more frequent in subjects with type 2 diabetes than in healthy controls. However, associations of these variations with insulin resistance and/or beta-cell dysfunction were not assessed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By genotyping of 921 metabolically characterized German subjects for the reported candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, we show that the major alleles of the SLC30A8 SNP rs13266634 and the HHEX SNP rs7923837 associate with reduced insulin secretion stimulated by orally or intravenously administered glucose, but not with insulin resistance. In contrast, the other reported type 2 diabetes candidate SNPs within the EXT2 and LOC387761 loci did not associate with insulin resistance or beta-cell dysfunction, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The HHEX and SLC30A8 genes encode for proteins that were shown to be required for organogenesis of the ventral pancreas and for insulin maturation/storage, respectively. Therefore, the major alleles of type 2 diabetes candidate SNPs within these genetic loci represent crucial alleles for beta-cell dysfunction and, thus, might confer increased susceptibility of beta-cells towards adverse environmental factors.

  17. Loci influencing lipid levels and coronary heart disease risk in 16 European population cohorts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aulchenko, Yurii S; Ripatti, Samuli; Lindqvist, Ida

    2008-01-01

    Recent genome-wide association (GWA) studies of lipids have been conducted in samples ascertained for other phenotypes, particularly diabetes. Here we report the first GWA analysis of loci affecting total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) .......8% of variation in lipids and were also associated with increased intima media thickness (P = 0.001) and coronary heart disease incidence (P = 0.04). The genetic risk score improves the screening of high-risk groups of dyslipidemia over classical risk factors....

  18. Multiple loci associated with renal function in African Americans.

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    Daniel Shriner

    Full Text Available The incidence of chronic kidney disease varies by ethnic group in the USA, with African Americans displaying a two-fold higher rate than European Americans. One of the two defining variables underlying staging of chronic kidney disease is the glomerular filtration rate. Meta-analysis in individuals of European ancestry has identified 23 genetic loci associated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR. We conducted a follow-up study of these 23 genetic loci using a population-based sample of 1,018 unrelated admixed African Americans. We included in our follow-up study two variants in APOL1 associated with end-stage kidney disease discovered by admixture mapping in admixed African Americans. To address confounding due to admixture, we estimated local ancestry at each marker and global ancestry. We performed regression analysis stratified by local ancestry and combined the resulting regression estimates across ancestry strata using an inverse variance-weighted fixed effects model. We found that 11 of the 24 loci were significantly associated with eGFR in our sample. The effect size estimates were not significantly different between the subgroups of individuals with two copies of African ancestry vs. two copies of European ancestry for any of the 11 loci. In contrast, allele frequencies were significantly different at 10 of the 11 loci. Collectively, the 11 loci, including four secondary signals revealed by conditional analyses, explained 14.2% of the phenotypic variance in eGFR, in contrast to the 1.4% explained by the 24 loci in individuals of European ancestry. Our findings provide insight into the genetic basis of variation in renal function among admixed African Americans.

  19. Efficient Differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains of the W-Beijing Family from Russia using Highly Polymorphic VNTR Loci

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surikova, O. V.; Voitech, D. S.; Kuzmicheva, G.; Tatkov, S. I.; Mokrousov, I. V.; Narvskaya, O. V.; Rot, M. A.; Soolingen, D. van; Filipenko, M. L.

    2005-01-01

    The W-Beijing family is a widespread Mycobacterium tuberculosis clonal lineage that frequently causes epidemic outbreaks. This family is genetically homogeneous and conserved, so ETR-VNTR (exact tandem repeat-variable number of tandem repeats) typing is insufficient for strain differentiation, due to a common ETR-A to E profile (42435). This leads to the false clustering in molecular epidemiological studies, especially in the regions of predominance of the W-Beijing family. In this study, we searched for VNTR loci with a high evolutionary rate of polymorphism in the W-Beijing genome. Here we further evaluated VNTR typing on a set of 99 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates and reference strains. These isolates were characterized and classified into several genotype families based on three ETR loci (A, C, E) and eight additional loci [previously described as QUB (Queen's University Belfast) or MIRU (Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units) or Mtubs]. Ninety-nine strains were divided into 74 VNTR-types, 51 isolates of the W-Beijing family identified by IS6110 RFLP-typing (the restriction fragment length polymorphism-typing) and/or spoligotyping were subdivided into 30 VNTR-types. HGDI (the Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index) for all studied loci was close to that of IS6110 RFLP typing, a 'gold standard' method for subtyping M. tuberculosis complex strains. The QUB 26 and QUB 18 loci located in the PPE genes were highly polymorphic and more discriminative than other loci (HGDI is 0.8). Statistically significant increase of tandem repeats number in loci ETR-A, -E, QUB 26, QUB 18, QUB 11B, Mtub21 was revealed in the W-Beijing group compared to genetically divergent non-W-Beijing strains. Thirty-six isolates were subjected to IS6110 RFLP typing. The congruence between results of the IS6110 RFLP typing and 11-loci VNTR typing was estimated on 23 isolates of the W-Beijing family. These isolates were subdivided into 9 IS6110-RFLP types and 13 VNTR types. The poor

  20. Genetic Variation of pln Loci Among Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Group Strains with Antioxidant and Cholesterol-Lowering Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devi, Sundru Manjulata; Halami, Prakash M

    2017-10-13

    In the present study, 14 different plantaricin-encoding genes of pln loci were studied and compared to available sequences from public domain database of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strains. Based upon the presence and absence of selected genes, pln locus was grouped into eight clusters. Further, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis for seven genes has discriminated the complex pln locus into five types which includes WCFS1 (in Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum MCC 2976 and MCC 2974 and Lactobacillus paraplantarum MCC 2978), closely related to J51 (in Lb. paraplantarum MCC 2973 and MCC 2977), J23 (in Lb. plantarum MTCC 5422), NC8 (in Lb. paraplantarum MTCC 9483), and a new E1 type (in Lb. plantarum subsp. plantarum E1). It was observed that the plnA, EF, NC8βα, NC81F, NC8HK, and G were expressed in E1 strain. Further, southern hybridization confirmed the chromosome-encoded plantaricin in Lb. plantarum group (LPG) strains. Several PCR assays and DNA sequence analysis of the regions amplified in pln loci of E1 isolate suggested a hybrid variant of NC8 and J51 plantaritypes. This indicates the wide distribution of plantaricin with remarkable variation, diversity, and plasticity among the LPG strains of vegetable origin. Further, the selected strains were able to reduce the growth of Kocuria rhizophila ATCC 9341 by 40-54% within 6 h of co-incubation under in vitro pathogen exclusion assay. These isolates also possessed cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant activity suggesting their application in the development of functional foods.

  1. Genetic variation and selection of MHC class I loci differ in two congeneric frogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Karen M; Tracy, Karen E; Lips, Karen R; Zamudio, Kelly R

    2018-04-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins in the acquired immune response pathway that often show distinctive selection-driven patterns in wild vertebrate populations. We examined genetic variation and signatures of selection in the MHC class I alpha 1 (A1)- and alpha 2 (A2)-domain encoding exons of two frog congeners [Agalychnis callidryas (n = 20) and A. lemur (n = 20)] from a single locality in Panama. We also investigated how historical demographic processes may have impacted MHC genetic diversity by analyzing a neutral mitochondrial marker. We found that both MHC domains were highly variable in both species, with both species likely expressing three loci. Our analyses revealed different signatures of selection between the two species, most notably that the A. callidryas A2 domain had experienced positive selection while the A2 domain of A. lemur had not. Diversifying selection acted on the same number of A1 and A2 allelic lineages, but on a higher percentage of A1 sites compared to A2 sites. Neutrality tests of mitochondrial haplotypes predominately indicated that the two species were at genetic equilibrium when the samples were collected. In addition, two historical tests of demography indicated both species have had relatively stable population sizes over the past 100,000 years; thus large population size changes are unlikely to have greatly influenced MHC diversity in either species during this time period. In conclusion, our results suggest that the impact of selection on MHC diversity varied between these two closely related species, likely due to a combination of distinct ecological conditions and past pathogenic pressures.

  2. Population genetic data of the NGM SElect STR loci in Chinese Han population from Zhejiang region, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Anju; Wu, Weiwei; Liu, Qiuling; Wu, Yeda; Lu, Dejian

    2013-03-01

    Genetic variations of the 17 NGM SElect STR loci in Chinese Han samples from the Zhejiang region were analyzed. The results show that the NGM SElect is a highly genetic informative system in Zhejiang Han, and this population shows quite different genetic data from other major populations in the world with the exception of the Fujian Han.

  3. Inheritance of microsatellite loci in the polyploid lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyatskowit, J.D.; Krueger, C.C.; Kincaid, H.L.; May, B.

    2001-01-01

    Inheritance in the expression of amplicons for four microsatellite primer pairs was determined using 10 families created from gametes of wild lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Loci Afu34 and Afu68 expressed a maximum of two even-intensity bands per individual and had progeny genotype ratios that fit disomic inheritance (P > 0.05). Some variation exhibited at Afu34 and Afu68 was attributable to a null allele. Genotype expression at both loci also indicated that one female parent had transmitted unreduced gametes. Primer Afu39 amplified products that exhibited four gene doses, where genotype counts fit expected ratios for disomic inheritance (P > 0.05) indicating amplification of products from two disomic loci that share alleles. Meiotic drive was evident at the Afu39 loci based on a test for random segregation (P inheritance based on a single progeny potentially produced by a double reduction gamete. No evidence for proposed octoploid inheritance was observed.

  4. Comparative Mapping of Seed Dormancy Loci Between Tropical and Temperate Ecotypes of Weedy Rice (Oryza sativa L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lihua Zhang

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Genotypic variation at multiple loci for seed dormancy (SD contributes to plant adaptation to diverse ecosystems. Weedy rice (Oryza sativa was used as a model to address the similarity of SD genes between distinct ecotypes. A total of 12 quantitative trait loci (QTL for SD were identified in one primary and two advanced backcross (BC populations derived from a temperate ecotype of weedy rice (34.3°N Lat.. Nine (75% of the 12 loci were mapped to the same positions as those identified from a tropical ecotype of weedy rice (7.1°N Lat.. The high similarity suggested that the majority of SD genes were conserved during the ecotype differentiation. These common loci are largely those collocated/linked with the awn, hull color, pericarp color, or plant height loci. Phenotypic correlations observed in the populations support the notion that indirect selections for the wild-type morphological characteristics, together with direct selections for germination time, were major factors influencing allelic distributions of SD genes across ecotypes. Indirect selections for crop-mimic traits (e.g., plant height and flowering time could also alter allelic frequencies for some SD genes in agroecosystems. In addition, 3 of the 12 loci were collocated with segregation distortion loci, indicating that some gametophyte development genes could also influence the genetic equilibria of SD loci in hybrid populations. The SD genes with a major effect on germination across ecotypes could be used as silencing targets to develop transgene mitigation (TM strategies to reduce the risk of gene flow from genetically modified crops into weed/wild relatives.

  5. Analysis of genetic stability at SSR loci during somatic embryogenesis in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marum, Liliana; Rocheta, Margarida; Maroco, João; Oliveira, M Margarida; Miguel, Célia

    2009-04-01

    Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a propagation tool of particular interest for accelerating the deployment of new high-performance planting stock in multivarietal forestry. However, genetic conformity in in vitro propagated plants should be assessed as early as possible, especially in long-living trees such as conifers. The main objective of this work was to study such conformity based on genetic stability at simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci during somatic embryogenesis in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.). Embryogenic cell lines (ECLs) subjected to tissue proliferation during 6, 14 or 22 months, as well as emblings regenerated from several ECLs, were analyzed. Genetic variation at seven SSR loci was detected in ECLs under proliferation conditions for all time points, and in 5 out of 52 emblings recovered from somatic embryos. Three of these five emblings showed an abnormal phenotype consisting mainly of plagiotropism and loss of apical dominance. Despite the variation found in somatic embryogenesis-derived plant material, no correlation was established between genetic stability at the analyzed loci and abnormal embling phenotype, present in 64% of the emblings. The use of microsatellites in this work was efficient for monitoring mutation events during the somatic embryogenesis in P. pinaster. These molecular markers should be useful in the implementation of new breeding and deployment strategies for improved trees using SE.

  6. Discovery and refinement of loci associated with lipid levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Willer, C. J.; Schmidt, E. M.; Sengupta, S.

    2013-01-01

    Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol are heritable, modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. To identify new loci and refine known loci influencing these lipids, we examined 188,577 individ...... of using genetic data from individuals of diverse ancestry and provide insights into the biological mechanisms regulating blood lipids to guide future genetic, biological and therapeutic research.......Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol are heritable, modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. To identify new loci and refine known loci influencing these lipids, we examined 188......,577 individuals using genome-wide and custom genotyping arrays. We identify and annotate 157 loci associated with lipid levels at P lipid levels in humans. Using dense genotyping in individuals of European, East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry...

  7. Genetic Variation in the Nuclear and Organellar Genomes Modulates Stochastic Variation in the Metabolome, Growth, and Defense

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Bindu; Corwin, Jason A.; Kliebenstein, Daniel J.

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies are starting to show that genetic control over stochastic variation is a key evolutionary solution of single celled organisms in the face of unpredictable environments. This has been expanded to show that genetic variation can alter stochastic variation in transcriptional processes within multi-cellular eukaryotes. However, little is known about how genetic diversity can control stochastic variation within more non-cell autonomous phenotypes. Using an Arabidopsis reciprocal RIL population, we showed that there is significant genetic diversity influencing stochastic variation in the plant metabolome, defense chemistry, and growth. This genetic diversity included loci specific for the stochastic variation of each phenotypic class that did not affect the other phenotypic classes or the average phenotype. This suggests that the organism's networks are established so that noise can exist in one phenotypic level like metabolism and not permeate up or down to different phenotypic levels. Further, the genomic variation within the plastid and mitochondria also had significant effects on the stochastic variation of all phenotypic classes. The genetic influence over stochastic variation within the metabolome was highly metabolite specific, with neighboring metabolites in the same metabolic pathway frequently showing different levels of noise. As expected from bet-hedging theory, there was more genetic diversity and a wider range of stochastic variation for defense chemistry than found for primary metabolism. Thus, it is possible to begin dissecting the stochastic variation of whole organismal phenotypes in multi-cellular organisms. Further, there are loci that modulate stochastic variation at different phenotypic levels. Finding the identity of these genes will be key to developing complete models linking genotype to phenotype. PMID:25569687

  8. Characterisation of 12 microsatellite loci in the Vietnamese commercial clam Lutraria rhynchaena Jonas 1844 (Heterodonta: Bivalvia: Mactridae) through next-generation sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thai, Binh Thanh; Tan, Mun Hua; Lee, Yin Peng; Gan, Han Ming; Tran, Trang Thi; Austin, Christopher M

    2016-05-01

    The marine clam Lutraria rhynchaena is gaining popularity as an aquaculture species in Asia. Lutraria populations are present in the wild throughout Vietnam and several stocks have been established and translocated for breeding and aquaculture grow-out purposes. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of utilising Illumina next-generation sequencing technology to streamline the identification and genotyping of microsatellite loci from this clam species. Based on an initial partial genome scan, 48 microsatellite markers with similar melting temperatures were identified and characterised. The 12 most suitable polymorphic loci were then genotyped using 51 individuals from a population in Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam. Genetic variation was low (mean number of alleles per locus = 2.6; mean expected heterozygosity = 0.41). Two loci showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and the presence of null alleles, but there was no evidence of linkage disequilibrium among loci. Three additional populations were screened (n = 7-36) to test the geographic utility of the 12 loci, which revealed 100 % successful genotyping in two populations from central Vietnam (Nha Trang). However, a second population from north Vietnam (Co To) could not be successfully genotyped and morphological evidence and mitochondrial variation suggests that this population represents a cryptic species of Lutraria. Comparisons of the Qang Ninh and Nha Trang populations, excluding the 2 loci out of HWE, revealed statistically significant allelic variation at 4 loci. We reported the first microsatellite loci set for the marine clam Lutraria rhynchaena and demonstrated its potential in differentiating clam populations. Additionally, a cryptic species population of Lutraria rhynchaena was identified during initial loci development, underscoring the overlooked diversity of marine clam species in Vietnam and the need to genetically characterise population representatives prior

  9. High-density genotyping of immune-related loci identifies new SLE risk variants in individuals with Asian ancestry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Celi; Molineros, Julio E; Looger, Loren L; Zhou, Xu-Jie; Kim, Kwangwoo; Okada, Yukinori; Ma, Jianyang; Qi, Yuan-Yuan; Kim-Howard, Xana; Motghare, Prasenjeet; Bhattarai, Krishna; Adler, Adam; Bang, So-Young; Lee, Hye-Soon; Kim, Tae-Hwan; Kang, Young Mo; Suh, Chang-Hee; Chung, Won Tae; Park, Yong-Beom; Choe, Jung-Yoon; Shim, Seung Cheol; Kochi, Yuta; Suzuki, Akari; Kubo, Michiaki; Sumida, Takayuki; Yamamoto, Kazuhiko; Lee, Shin-Seok; Kim, Young Jin; Han, Bok-Ghee; Dozmorov, Mikhail; Kaufman, Kenneth M; Wren, Jonathan D; Harley, John B; Shen, Nan; Chua, Kek Heng; Zhang, Hong; Bae, Sang-Cheol; Nath, Swapan K

    2016-03-01

    Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has a strong but incompletely understood genetic architecture. We conducted an association study with replication in 4,478 SLE cases and 12,656 controls from six East Asian cohorts to identify new SLE susceptibility loci and better localize known loci. We identified ten new loci and confirmed 20 known loci with genome-wide significance. Among the new loci, the most significant locus was GTF2IRD1-GTF2I at 7q11.23 (rs73366469, Pmeta = 3.75 × 10(-117), odds ratio (OR) = 2.38), followed by DEF6, IL12B, TCF7, TERT, CD226, PCNXL3, RASGRP1, SYNGR1 and SIGLEC6. We identified the most likely functional variants at each locus by analyzing epigenetic marks and gene expression data. Ten candidate variants are known to alter gene expression in cis or in trans. Enrichment analysis highlights the importance of these loci in B cell and T cell biology. The new loci, together with previously known loci, increase the explained heritability of SLE to 24%. The new loci share functional and ontological characteristics with previously reported loci and are possible drug targets for SLE therapeutics.

  10. Genomic copy number variations in three Southeast Asian populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ku, Chee-Seng; Pawitan, Yudi; Sim, Xueling; Ong, Rick T H; Seielstad, Mark; Lee, Edmund J D; Teo, Yik-Ying; Chia, Kee-Seng; Salim, Agus

    2010-07-01

    Research on the role of copy number variations (CNVs) in the genetic risk of diseases in Asian populations has been hampered by a relative lack of reference CNV maps for Asian populations outside the East Asians. In this article, we report the population characteristics of CNVs in Chinese, Malay, and Asian Indian populations in Singapore. Using the Illumina Human 1M Beadchip array, we identify 1,174 CNV loci in these populations that corroborated with findings when the same samples were typed on the Affymetrix 6.0 platform. We identify 441 novel loci not previously reported in the Database of Genomic Variations (DGV). We observe a considerable number of loci that span all three populations and were previously unreported, as well as population-specific loci that are quite common in the respective populations. From this we observe the distribution of CNVs in the Asian Indian population to be considerably different from the Chinese and Malay populations. About half of the deletion loci and three-quarters of duplication loci overlap UCSC genes. Tens of loci show population differentiation and overlap with genes previously known to be associated with genetic risk of diseases. One of these loci is the CYP2A6 deletion, previously linked to reduced susceptibility to lung cancer. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  11. Characterization of ten highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the intertidal mussel Perna perna, and cross species amplification within the genus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coelho Nelson C

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The brown mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758 is a dominant constituent of intertidal communities and a strong invader with multiple non-native populations distributed around the world. In a previous study, two polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and used to determine population-level genetic diversity in invasive and native P. perna populations. However, higher number of microsatellite markers are required for reliable population genetic studies. In this context, in order to understand P. perna origins and history of invasion and to compare population genetic structure in native versus invaded areas, we developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Findings Described microsatellite markers were developed from an enriched genomic library. Analyses and characterization of loci using 20 individuals from a population in Western Sahara revealed on average 11 alleles per locus (range: 5–27 and mean gene diversity of 0.75 (range: 0.31 - 0.95. One primer pair revealed possible linkage disequilibrium while heterozygote deficiency was significant at four loci. Six of these markers cross-amplified in P. canaliculus (origin: New Zealand. Conclusions Developed markers will be useful in addressing a variety of questions concerning P. perna, including dispersal scales, genetic variation and population structure, in both native and invaded areas.

  12. Proposal for the Identification of Barley Varieties Based on the Genotypes for 2 Hordein and 39 Isoenzym Loci of 47 Reference Varieties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, G.; Johansen, Hanne Bay

    1986-01-01

    Fifty-nine spring and 7 winter barley varieties in lsquoThe Danish List of Varieties of Agricultural Crops, 1983/84rsquo were examined for variation at 39 isoenzyme and two hordein loci. Twenty-three isoenzyme loci had one allele only, and 16 loci had from two to five alleles. One hordein locus had...

  13. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with risk of fracture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estrada, Karol; Styrkarsdottir, Unnur; Evangelou, Evangelos; Hsu, Yi-Hsiang; Duncan, Emma L; Ntzani, Evangelia E; Oei, Ling; Albagha, Omar M E; Amin, Najaf; Kemp, John P; Koller, Daniel L; Li, Guo; Liu, Ching-Ti; Minster, Ryan L; Moayyeri, Alireza; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Willner, Dana; Xiao, Su-Mei; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M; Zheng, Hou-Feng; Alonso, Nerea; Eriksson, Joel; Kammerer, Candace M; Kaptoge, Stephen K; Leo, Paul J; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Wilson, Scott G; Wilson, James F; Aalto, Ville; Alen, Markku; Aragaki, Aaron K; Aspelund, Thor; Center, Jacqueline R; Dailiana, Zoe; Duggan, David J; Garcia, Melissa; Garcia-Giralt, Natàlia; Giroux, Sylvie; Hallmans, Göran; Hocking, Lynne J; Husted, Lise Bjerre; Jameson, Karen A; Khusainova, Rita; Kim, Ghi Su; Kooperberg, Charles; Koromila, Theodora; Kruk, Marcin; Laaksonen, Marika; Lacroix, Andrea Z; Lee, Seung Hun; Leung, Ping C; Lewis, Joshua R; Masi, Laura; Mencej-Bedrac, Simona; Nguyen, Tuan V; Nogues, Xavier; Patel, Millan S; Prezelj, Janez; Rose, Lynda M; Scollen, Serena; Siggeirsdottir, Kristin; Smith, Albert V; Svensson, Olle; Trompet, Stella; Trummer, Olivia; van Schoor, Natasja M; Woo, Jean; Zhu, Kun; Balcells, Susana; Brandi, Maria Luisa; Buckley, Brendan M; Cheng, Sulin; Christiansen, Claus; Cooper, Cyrus; Dedoussis, George; Ford, Ian; Frost, Morten; Goltzman, David; González-Macías, Jesús; Kähönen, Mika; Karlsson, Magnus; Khusnutdinova, Elza; Koh, Jung-Min; Kollia, Panagoula; Langdahl, Bente Lomholt; Leslie, William D; Lips, Paul; Ljunggren, Östen; Lorenc, Roman S; Marc, Janja; Mellström, Dan; Obermayer-Pietsch, Barbara; Olmos, José M; Pettersson-Kymmer, Ulrika; Reid, David M; Riancho, José A; Ridker, Paul M; Rousseau, François; Slagboom, P Eline; Tang, Nelson LS; Urreizti, Roser; Van Hul, Wim; Viikari, Jorma; Zarrabeitia, María T; Aulchenko, Yurii S; Castano-Betancourt, Martha; Grundberg, Elin; Herrera, Lizbeth; Ingvarsson, Thorvaldur; Johannsdottir, Hrefna; Kwan, Tony; Li, Rui; Luben, Robert; Medina-Gómez, Carolina; Palsson, Stefan Th; Reppe, Sjur; Rotter, Jerome I; Sigurdsson, Gunnar; van Meurs, Joyce B J; Verlaan, Dominique; Williams, Frances MK; Wood, Andrew R; Zhou, Yanhua; Gautvik, Kaare M; Pastinen, Tomi; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Cauley, Jane A; Chasman, Daniel I; Clark, Graeme R; Cummings, Steven R; Danoy, Patrick; Dennison, Elaine M; Eastell, Richard; Eisman, John A; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hofman, Albert; Jackson, Rebecca D; Jones, Graeme; Jukema, J Wouter; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Lehtimäki, Terho; Liu, Yongmei; Lorentzon, Mattias; McCloskey, Eugene; Mitchell, Braxton D; Nandakumar, Kannabiran; Nicholson, Geoffrey C; Oostra, Ben A; Peacock, Munro; Pols, Huibert A P; Prince, Richard L; Raitakari, Olli; Reid, Ian R; Robbins, John; Sambrook, Philip N; Sham, Pak Chung; Shuldiner, Alan R; Tylavsky, Frances A; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Wareham, Nick J; Cupples, L Adrienne; Econs, Michael J; Evans, David M; Harris, Tamara B; Kung, Annie Wai Chee; Psaty, Bruce M; Reeve, Jonathan; Spector, Timothy D; Streeten, Elizabeth A; Zillikens, M Carola; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Ohlsson, Claes; Karasik, David; Richards, J Brent; Brown, Matthew A; Stefansson, Kari; Uitterlinden, André G; Ralston, Stuart H; Ioannidis, John P A; Kiel, Douglas P; Rivadeneira, Fernando

    2012-01-01

    Bone mineral density (BMD) is the most important predictor of fracture risk. We performed the largest meta-analysis to date on lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD, including 17 genome-wide association studies and 32,961 individuals of European and East Asian ancestry. We tested the top-associated BMD markers for replication in 50,933 independent subjects and for risk of low-trauma fracture in 31,016 cases and 102,444 controls. We identified 56 loci (32 novel)associated with BMD atgenome-wide significant level (P<5×10−8). Several of these factors cluster within the RANK-RANKL-OPG, mesenchymal-stem-cell differentiation, endochondral ossification and the Wnt signalling pathways. However, we also discovered loci containing genes not known to play a role in bone biology. Fourteen BMD loci were also associated with fracture risk (P<5×10−4, Bonferroni corrected), of which six reached P<5×10−8 including: 18p11.21 (C18orf19), 7q21.3 (SLC25A13), 11q13.2 (LRP5), 4q22.1 (MEPE), 2p16.2 (SPTBN1) and 10q21.1 (DKK1). These findings shed light on the genetic architecture and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying BMD variation and fracture susceptibility. PMID:22504420

  14. lociNGS: a lightweight alternative for assessing suitability of next-generation loci for evolutionary analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah M Hird

    Full Text Available Genomic enrichment methods and next-generation sequencing produce uneven coverage for the portions of the genome (the loci they target; this information is essential for ascertaining the suitability of each locus for further analysis. lociNGS is a user-friendly accessory program that takes multi-FASTA formatted loci, next-generation sequence alignments and demographic data as input and collates, displays and outputs information about the data. Summary information includes the parameters coverage per locus, coverage per individual and number of polymorphic sites, among others. The program can output the raw sequences used to call loci from next-generation sequencing data. lociNGS also reformats subsets of loci in three commonly used formats for multi-locus phylogeographic and population genetics analyses - NEXUS, IMa2 and Migrate. lociNGS is available at https://github.com/SHird/lociNGS and is dependent on installation of MongoDB (freely available at http://www.mongodb.org/downloads. lociNGS is written in Python and is supported on MacOSX and Unix; it is distributed under a GNU General Public License.

  15. Natural epigenetic variation within and among six subspecies of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riyahi, Sepand; Vilatersana, Roser; Schrey, Aaron W; Ghorbani Node, Hassan; Aliabadian, Mansour; Senar, Juan Carlos

    2017-11-01

    Epigenetic modifications can respond rapidly to environmental changes and can shape phenotypic variation in accordance with environmental stimuli. One of the most studied epigenetic marks is DNA methylation. In the present study, we used the methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique to investigate the natural variation in DNA methylation within and among subspecies of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus We focused on five subspecies from the Middle East because they show great variation in many ecological traits and because this region is the probable origin for the house sparrow's commensal relationship with humans. We analysed house sparrows from Spain as an outgroup. The level of variation in DNA methylation was similar among the five house sparrow subspecies from the Middle East despite high phenotypic and environmental variation, but the non-commensal subspecies was differentiated from the other four (commensal) Middle Eastern subspecies. Further, the European subspecies was differentiated from all other subspecies in DNA methylation. Our results indicate that variation in DNA methylation does not strictly follow subspecies designations. We detected a correlation between methylation level and some morphological traits, such as standardized bill length, and we suggest that part of the high morphological variation in the native populations of the house sparrow is influenced by differentially methylated regions in specific loci throughout the genome. We also detected 10 differentially methylated loci among subspecies and three loci that differentiated between commensal or non-commensal status. Therefore, the MSAP technique detected larger scale differences among the European and non-commensal subspecies, but did not detect finer scale differences among the other Middle Eastern subspecies. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  16. The loci controlling plasticity in flax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bickel CL

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Cory L Bickel, Marshall Lukacs, Christopher A CullisCase Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH, USAAbstract: Flax undergoes heritable genomic changes in response to nutrient stress, including changes in total DNA content, rDNA copy number variation, and the appearance of Linum Insertion Sequence 1 (LIS-1. The nature of the genomic changes suggests a very different mechanism, which is not yet understood, from that of other DNA changes in response to stress, such as the activation of transposable elements. To identify the genes that control genomic changes in response to stress in flax, reciprocal crosses were made between a responsive flax line, Stormont cirrus, and an unresponsive line, Bethune. The ability of the F2 generation (from selfed F1 plants to respond to nutrient stress was assayed using the insertion of LIS-1 as the criteria for responsiveness. Twenty-nine out of 89 F2s responded at 5 weeks, suggesting that 3-4 dominant loci were all necessary for early LIS-1 insertion. Seventy out of 76 responded at 10 weeks, indicating two dominant loci independently capable of initiating LIS-1 insertion under prolonged nutrient stress. F1 plants and their progeny with either P1 or Bethune as the maternal parent were capable of responding with LIS-1 insertion, indicating that LIS-1 insertion is under nuclear genetic control and does not involve maternal factors. Thus, a small number of loci within the genome of Stormont cirrus appear to control the ability to respond to nutrient stress with LIS-1 insertion. A genetic map of the flax genome is currently under construction, and will be used to identify these loci within the genome.Keywords: nutrient stress, genomic plasticity, flax, Linum usitatissimum, LIS-1 

  17. Sequencing Chromosomal Abnormalities Reveals Neurodevelopmental Loci that Confer Risk across Diagnostic Boundaries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Talkowski, Michael E.; Rosenfeld, Jill A.; Blumenthal, Ian

    2012-01-01

    Sequencing of balanced chromosomal abnormalities, combined with convergent genomic studies of gene expression, copy-number variation, and genome-wide association, identifies 22 new loci that contribute to autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. These data support a polygenic risk model...

  18. Discovery and refinement of loci associated with lipid levels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willer, Cristen J.; Schmidt, Ellen M.; Sengupta, Sebanti; Peloso, Gina M.; Gustafsson, Stefan; Kanoni, Stavroula; Ganna, Andrea; Chen, Jin; Buchkovich, Martin L.; Mora, Samia; Beckmann, Jacques S.; Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L.; Chang, Hsing-Yi; Demirkan, Ayşe; den Hertog, Heleen M.; Do, Ron; Donnelly, Louise A.; Ehret, Georg B.; Esko, Tõnu; Feitosa, Mary F.; Ferreira, Teresa; Fischer, Krista; Fontanillas, Pierre; Fraser, Ross M.; Freitag, Daniel F.; Gurdasani, Deepti; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hyppönen, Elina; Isaacs, Aaron; Jackson, Anne U.; Johansson, Asa; Johnson, Toby; Kaakinen, Marika; Kettunen, Johannes; Kleber, Marcus E.; Li, Xiaohui; Luan, Jian'an; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Mangino, Massimo; Mihailov, Evelin; Montasser, May E.; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Nolte, Ilja M.; O'Connell, Jeffrey R.; Palmer, Cameron D.; Perola, Markus; Petersen, Ann-Kristin; Sanna, Serena; Saxena, Richa; Service, Susan K.; Shah, Sonia; Shungin, Dmitry; Sidore, Carlo; Song, Ci; Strawbridge, Rona J.; Surakka, Ida; Tanaka, Toshiko; Teslovich, Tanya M.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; van den Herik, Evita G.; Voight, Benjamin F.; Volcik, Kelly A.; Waite, Lindsay L.; Wong, Andrew; Wu, Ying; Zhang, Weihua; Absher, Devin; Asiki, Gershim; Barroso, Inês; Been, Latonya F.; Bolton, Jennifer L.; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Brambilla, Paolo; Burnett, Mary S.; Cesana, Giancarlo; Dimitriou, Maria; Doney, Alex S. F.; Döring, Angela; Elliott, Paul; Epstein, Stephen E.; Eyjolfsson, Gudmundur Ingi; Gigante, Bruna; Goodarzi, Mark O.; Grallert, Harald; Gravito, Martha L.; Groves, Christopher J.; Hallmans, Göran; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hayward, Caroline; Hernandez, Dena; Hicks, Andrew A.; Holm, Hilma; Hung, Yi-Jen; Illig, Thomas; Jones, Michelle R.; Kaleebu, Pontiano; Kastelein, John J. P.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kim, Eric; Klopp, Norman; Komulainen, Pirjo; Kumari, Meena; Langenberg, Claudia; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lin, Shih-Yi; Lindström, Jaana; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Mach, François; McArdle, Wendy L.; Meisinger, Christa; Mitchell, Braxton D.; Müller, Gabrielle; Nagaraja, Ramaiah; Narisu, Narisu; Nieminen, Tuomo V. M.; Nsubuga, Rebecca N.; Olafsson, Isleifur; Ong, Ken K.; Palotie, Aarno; Papamarkou, Theodore; Pomilla, Cristina; Pouta, Anneli; Rader, Daniel J.; Reilly, Muredach P.; Ridker, Paul M.; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Rudan, Igor; Ruokonen, Aimo; Samani, Nilesh; Scharnagl, Hubert; Seeley, Janet; Silander, Kaisa; Stancáková, Alena; Stirrups, Kathleen; Swift, Amy J.; Tiret, Laurence; Uitterlinden, Andre G.; van Pelt, L. Joost; Vedantam, Sailaja; Wainwright, Nicholas; Wijmenga, Cisca; Wild, Sarah H.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wilsgaard, Tom; Wilson, James F.; Young, Elizabeth H.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Adair, Linda S.; Arveiler, Dominique; Assimes, Themistocles L.; Bandinelli, Stefania; Bennett, Franklyn; Bochud, Murielle; Boehm, Bernhard O.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Bornstein, Stefan R.; Bovet, Pascal; Burnier, Michel; Campbell, Harry; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Chambers, John C.; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Collins, Francis S.; Cooper, Richard S.; Danesh, John; Dedoussis, George; de Faire, Ulf; Feranil, Alan B.; Ferrières, Jean; Ferrucci, Luigi; Freimer, Nelson B.; Gieger, Christian; Groop, Leif C.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Gyllensten, Ulf; Hamsten, Anders; Harris, Tamara B.; Hingorani, Aroon; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Hofman, Albert; Hovingh, G. Kees; Hsiung, Chao Agnes; Humphries, Steve E.; Hunt, Steven C.; Hveem, Kristian; Iribarren, Carlos; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jula, Antti; Kähönen, Mika; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kesäniemi, Antero; Kivimaki, Mika; Kooner, Jaspal S.; Koudstaal, Peter J.; Krauss, Ronald M.; Kuh, Diana; Kuusisto, Johanna; Kyvik, Kirsten O.; Laakso, Markku; Lakka, Timo A.; Lind, Lars; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Martin, Nicholas G.; März, Winfried; McCarthy, Mark I.; McKenzie, Colin A.; Meneton, Pierre; Metspalu, Andres; Moilanen, Leena; Morris, Andrew D.; Munroe, Patricia B.; Njølstad, Inger; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Power, Chris; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Price, Jackie F.; Psaty, Bruce M.; Quertermous, Thomas; Rauramaa, Rainer; Saleheen, Danish; Salomaa, Veikko; Sanghera, Dharambir K.; Saramies, Jouko; Schwarz, Peter E. H.; Sheu, Wayne H.-H.; Shuldiner, Alan R.; Siegbahn, Agneta; Spector, Tim D.; Stefansson, Kari; Strachan, David P.; Tayo, Bamidele O.; Tremoli, Elena; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uusitupa, Matti; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Vollenweider, Peter; Wallentin, Lars; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Whitfield, John B.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Ordovas, Jose M.; Boerwinkle, Eric; Palmer, Colin N. A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Chasman, Daniel I.; Rotter, Jerome I.; Franks, Paul W.; Ripatti, Samuli; Cupples, L. Adrienne; Sandhu, Manjinder S.; Rich, Stephen S.; Boehnke, Michael; Deloukas, Panos; Kathiresan, Sekar; Mohlke, Karen L.; Ingelsson, Erik; Abecasis, Gonçalo R.

    2013-01-01

    Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol are heritable, modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. To identify new loci and refine known loci influencing these lipids, we examined 188,577

  19. Genome-wide association mapping reveals a rich genetic architecture of stripe rust resistance loci in emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Weizhen; Maccaferri, Marco; Chen, Xianming; Laghetti, Gaetano; Pignone, Domenico; Pumphrey, Michael; Tuberosa, Roberto

    2017-11-01

    SNP-based genome scanning in worldwide domesticated emmer germplasm showed high genetic diversity, rapid linkage disequilibrium decay and 51 loci for stripe rust resistance, a large proportion of which were novel. Cultivated emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum), one of the oldest domesticated crops in the world, is a potentially rich reservoir of variation for improvement of resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses in wheat. Resistance to stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) in emmer wheat has been under-investigated. Here, we employed genome-wide association (GWAS) mapping with a mixed linear model to dissect effective stripe rust resistance loci in a worldwide collection of 176 cultivated emmer wheat accessions. Adult plants were tested in six environments and seedlings were evaluated with five races from the United States and one from Italy under greenhouse conditions. Five accessions were resistant across all experiments. The panel was genotyped with the wheat 90,000 Illumina iSelect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and 5106 polymorphic SNP markers with mapped positions were obtained. A high level of genetic diversity and fast linkage disequilibrium decay were observed. In total, we identified 14 loci associated with field resistance in multiple environments. Thirty-seven loci were significantly associated with all-stage (seedling) resistance and six of them were effective against multiple races. Of the 51 total loci, 29 were mapped distantly from previously reported stripe rust resistance genes or quantitative trait loci and represent newly discovered resistance loci. Our results suggest that GWAS is an effective method for characterizing genes in cultivated emmer wheat and confirm that emmer wheat is a rich source of stripe rust resistance loci that can be used for wheat improvement.

  20. Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hibar, Derrek P; Adams, Hieab H H; Jahanshad, Neda; Chauhan, Ganesh; Stein, Jason L; Hofer, Edith; Renteria, Miguel E; Bis, Joshua C; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Ikram, M Kamran; Desrivières, Sylvane; Vernooij, Meike W; Abramovic, Lucija; Alhusaini, Saud; Amin, Najaf; Andersson, Micael; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Aribisala, Benjamin S; Armstrong, Nicola J; Athanasiu, Lavinia; Axelsson, Tomas; Beecham, Ashley H; Beiser, Alexa; Bernard, Manon; Blanton, Susan H; Bohlken, Marc M; Boks, Marco P; Bralten, Janita; Brickman, Adam M; Carmichael, Owen; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Chen, Qiang; Ching, Christopher R K; Chouraki, Vincent; Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Crivello, Fabrice; Den Braber, Anouk; Doan, Nhat Trung; Ehrlich, Stefan; Giddaluru, Sudheer; Goldman, Aaron L; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Grimm, Oliver; Griswold, Michael E; Guadalupe, Tulio; Gutman, Boris A; Hass, Johanna; Haukvik, Unn K; Hoehn, David; Holmes, Avram J; Hoogman, Martine; Janowitz, Deborah; Jia, Tianye; Jørgensen, Kjetil N; Karbalai, Nazanin; Kasperaviciute, Dalia; Kim, Sungeun; Klein, Marieke; Kraemer, Bernd; Lee, Phil H; Liewald, David C M; Lopez, Lorna M; Luciano, Michelle; Macare, Christine; Marquand, Andre F; Matarin, Mar; Mather, Karen A; Mattheisen, Manuel; McKay, David R; Milaneschi, Yuri; Muñoz Maniega, Susana; Nho, Kwangsik; Nugent, Allison C; Nyquist, Paul; Loohuis, Loes M Olde; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Papmeyer, Martina; Pirpamer, Lukas; Pütz, Benno; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Richards, Jennifer S; Risacher, Shannon L; Roiz-Santiañez, Roberto; Rommelse, Nanda; Ropele, Stefan; Rose, Emma J; Royle, Natalie A; Rundek, Tatjana; Sämann, Philipp G; Saremi, Arvin; Satizabal, Claudia L; Schmaal, Lianne; Schork, Andrew J; Shen, Li; Shin, Jean; Shumskaya, Elena; Smith, Albert V; Sprooten, Emma; Strike, Lachlan T; Teumer, Alexander; Tordesillas-Gutierrez, Diana; Toro, Roberto; Trabzuni, Daniah; Trompet, Stella; Vaidya, Dhananjay; Van der Grond, Jeroen; Van der Lee, Sven J; Van der Meer, Dennis; Van Donkelaar, Marjolein M J; Van Eijk, Kristel R; Van Erp, Theo G M; Van Rooij, Daan; Walton, Esther; Westlye, Lars T; Whelan, Christopher D; Windham, Beverly G; Winkler, Anderson M; Wittfeld, Katharina; Woldehawariat, Girma; Wolf, Christiane; Wolfers, Thomas; Yanek, Lisa R; Yang, Jingyun; Zijdenbos, Alex; Zwiers, Marcel P; Agartz, Ingrid; Almasy, Laura; Ames, David; Amouyel, Philippe; Andreassen, Ole A; Arepalli, Sampath; Assareh, Amelia A; Barral, Sandra; Bastin, Mark E; Becker, Diane M; Becker, James T; Bennett, David A; Blangero, John; van Bokhoven, Hans; Boomsma, Dorret I; Brodaty, Henry; Brouwer, Rachel M; Brunner, Han G; Buckner, Randy L; Buitelaar, Jan K; Bulayeva, Kazima B; Cahn, Wiepke; Calhoun, Vince D; Cannon, Dara M; Cavalleri, Gianpiero L; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Cichon, Sven; Cookson, Mark R; Corvin, Aiden; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Curran, Joanne E; Czisch, Michael; Dale, Anders M; Davies, Gareth E; De Craen, Anton J M; De Geus, Eco J C; De Jager, Philip L; De Zubicaray, Greig I; Deary, Ian J; Debette, Stéphanie; DeCarli, Charles; Delanty, Norman; Depondt, Chantal; DeStefano, Anita; Dillman, Allissa; Djurovic, Srdjan; Donohoe, Gary; Drevets, Wayne C; Duggirala, Ravi; Dyer, Thomas D; Enzinger, Christian; Erk, Susanne; Espeseth, Thomas; Fedko, Iryna O; Fernández, Guillén; Ferrucci, Luigi; Fisher, Simon E; Fleischman, Debra A; Ford, Ian; Fornage, Myriam; Foroud, Tatiana M; Fox, Peter T; Francks, Clyde; Fukunaga, Masaki; Gibbs, J Raphael; Glahn, David C; Gollub, Randy L; Göring, Harald H H; Green, Robert C; Gruber, Oliver; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Guelfi, Sebastian; Håberg, Asta K; Hansell, Narelle K; Hardy, John; Hartman, Catharina A; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hegenscheid, Katrin; Heinz, Andreas; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Hernandez, Dena G; Heslenfeld, Dirk J; Ho, Beng-Choon; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hofman, Albert; Holsboer, Florian; Homuth, Georg; Hosten, Norbert; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Huentelman, Matthew; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Ikeda, Masashi; Jack, Clifford R; Jenkinson, Mark; Johnson, Robert; Jönsson, Erik G; Jukema, J Wouter; Kahn, René S; Kanai, Ryota; Kloszewska, Iwona; Knopman, David S; Kochunov, Peter; Kwok, John B; Lawrie, Stephen M; Lemaître, Hervé; Liu, Xinmin; Longo, Dan L; Lopez, Oscar L; Lovestone, Simon; Martinez, Oliver; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Mattay, Venkata S; McDonald, Colm; McIntosh, Andrew M; McMahon, Francis J; McMahon, Katie L; Mecocci, Patrizia; Melle, Ingrid; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Mohnke, Sebastian; Montgomery, Grant W; Morris, Derek W; Mosley, Thomas H; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Nalls, Michael A; Nauck, Matthias; Nichols, Thomas E; Niessen, Wiro J; Nöthen, Markus M; Nyberg, Lars; Ohi, Kazutaka; Olvera, Rene L; Ophoff, Roel A; Pandolfo, Massimo; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Pike, G Bruce; Potkin, Steven G; Psaty, Bruce M; Reppermund, Simone; Rietschel, Marcella; Roffman, Joshua L; Romanczuk-Seiferth, Nina; Rotter, Jerome I; Ryten, Mina; Sacco, Ralph L; Sachdev, Perminder S; Saykin, Andrew J; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schmidt, Helena; Schofield, Peter R; Sigursson, Sigurdur; Simmons, Andrew; Singleton, Andrew; Sisodiya, Sanjay M; Smith, Colin; Smoller, Jordan W; Soininen, Hilkka; Steen, Vidar M; Stott, David J; Sussmann, Jessika E; Thalamuthu, Anbupalam; Toga, Arthur W; Traynor, Bryan J; Troncoso, Juan; Tsolaki, Magda; Tzourio, Christophe; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hernández, Maria C Valdés; Van der Brug, Marcel; van der Lugt, Aad; van der Wee, Nic J A; Van Haren, Neeltje E M; van 't Ent, Dennis; Van Tol, Marie-Jose; Vardarajan, Badri N; Vellas, Bruno; Veltman, Dick J; Völzke, Henry; Walter, Henrik; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Wassink, Thomas H; Weale, Michael E; Weinberger, Daniel R; Weiner, Michael W; Wen, Wei; Westman, Eric; White, Tonya; Wong, Tien Y; Wright, Clinton B; Zielke, Ronald H; Zonderman, Alan B; Martin, Nicholas G; Van Duijn, Cornelia M; Wright, Margaret J; Longstreth, W T; Schumann, Gunter; Grabe, Hans J; Franke, Barbara; Launer, Lenore J; Medland, Sarah E; Seshadri, Sudha; Thompson, Paul M; Ikram, M Arfan

    2017-01-18

    The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (r g =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness.

  1. Neutral mutation as the source of genetic variation in life history traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brcić-Kostić, Krunoslav

    2005-08-01

    The mechanism underlying the maintenance of adaptive genetic variation is a long-standing question in evolutionary genetics. There are two concepts (mutation-selection balance and balancing selection) which are based on the phenotypic differences between alleles. Mutation - selection balance and balancing selection cannot properly explain the process of gene substitution, i.e. the molecular evolution of quantitative trait loci affecting fitness. I assume that such loci have non-essential functions (small effects on fitness), and that they have the potential to evolve into new functions and acquire new adaptations. Here I show that a high amount of neutral polymorphism at these loci can exist in real populations. Consistent with this, I propose a hypothesis for the maintenance of genetic variation in life history traits which can be efficient for the fixation of alleles with very small selective advantage. The hypothesis is based on neutral polymorphism at quantitative trait loci and both neutral and adaptive gene substitutions. The model of neutral - adaptive conversion (NAC) assumes that neutral alleles are not neutral indefinitely, and that in specific and very rare situations phenotypic (relative fitness) differences between them can appear. In this paper I focus on NAC due to phenotypic plasticity of neutral alleles. The important evolutionary consequence of NAC could be the increased adaptive potential of a population. Loci responsible for adaptation should be fast evolving genes with minimally discernible phenotypic effects, and the recent discovery of genes with such characteristics implicates them as suitable candidates for loci involved in adaptation.

  2. Microsatellite loci discovery from next-generation sequencing data and loci characterization in the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Ewers-Saucedo

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Microsatellite markers remain an important tool for ecological and evolutionary research, but are unavailable for many non-model organisms. One such organism with rare ecological and evolutionary features is the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758. Chelonibia testudinaria appears to be a host generalist, and has an unusual sexual system, androdioecy. Genetic studies on host specificity and mating behavior are impeded by the lack of fine-scale, highly variable markers, such as microsatellite markers. In the present study, we discovered thousands of new microsatellite loci from next-generation sequencing data, and characterized 12 loci thoroughly. We conclude that 11 of these loci will be useful markers in future ecological and evolutionary studies on C. testudinaria.

  3. Microsatellite loci discovery from next-generation sequencing data and loci characterization in the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zardus, John D.; Wares, John P.

    2016-01-01

    Microsatellite markers remain an important tool for ecological and evolutionary research, but are unavailable for many non-model organisms. One such organism with rare ecological and evolutionary features is the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758). Chelonibia testudinaria appears to be a host generalist, and has an unusual sexual system, androdioecy. Genetic studies on host specificity and mating behavior are impeded by the lack of fine-scale, highly variable markers, such as microsatellite markers. In the present study, we discovered thousands of new microsatellite loci from next-generation sequencing data, and characterized 12 loci thoroughly. We conclude that 11 of these loci will be useful markers in future ecological and evolutionary studies on C. testudinaria. PMID:27231653

  4. Biology and applications of human minisatellite loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, J A; Jeffreys, A J

    1992-12-01

    Highly repetitive minisatellites' include the most variable human loci described to date. They have proved invaluable in a wide variety of genetic analyses, and despite some controversies surrounding their practical implementation, have been extensively adopted in civil and forensic casework. Molecular analysis of internal allelic structure has provided detailed insights into the repeat-unit turnover mechanisms operating in germline mutations, which are ultimately responsible for the extreme variability seen at these loci.

  5. A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, David R; Lyttle, Christopher S; Mortensen, Jonathan M; Bearden, Charles F; Jensen, Anders Boeck; Khiabanian, Hossein; Melamed, Rachel; Rabadan, Raul; Bernstam, Elmer V; Brunak, Søren; Jensen, Lars Juhl; Nicolae, Dan; Shah, Nigam H; Grossman, Robert L; Cox, Nancy J; White, Kevin P; Rzhetsky, Andrey

    2013-09-26

    Although countless highly penetrant variants have been associated with Mendelian disorders, the genetic etiologies underlying complex diseases remain largely unresolved. By mining the medical records of over 110 million patients, we examine the extent to which Mendelian variation contributes to complex disease risk. We detect thousands of associations between Mendelian and complex diseases, revealing a nondegenerate, phenotypic code that links each complex disorder to a unique collection of Mendelian loci. Using genome-wide association results, we demonstrate that common variants associated with complex diseases are enriched in the genes indicated by this "Mendelian code." Finally, we detect hundreds of comorbidity associations among Mendelian disorders, and we use probabilistic genetic modeling to demonstrate that Mendelian variants likely contribute nonadditively to the risk for a subset of complex diseases. Overall, this study illustrates a complementary approach for mapping complex disease loci and provides unique predictions concerning the etiologies of specific diseases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A genome-wide analysis of putative functional and exonic variation associated with extremely high intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spain, S L; Pedroso, I; Kadeva, N; Miller, M B; Iacono, W G; McGue, M; Stergiakouli, E; Davey Smith, G; Putallaz, M; Lubinski, D; Meaburn, E L; Plomin, R; Simpson, M A

    2016-08-01

    Although individual differences in intelligence (general cognitive ability) are highly heritable, molecular genetic analyses to date have had limited success in identifying specific loci responsible for its heritability. This study is the first to investigate exome variation in individuals of extremely high intelligence. Under the quantitative genetic model, sampling from the high extreme of the distribution should provide increased power to detect associations. We therefore performed a case-control association analysis with 1409 individuals drawn from the top 0.0003 (IQ >170) of the population distribution of intelligence and 3253 unselected population-based controls. Our analysis focused on putative functional exonic variants assayed on the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip. We did not observe any individual protein-altering variants that are reproducibly associated with extremely high intelligence and within the entire distribution of intelligence. Moreover, no significant associations were found for multiple rare alleles within individual genes. However, analyses using genome-wide similarity between unrelated individuals (genome-wide complex trait analysis) indicate that the genotyped functional protein-altering variation yields a heritability estimate of 17.4% (s.e. 1.7%) based on a liability model. In addition, investigation of nominally significant associations revealed fewer rare alleles associated with extremely high intelligence than would be expected under the null hypothesis. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that rare functional alleles are more frequently detrimental than beneficial to intelligence.

  7. Genetic variation among pelt sheep population using microsatellite ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Genetic variation in three Iranian pelt sheep breeds namely: Gray Shiraz, Zandi and Karakul were investigated using fifteen microsatellite loci. Genomic DNA was extracted from 360 blood samples by extraction kits and salting-out procedure with some modifications. The total number of alleles ranged from 6 to12 in loci.

  8. Genetic variation within and between strains of outbred Swiss mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, S; Chesson, C; Hope, R

    1993-04-01

    The aim of this survey was to measure levels of genetic variation within and between 5 different strains of outbred Swiss mice. Ten to 15 animals from each strain (NIH, Q(S), ARC, IMVS and STUD) were typed, using allozyme electrophoresis, at 10 gene loci: Mod-1, Idh-1, Gpi-I, Es-1, Es-3, Hbb, Pep-3, Gr-1, Got-2 and Pgm-1. Polymorphic variation in at least one of the 5 strains was detected at all 10 loci. The proportion of polymorphic loci ranged from 0.3 (NIH) to 0.8 (IMVS) with a mean of 0.52. Average expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.08 (NIH) to 0.37 (IMVS) with a mean of 0.21. The inbred strain SWR was, as expected, homozygous at all 10 loci. The amount of allelic substitution between pairs of strains was quantified using Nei's genetic distance, and a dendrogram based on these genetic distances showed a close overall similarity in its branching pattern to the known genealogy of the strains. This survey showed that a considerable degree of genetic variation persists in the 5 strains examined, a level of variation similar to that previously detected by Rice and O'Brien (1980) in 3 other outbred Swiss strains.

  9. Variabilidade genética em algumas criações comerciais brasileiras de escargots (Helix aspersa, Müller, 1774 Genetic variation at eight isoenzyme loci in subpopulations of the edible snail (Helix aspersa, Müller, 1774

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.F. Vasconcellos

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Descreveram-se os marcadores isoenzimáticos e estimou-se a variabilidade genética de 20 subpopulações brasileiras de escargots (Helix aspersa. O estudo dos oito locos foi feito por eletroforese em gel de amido, em amostras com 30 indivíduos cada, obtidas em criatórios dos estados de Santa Catarina, São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro (uma, duas e 17 amostras, respectivamente. Observou-se polimorfismo nos locos das enzimas LAP, 6-PGD, PEP 2, PEP 1 e MDH, com três alelos nos três primeiros locos e dois nos demais. Os locos da ME, da SOD e da PGI apresentaram-se monomórficos. As freqüências gênicas de sete amostras ajustaram-se ao modelo de Hardy-Weinberg (PIn order to assess genetic variability in subpopulations of Helix aspersa, eight isoenzyme loci in 30 individuals in each of 20 subpopulations, obtained from breeders in Santa Catarina (1, São Paulo(2 and Rio de Janeiro (17 states of Brazil, were examined. Polymorphic loci included LAP, 6-PGD, PEP 2, PEP 1 and MDH, with three alelles at each of the first three loci and two at each of the others. The ME, SOD and PGI loci were monomorphic. Gene frequencies in 7 of 20 subpopulations were consistent with the Hardy-Wienberg equilibrium (P<0.05, and 6 were consistent with Wright model, indicating that these subpopulations did not meet requirements for genotypic equilibrium to be achieved. Despite the fact that some F values were high, F IS and F IT were not significantly different from zero (P³0.05. Although small, the F ST value (0.0485 was significant, suggesting small differences among populations. Most of the low genetic variation at isoenzyme loci was observed within subpopulations rather than among subpopulations, suggesting a small genetic basis for these samples. Estimated genetic distances among pairs of subpopulations also were low.

  10. Genetic variation in laboratory and field populations of the vector of bluetongue virus, Culicoides variipennis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, W J

    1990-01-01

    Laboratory colonies and several natural populations of the biting midge Culicoides variipennis (Coquillett) were analyzed for genetic variation at 21 electrophoretic loci. The laboratory colonies maintained high levels of genetic variation measured by average expected heterozygosities (He = 0.142 +/- 0.008), although levels were lower than those observed in field collections (He = 0.198 +/- 0.009). A field population from Colorado, analyzed five times over a 1-yr period, showed a consistent trend in the change in gene frequencies at two loci. Genetic comparisons between natural populations were consistent with the existence of two subspecies. C. variipennis variipennis and C. variipennis sonorensis Wirth & Jones.

  11. Accurate, high-throughput typing of copy number variation using paralogue ratios from dispersed repeats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, John A L; Palla, Raquel; Zeeuwen, Patrick L J M; den Heijer, Martin; Schalkwijk, Joost; Hollox, Edward J

    2007-01-01

    Recent work has demonstrated an unexpected prevalence of copy number variation in the human genome, and has highlighted the part this variation may play in predisposition to common phenotypes. Some important genes vary in number over a high range (e.g. DEFB4, which commonly varies between two and seven copies), and have posed formidable technical challenges for accurate copy number typing, so that there are no simple, cheap, high-throughput approaches suitable for large-scale screening. We have developed a simple comparative PCR method based on dispersed repeat sequences, using a single pair of precisely designed primers to amplify products simultaneously from both test and reference loci, which are subsequently distinguished and quantified via internal sequence differences. We have validated the method for the measurement of copy number at DEFB4 by comparison of results from >800 DNA samples with copy number measurements by MAPH/REDVR, MLPA and array-CGH. The new Paralogue Ratio Test (PRT) method can require as little as 10 ng genomic DNA, appears to be comparable in accuracy to the other methods, and for the first time provides a rapid, simple and inexpensive method for copy number analysis, suitable for application to typing thousands of samples in large case-control association studies.

  12. High-Resolution Genome-Wide Linkage Mapping Identifies Susceptibility Loci for BMI in the Chinese Population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Dong Feng; Pang, Zengchang; Li, Shuxia

    2012-01-01

    The genetic loci affecting the commonly used BMI have been intensively investigated using linkage approaches in multiple populations. This study aims at performing the first genome-wide linkage scan on BMI in the Chinese population in mainland China with hypothesis that heterogeneity in genetic...... linkage could exist in different ethnic populations. BMI was measured from 126 dizygotic twins in Qingdao municipality who were genotyped using high-resolution Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP arrays containing about 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Nonparametric linkage analysis...... in western countries. Multiple loci showing suggestive linkage were found on chromosome 1 (lod score 2.38 at 242 cM), chromosome 8 (2.48 at 95 cM), and chromosome 14 (2.2 at 89.4 cM). The strong linkage identified in the Chinese subjects that is consistent with that found in populations of European origin...

  13. Genetic variants near TIMP3 and high-density lipoprotein–associated loci influence susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wei; Stambolian, Dwight; Edwards, Albert O.; Branham, Kari E.; Othman, Mohammad; Jakobsdottir, Johanna; Tosakulwong, Nirubol; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A.; Campochiaro, Peter A.; Klein, Michael L.; Tan, Perciliz L.; Conley, Yvette P.; Kanda, Atsuhiro; Kopplin, Laura; Li, Yanming; Augustaitis, Katherine J.; Karoukis, Athanasios J.; Scott, William K.; Agarwal, Anita; Kovach, Jaclyn L.; Schwartz, Stephen G.; Postel, Eric A.; Brooks, Matthew; Baratz, Keith H.; Brown, William L.; Brucker, Alexander J.; Orlin, Anton; Brown, Gary; Ho, Allen; Regillo, Carl; Donoso, Larry; Tian, Lifeng; Kaderli, Brian; Hadley, Dexter; Hagstrom, Stephanie A.; Peachey, Neal S.; Klein, Ronald; Klein, Barbara E. K.; Gotoh, Norimoto; Yamashiro, Kenji; Ferris, Frederick; Fagerness, Jesen A.; Reynolds, Robyn; Farrer, Lindsay A.; Kim, Ivana K.; Miller, Joan W.; Cortón, Marta; Carracedo, Angel; Sanchez-Salorio, Manuel; Pugh, Elizabeth W.; Doheny, Kimberly F.; Brion, Maria; DeAngelis, Margaret M.; Weeks, Daniel E.; Zack, Donald J.; Chew, Emily Y.; Heckenlively, John R.; Yoshimura, Nagahisa; Iyengar, Sudha K.; Francis, Peter J.; Katsanis, Nicholas; Seddon, Johanna M.; Haines, Jonathan L.; Gorin, Michael B.; Abecasis, Gonçalo R.; Swaroop, Anand; Johnson, Robert N.; Ai, Everett; McDonald, H. Richard; Stolarczuk, Margaret; Pavan, Peter Reed; Billiris, Karina K.; Iyer, Mohan; Menosky, Matthew M.; Pautler, Scott E.; Millard, Sharon M.; Hubbard, Baker; Aaberg, Thomas; DuBois, Lindy; Lyon, Alice; Anderson-Nelson, Susan; Jampol, Lee M.; Weinberg, David V.; Muñana, Annie; Rozenbajgier, Zuzanna; Orth, David; Cohen, Jack; MacCumber, Matthew; MacCumber, Matthew; Figliulo, Celeste; Porcz, Liz; Folk, James; Boldt, H. Culver; Russell, Stephen R.; Ivins, Rachel; Hinz, Connie J.; Barr, Charles C.; Bloom, Steve; Jaegers, Ken; Kritchman, Brian; Whittington, Greg; Heier, Jeffrey; Frederick, Albert R.; Morley, Michael G.; Topping, Trexler; Davis, Heather L.; Bressler, Susan B.; Bressler, Neil M.; Doll, Warren; Trese, Michael; Capone, Antonio; Garretson, Bruce R.; Hassan, Tarek S.; Ruby, Alan J.; Osentoski, Tammy; McCannel, Colin A.; Ruszczyk, Margaret J.; Grand, Gilbert; Blinder, Kevin; Holekamp, Nancy M.; Joseph, Daniel P.; Shah, Gaurav; Nobel, Ginny S.; Antoszyk, Andrew N.; Browning, David J.; Stallings, Alison H; Singerman, Lawrence J.; Miller, David; Novak, Michael; Pendergast, Scott; Zegarra, Hernando; Schura, Stephanie A.; Smith-Brewer, Sheila; Davidorf, Frederick H.; Chambers, Robert; Chorich, Louis; Salerno, Jill; Dreyer, Richard F.; Ma, Colin; Kopfer, Marcia R.; Klein, Michael L.; Wilson, David J.; Nolte, Susan K.; Grunwald, Juan E.; Brucker, Alexander J.; Dunaief, Josh; Fine, Stuart L.; Maguire, Albert M.; Stoltz, Robert A.; McRay, Monique N.; Fish, Gary Edd; Anand, Rajiv; Spencer, Rand; Arnwine, Jean; Chandra, Suresh R.; Altaweel, Michael; Blodi, Barbara; Gottlieb, Justin; Ip, Michael; Nork, T. Michael; Perry-Raymond, Jennie; Fine, Stuart L.; Maguire, Maureen G.; Brightwell-Arnold, Mary; Harkins, Sandra; Peskin, Ellen; Ying, Gui-Shuang; Kurinij, Natalie

    2010-01-01

    We executed a genome-wide association scan for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2,157 cases and 1,150 controls. Our results validate AMD susceptibility loci near CFH (P < 10−75), ARMS2 (P < 10−59), C2/CFB (P < 10−20), C3 (P < 10−9), and CFI (P < 10−6). We compared our top findings with the Tufts/Massachusetts General Hospital genome-wide association study of advanced AMD (821 cases, 1,709 controls) and genotyped 30 promising markers in additional individuals (up to 7,749 cases and 4,625 controls). With these data, we identified a susceptibility locus near TIMP3 (overall P = 1.1 × 10−11), a metalloproteinase involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix and previously implicated in early-onset maculopathy. In addition, our data revealed strong association signals with alleles at two loci (LIPC, P = 1.3 × 10−7; CETP, P = 7.4 × 10−7) that were previously associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels in blood. Consistent with the hypothesis that HDL metabolism is associated with AMD pathogenesis, we also observed association with AMD of HDL-c—associated alleles near LPL (P = 3.0 × 10−3) and ABCA1 (P = 5.6 × 10−4). Multilocus analysis including all susceptibility loci showed that 329 of 331 individuals (99%) with the highest-risk genotypes were cases, and 85% of these had advanced AMD. Our studies extend the catalog of AMD associated loci, help identify individuals at high risk of disease, and provide clues about underlying cellular pathways that should eventually lead to new therapies. PMID:20385819

  14. Annotation of loci from genome-wide association studies using tissue-specific quantitative interaction proteomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundby, Alicia; Rossin, Elizabeth J.; Steffensen, Annette B.

    2014-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of loci associated with complex traits, but it is challenging to pinpoint causal genes in these loci and to exploit subtle association signals. We used tissue-specific quantitative interaction proteomics to map a network of five genes...... involved in the Mendelian disorder long QT syndrome (LOTS). We integrated the LOTS network with GWAS loci from the corresponding common complex trait, QT-interval variation, to identify candidate genes that were subsequently confirmed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and zebrafish. We used the LOTS protein...... network to filter weak GWAS signals by identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in proximity to genes in the network supported by strong proteomic evidence. Three SNPs passing this filter reached genome-wide significance after replication genotyping. Overall, we present a general strategy...

  15. Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Codd, V.; Nelson, C.P.; Albrecht, E.; Mangino, M.; Deelen, J.; Buxton, J.L.; Hottenga, J.J.; Fischer, K.; Esko, T.; Surakka, I.; Broer, L.; Nyholt, DR; Mateo Leach, I.; Salo, P.; Hägg, S.; Matthews, M.K.; Palmen, J.; Norata, G.D.; O'Reilly, P.F.; Saleheen, D.; Amin, N.; Balmforth, A.J.; Beekman, M.; de Boer, R.A.; Böhringer, S.; Braund, P.S.; Burton, P.R.; de Craen, A.J.; Denniff, M.; Dong, Y.; Douroudis, K.; Dubinina, E.; Eriksson, J.G.; Garlaschelli, K.; Guo, D.; Hartikainen, A.L.; Henders, A.K.; Houwing-Duistermaat, J.J.; Kananen, L.; Karssen, L.C.; Kettunen, J.; Klopp, N.; Lagou, V.; van Leeuwen, E.; Madden, P.A.; Mägi, R.; Magnusson, P.K.E.; Männistö, S.; McCarthy, M.I.; Medland, S.E.; Mihailov, E.; Montgomery, G.W.; Oostra, B.A.; Palotie, A.; Peters, A.; Pollard, H.; Pouta, A.; Prokopenko, I.; Ripatti, S.; Salomaa, V.; Suchiman, H.E.D.; Valdes, A.M.; Verweij, N.; Viñuela, A.; Wang, X.; Wichmann, H. E.; Widen, E.; Willemsen, G.; Wright, M.J.; Xia, K.; Xiao, X.; van Veldhuisen, D.J.; Catapano, A.L.; Tobin, M.D.; Hall, A.S.; Blakemore, A.I.F.; van Gilst, W.H.; Zhu, H.; Erdmann, J.; Reilly, M.P.; Kathiresan, S.; Schunkert, H.; Talmud, P.J.; Pedersen, N.L.; Perola, M.; Ouwehand, W.; Kaprio, J.; Martin, N.G.; van Duijn, C.M.; Hovatta, I.; Gieger, C.; Metspalu, A.; Boomsma, D.I.; Järvelin, M.R.; Slagboom, P.E.; Thompson, J.R.; Spector, T.D.; van der Harst, P.; Samani, N.J.

    2013-01-01

    Interindividual variation in mean leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with cancer and several age-associated diseases. We report here a genome-wide meta-analysis of 37,684 individuals with replication of selected variants in an additional 10,739 individuals. We identified seven loci,

  16. Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Codd, Veryan; Nelson, Christopher P.; Albrecht, Eva; Mangino, Massimo; Deelen, Joris; Buxton, Jessica L.; Hottenga, Jouke Jan; Fischer, Krista; Esko, Tonu; Surakka, Ida; Broer, Linda; Nyholt, Dale R.; Mateo Leach, Irene; Salo, Perttu; Hagg, Sara; Matthews, Mary K.; Palmen, Jutta; Norata, Giuseppe D.; O'Reilly, Paul F.; Saleheen, Danish; Amin, Najaf; Balmforth, Anthony J.; Beekman, Marian; de Boer, Rudolf A.; Bohringer, Stefan; Braund, Peter S.; Burton, Paul R.; de Craen, Anton J. M.; Denniff, Matthew; Dong, Yanbin; Douroudis, Konstantinos; Dubinina, Elena; Eriksson, Johan G.; Garlaschelli, Katia; Guo, Dehuang; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Henders, Anjali K.; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine J.; Kananen, Laura; Karssen, Lennart C.; Kettunen, Johannes; Klopp, Norman; Lagou, Vasiliki; van Leeuwen, Elisabeth M.; Madden, Pamela A.; Maegi, Reedik; Verweij, Niek; van Veldhuisen, Dirk J.; van Gilst, Wiek H.; van der Harst, Pim

    Interindividual variation in mean leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with cancer and several age-associated diseases. We report here a genome-wide meta-analysis of 37,684 individuals with replication of selected variants in an additional 10,739 individuals. We identified seven loci,

  17. Patterns of gene variation in central and marginal populations of Drosophila robusta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakash, S

    1973-10-01

    follows: (1) The allele frequencies are similar in all populations at the XDH, Pep-1 and Hex-1 loci. (2) The alleles at the Est-1, Est-2, Amy loci and the AP-4(1.0) and the LAP-1(.90) alleles show north south clinal change in frequency. (3) There is north south and east west differentiation at the Pt-5, Pt-8 and Pt-9 loci and the allele AP-4(.81). (4) Polymorphism at loci such as Fum, B.Ox, Hex-8, Pep-2 and Pep-3 are restricted to only one or two of the populations. (5) Allele frequencies at the MDH and ODH loci fluctuate between populations. (6) Allele frequencies at many polymorphic loci such as Est-1, Est-2, LAP-1, AP-4, Pt-5, Pt-8, Pt-9, Pt-16, MDH, Fum change clinally within a gene arrangement. The pattern of gene variation in D. robusta is very complex and cannot be easily explained due to migration of neutral alleles between once-isolated populations or to semi-isolation of neutral alleles. The observations of the pattern of allele variation in different populations, high levels of polymorphism in the marginal populations which have small population size and low levels of polymorphism of the X chromosome loci all support the argument in favor of balancing selection as the main mechanism for the maintenance of these polymorphisms. Environmental factors must play a role in the maintenance of a great deal of these polymorphisms, since we observe clinal allele frequency changes even within a given inversion type.

  18. Resolving the Complex Genetic Basis of Phenotypic Variation and Variability of Cellular Growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziv, Naomi; Shuster, Bentley M; Siegal, Mark L; Gresham, David

    2017-07-01

    In all organisms, the majority of traits vary continuously between individuals. Explaining the genetic basis of quantitative trait variation requires comprehensively accounting for genetic and nongenetic factors as well as their interactions. The growth of microbial cells can be characterized by a lag duration, an exponential growth phase, and a stationary phase. Parameters that characterize these growth phases can vary among genotypes (phenotypic variation), environmental conditions (phenotypic plasticity), and among isogenic cells in a given environment (phenotypic variability). We used a high-throughput microscopy assay to map genetic loci determining variation in lag duration and exponential growth rate in growth rate-limiting and nonlimiting glucose concentrations, using segregants from a cross of two natural isolates of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae We find that some quantitative trait loci (QTL) are common between traits and environments whereas some are unique, exhibiting gene-by-environment interactions. Furthermore, whereas variation in the central tendency of growth rate or lag duration is explained by many additive loci, differences in phenotypic variability are primarily the result of genetic interactions. We used bulk segregant mapping to increase QTL resolution by performing whole-genome sequencing of complex mixtures of an advanced intercross mapping population grown in selective conditions using glucose-limited chemostats. We find that sequence variation in the high-affinity glucose transporter HXT7 contributes to variation in growth rate and lag duration. Allele replacements of the entire locus, as well as of a single polymorphic amino acid, reveal that the effect of variation in HXT7 depends on genetic, and allelic, background. Amplifications of HXT7 are frequently selected in experimental evolution in glucose-limited environments, but we find that HXT7 amplifications result in antagonistic pleiotropy that is absent in naturally

  19. Investigation of population structure in Gulf of Mexico Seepiophila jonesi (Polychaeta, Siboglinidae using cross-amplified microsatellite loci

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunya Huang

    2016-08-01

    presence of significant gene flow via larval dispersal in mixed oceanic currents. Discussion The ability to develop “universal” microsatellites reduces the costs associated with these analyses and allows researchers to track and investigate a wider array of taxa, which is particularly useful for organisms living at inaccessible locations such as the deep sea. Our study highlights that non-species specific microsatellites can be amplified across large evolutionary distances and still yield similar findings as species-specific loci. Further, these results show that S. jonesi collected from various localities in the GoM represents a single panmictic population, suggesting that dispersal of lecithotrophic larvae by deep sea currents is sufficient to homogenize populations. These data are consistent with the high levels of gene flow seen in Escarpia spp., which advocates that differences in microhabitats of seep localities lead to variation in biogeography of separate species.

  20. Exome chip meta-analysis identifies novel loci and East Asian-specific coding variants that contribute to lipid levels and coronary artery disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Xiangfeng; Peloso, Gina M; Liu, Dajiang J

    2017-01-01

    Most genome-wide association studies have been of European individuals, even though most genetic variation in humans is seen only in non-European samples. To search for novel loci associated with blood lipid levels and clarify the mechanism of action at previously identified lipid loci, we used a...

  1. BPS Jumping Loci are Automorphic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachru, Shamit; Tripathy, Arnav

    2018-06-01

    We show that BPS jumping loci-loci in the moduli space of string compactifications where the number of BPS states jumps in an upper semi-continuous manner—naturally appear as Fourier coefficients of (vector space-valued) automorphic forms. For the case of T 2 compactification, the jumping loci are governed by a modular form studied by Hirzebruch and Zagier, while the jumping loci in K3 compactification appear in a story developed by Oda and Kudla-Millson in arithmetic geometry. We also comment on some curious related automorphy in the physics of black hole attractors and flux vacua.

  2. Isozyme variation in wild and cultivated pineapple

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isozyme variation was studied in 161 accessions of pineapple including four species of Ananas and one of Pseudananas. Six enzyme systems (ADH, GPI, PGM, SKDH, TPI, UGPP) involving seven putative loci revealed 35 electromorphs . Considerable variation exists within and between species of Ananas. Sixt...

  3. Genome scan for nonadditive heterotic trait loci reveals mainly underdominant effects in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laiba, Efrat; Glikaite, Ilana; Levy, Yael; Pasternak, Zohar; Fridman, Eyal

    2016-04-01

    The overdominant model of heterosis explains the superior phenotype of hybrids by synergistic allelic interaction within heterozygous loci. To map such genetic variation in yeast, we used a population doubling time dataset of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 16 × 16 diallel and searched for major contributing heterotic trait loci (HTL). Heterosis was observed for the majority of hybrids, as they surpassed their best parent growth rate. However, most of the local heterozygous loci identified by genome scan were surprisingly underdominant, i.e., reduced growth. We speculated that in these loci adverse effects on growth resulted from incompatible allelic interactions. To test this assumption, we eliminated these allelic interactions by creating hybrids with local hemizygosity for the underdominant HTLs, as well as for control random loci. Growth of hybrids was indeed elevated for most hemizygous to HTL genes but not for control genes, hence validating the results of our genome scan. Assessing the consequences of local heterozygosity by reciprocal hemizygosity and allele replacement assays revealed the influence of genetic background on the underdominant effects of HTLs. Overall, this genome-wide study on a multi-parental hybrid population provides a strong argument against single gene overdominance as a major contributor to heterosis, and favors the dominance complementation model.

  4. The African Genome Variation Project shapes medical genetics in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurdasani, Deepti; Carstensen, Tommy; Tekola-Ayele, Fasil; Pagani, Luca; Tachmazidou, Ioanna; Hatzikotoulas, Konstantinos; Karthikeyan, Savita; Iles, Louise; Pollard, Martin O.; Choudhury, Ananyo; Ritchie, Graham R. S.; Xue, Yali; Asimit, Jennifer; Nsubuga, Rebecca N.; Young, Elizabeth H.; Pomilla, Cristina; Kivinen, Katja; Rockett, Kirk; Kamali, Anatoli; Doumatey, Ayo P.; Asiki, Gershim; Seeley, Janet; Sisay-Joof, Fatoumatta; Jallow, Muminatou; Tollman, Stephen; Mekonnen, Ephrem; Ekong, Rosemary; Oljira, Tamiru; Bradman, Neil; Bojang, Kalifa; Ramsay, Michele; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Bekele, Endashaw; Motala, Ayesha; Norris, Shane A.; Pirie, Fraser; Kaleebu, Pontiano; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Tyler-Smith, Chris; Rotimi, Charles; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Sandhu, Manjinder S.

    2014-01-01

    Given the importance of Africa to studies of human origins and disease susceptibility, detailed characterisation of African genetic diversity is needed. The African Genome Variation Project (AGVP) provides a resource to help design, implement and interpret genomic studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and worldwide. The AGVP represents dense genotypes from 1,481 and whole genome sequences (WGS) from 320 individuals across SSA. Using this resource, we find novel evidence of complex, regionally distinct hunter-gatherer and Eurasian admixture across SSA. We identify new loci under selection, including for malaria and hypertension. We show that modern imputation panels can identify association signals at highly differentiated loci across populations in SSA. Using WGS, we show further improvement in imputation accuracy supporting efforts for large-scale sequencing of diverse African haplotypes. Finally, we present an efficient genotype array design capturing common genetic variation in Africa, showing for the first time that such designs are feasible. PMID:25470054

  5. Dominant Epistasis Between Two Quantitative Trait Loci Governing Sporulation Efficiency in Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Juraj; Mitrikeski, Petar T.

    2015-01-01

    Summary Sporulation efficiency in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a well-established model for studying quantitative traits. A variety of genes and nucleotides causing different sporulation efficiencies in laboratory, as well as in wild strains, has already been extensively characterised (mainly by reciprocal hemizygosity analysis and nucleotide exchange methods). We applied a different strategy in order to analyze the variation in sporulation efficiency of laboratory yeast strains. Coupling classical quantitative genetic analysis with simulations of phenotypic distributions (a method we call phenotype modelling) enabled us to obtain a detailed picture of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) relationships underlying the phenotypic variation of this trait. Using this approach, we were able to uncover a dominant epistatic inheritance of loci governing the phenotype. Moreover, a molecular analysis of known causative quantitative trait genes and nucleotides allowed for the detection of novel alleles, potentially responsible for the observed phenotypic variation. Based on the molecular data, we hypothesise that the observed dominant epistatic relationship could be caused by the interaction of multiple quantitative trait nucleotides distributed across a 60--kb QTL region located on chromosome XIV and the RME1 locus on chromosome VII. Furthermore, we propose a model of molecular pathways which possibly underlie the phenotypic variation of this trait. PMID:27904371

  6. Highly polygenic variation in environmental perception determines dauer larvae formation in growing populations of Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James W M Green

    Full Text Available Determining how complex traits are genetically controlled is a requirement if we are to predict how they evolve and how they might respond to selection. This requires understanding how distinct, and often more simple, life history traits interact and change in response to environmental conditions. In order to begin addressing such issues, we have been analyzing the formation of the developmentally arrested dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans under different conditions.We find that 18 of 22 previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs affecting dauer larvae formation in growing populations, assayed by determining the number of dauer larvae present at food patch exhaustion, can be recovered under various environmental conditions. We also show that food patch size affects both the ability to detect QTLs and estimates of effect size, and demonstrate that an allele of nath-10 affects dauer larvae formation in growing populations. To investigate the component traits that affect dauer larvae formation in growing populations we map, using the same introgression lines, QTLs that affect dauer larvae formation in response to defined amounts of pheromone. This identifies 36 QTLs, again demonstrating the highly polygenic nature of the genetic variation underlying dauer larvae formation.These data indicate that QTLs affecting the number of dauer larvae at food exhaustion in growing populations of C. elegans are highly reproducible, and that nearly all can be explained by variation affecting dauer larvae formation in response to defined amounts of pheromone. This suggests that most variation in dauer larvae formation in growing populations is a consequence of variation in the perception of the food and pheromone environment (i.e. chemosensory variation and in the integration of these cues.

  7. Genetic analysis of variation in human meiotic recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reshmi Chowdhury

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The number of recombination events per meiosis varies extensively among individuals. This recombination phenotype differs between female and male, and also among individuals of each gender. In this study, we used high-density SNP genotypes of over 2,300 individuals and their offspring in two datasets to characterize recombination landscape and to map the genetic variants that contribute to variation in recombination phenotypes. We found six genetic loci that are associated with recombination phenotypes. Two of these (RNF212 and an inversion on chromosome 17q21.31 were previously reported in the Icelandic population, and this is the first replication in any other population. Of the four newly identified loci (KIAA1462, PDZK1, UGCG, NUB1, results from expression studies provide support for their roles in meiosis. Each of the variants that we identified explains only a small fraction of the individual variation in recombination. Notably, we found different sequence variants associated with female and male recombination phenotypes, suggesting that they are regulated by different genes. Characterization of genetic variants that influence natural variation in meiotic recombination will lead to a better understanding of normal meiotic events as well as of non-disjunction, the primary cause of pregnancy loss.

  8. Sequencing of a patient with balanced chromosome abnormalities and neurodevelopmental disease identifies disruption of multiple high risk loci by structural variation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathon Blake

    Full Text Available Balanced chromosome abnormalities (BCAs occur at a high frequency in healthy and diseased individuals, but cost-efficient strategies to identify BCAs and evaluate whether they contribute to a phenotype have not yet become widespread. Here we apply genome-wide mate-pair library sequencing to characterize structural variation in a patient with unclear neurodevelopmental disease (NDD and complex de novo BCAs at the karyotype level. Nucleotide-level characterization of the clinically described BCA breakpoints revealed disruption of at least three NDD candidate genes (LINC00299, NUP205, PSMD14 that gave rise to abnormal mRNAs and could be assumed as disease-causing. However, unbiased genome-wide analysis of the sequencing data for cryptic structural variation was key to reveal an additional submicroscopic inversion that truncates the schizophrenia- and bipolar disorder-associated brain transcription factor ZNF804A as an equally likely NDD-driving gene. Deep sequencing of fluorescent-sorted wild-type and derivative chromosomes confirmed the clinically undetected BCA. Moreover, deep sequencing further validated a high accuracy of mate-pair library sequencing to detect structural variants larger than 10 kB, proposing that this approach is powerful for clinical-grade genome-wide structural variant detection. Our study supports previous evidence for a role of ZNF804A in NDD and highlights the need for a more comprehensive assessment of structural variation in karyotypically abnormal individuals and patients with neurocognitive disease to avoid diagnostic deception.

  9. Sequencing of a Patient with Balanced Chromosome Abnormalities and Neurodevelopmental Disease Identifies Disruption of Multiple High Risk Loci by Structural Variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, Jonathon; Riddell, Andrew; Theiss, Susanne; Gonzalez, Alexis Perez; Haase, Bettina; Jauch, Anna; Janssen, Johannes W. G.; Ibberson, David; Pavlinic, Dinko; Moog, Ute; Benes, Vladimir; Runz, Heiko

    2014-01-01

    Balanced chromosome abnormalities (BCAs) occur at a high frequency in healthy and diseased individuals, but cost-efficient strategies to identify BCAs and evaluate whether they contribute to a phenotype have not yet become widespread. Here we apply genome-wide mate-pair library sequencing to characterize structural variation in a patient with unclear neurodevelopmental disease (NDD) and complex de novo BCAs at the karyotype level. Nucleotide-level characterization of the clinically described BCA breakpoints revealed disruption of at least three NDD candidate genes (LINC00299, NUP205, PSMD14) that gave rise to abnormal mRNAs and could be assumed as disease-causing. However, unbiased genome-wide analysis of the sequencing data for cryptic structural variation was key to reveal an additional submicroscopic inversion that truncates the schizophrenia- and bipolar disorder-associated brain transcription factor ZNF804A as an equally likely NDD-driving gene. Deep sequencing of fluorescent-sorted wild-type and derivative chromosomes confirmed the clinically undetected BCA. Moreover, deep sequencing further validated a high accuracy of mate-pair library sequencing to detect structural variants larger than 10 kB, proposing that this approach is powerful for clinical-grade genome-wide structural variant detection. Our study supports previous evidence for a role of ZNF804A in NDD and highlights the need for a more comprehensive assessment of structural variation in karyotypically abnormal individuals and patients with neurocognitive disease to avoid diagnostic deception. PMID:24625750

  10. Genetic Diversity and Sequence Variations at Growth Hormone Loci among Composite and Hereford Populations of Beef Cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALAN J. LYMBERY

    2000-07-01

    Full Text Available A total of 194 Hereford and 235 composite breed cattle from Wokalup Research Station were used in this study. The aims of the study were to: Investigate polymorphisms in the growth hormone gene in the composite and purebred Hereford herds from the Wokalup selection experiment, compare genetic diversity in the growth hormone gene of the breeds, sequencing and compare the sequences of growth hormone loci between composite and purebred Hereford herds with published sequence from Genebank. The genomic DNA was extracted using Wizard genomic DNA purification system from Promega. Two fragments of growth hormone gene were amplified using PCR and continued with RFLP. Each genotype in both loci was sequenced. PCR products of each genotypes were cloned into PCR II, transformed, colonies selection, plasmid DNA extraction continued with cycle sequencing. Polymorphisms were found in both breeds of cattle in both loci of GH-L1 and GH-L2 of the growth hormone gene by PCR-RFLP analysis. Sequencing analysis confirmed the RFLPs data, polymorphism detected using AluI at GH-L1 is due to substitution between leusin/ valine at position 127, while polymorphism at the MspI restriction site was caused by transition of C to T at +837 position.

  11. Environmental and geographic variables are effective surrogates for genetic variation in conservation planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Jeffrey O; Rhodes, Jonathan R; Riginos, Cynthia; Fuller, Richard A

    2017-11-28

    Protected areas buffer species from anthropogenic threats and provide places for the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity to continue. However, genetic variation, the raw material for evolution, is difficult to capture in conservation planning, not least because genetic data require considerable resources to obtain and analyze. Here we show that freely available environmental and geographic distance variables can be highly effective surrogates in conservation planning for representing adaptive and neutral intraspecific genetic variation. We obtained occurrence and genetic data from the IntraBioDiv project for 27 plant species collected over the European Alps using a gridded sampling scheme. For each species, we identified loci that were potentially under selection using outlier loci methods, and mapped their main gradients of adaptive and neutral genetic variation across the grid cells. We then used the cells as planning units to prioritize protected area acquisitions. First, we verified that the spatial patterns of environmental and geographic variation were correlated, respectively, with adaptive and neutral genetic variation. Second, we showed that these surrogates can predict the proportion of genetic variation secured in randomly generated solutions. Finally, we discovered that solutions based only on surrogate information secured substantial amounts of adaptive and neutral genetic variation. Our work paves the way for widespread integration of surrogates for genetic variation into conservation planning.

  12. Quantitative trait loci and metabolic pathways

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMullen, M. D.; Byrne, P. F.; Snook, M. E.; Wiseman, B. R.; Lee, E. A.; Widstrom, N. W.; Coe, E. H.

    1998-01-01

    The interpretation of quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies is limited by the lack of information on metabolic pathways leading to most economic traits. Inferences about the roles of the underlying genes with a pathway or the nature of their interaction with other loci are generally not possible. An exception is resistance to the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in maize (Zea mays L.) because of maysin, a C-glycosyl flavone synthesized in silks via a branch of the well characterized flavonoid pathway. Our results using flavone synthesis as a model QTL system indicate: (i) the importance of regulatory loci as QTLs, (ii) the importance of interconnecting biochemical pathways on product levels, (iii) evidence for “channeling” of intermediates, allowing independent synthesis of related compounds, (iv) the utility of QTL analysis in clarifying the role of specific genes in a biochemical pathway, and (v) identification of a previously unknown locus on chromosome 9S affecting flavone level. A greater understanding of the genetic basis of maysin synthesis and associated corn earworm resistance should lead to improved breeding strategies. More broadly, the insights gained in relating a defined genetic and biochemical pathway affecting a quantitative trait should enhance interpretation of the biological basis of variation for other quantitative traits. PMID:9482823

  13. Cytoplasmic genetic variation and extensive cytonuclear interactions influence natural variation in the metabolome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joseph, Bindu; Corwin, Jason A.; Li, Baohua

    2013-01-01

    Understanding genome to phenotype linkages has been greatly enabled by genomic sequencing. However, most genome analysis is typically confined to the nuclear genome. We conducted a metabolomic QTL analysis on a reciprocal RIL population structured to examine how variation in the organelle genomes...... was a central hub in the epistatic network controlling the plant metabolome. This epistatic influence manifested such that the cytoplasmic background could alter or hide pairwise epistasis between nuclear loci. Thus, cytoplasmic genetic variation plays a central role in controlling natural variation...... in metabolomic networks. This suggests that cytoplasmic genomes must be included in any future analysis of natural variation....

  14. Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies 8 novel loci involved in shape variation of human head hair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fan; Chen, Yan; Zhu, Gu; Hysi, Pirro G; Wu, Sijie; Adhikari, Kaustubh; Breslin, Krystal; Pośpiech, Ewelina; Hamer, Merel A; Peng, Fuduan; Muralidharan, Charanya; Acuna-Alonzo, Victor; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Bedoya, Gabriel; Gallo, Carla; Poletti, Giovanni; Rothhammer, Francisco; Bortolini, Maria Catira; Gonzalez-Jose, Rolando; Zeng, Changqing; Xu, Shuhua; Jin, Li; Uitterlinden, André G; Ikram, M Arfan; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Nijsten, Tamar; Walsh, Susan; Branicki, Wojciech; Wang, Sijia; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés; Spector, Timothy D; Martin, Nicholas G; Medland, Sarah E; Kayser, Manfred

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Shape variation of human head hair shows striking variation within and between human populations, while its genetic basis is far from being understood. We performed a series of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and replication studies in a total of 28 964 subjects from 9 cohorts from multiple geographic origins. A meta-analysis of three European GWASs identified 8 novel loci (1p36.23 ERRFI1/SLC45A1, 1p36.22 PEX14, 1p36.13 PADI3, 2p13.3 TGFA, 11p14.1 LGR4, 12q13.13 HOXC13, 17q21.2 KRTAP, and 20q13.33 PTK6), and confirmed 4 previously known ones (1q21.3 TCHH/TCHHL1/LCE3E, 2q35 WNT10A, 4q21.21 FRAS1, and 10p14 LINC00708/GATA3), all showing genome-wide significant association with hair shape (P < 5e-8). All except one (1p36.22 PEX14) were replicated with nominal significance in at least one of the 6 additional cohorts of European, Native American and East Asian origins. Three additional previously known genes (EDAR, OFCC1, and PRSS53) were confirmed at the nominal significance level. A multivariable regression model revealed that 14 SNPs from different genes significantly and independently contribute to hair shape variation, reaching a cross-validated AUC value of 0.66 (95% CI: 0.62–0.70) and an AUC value of 0.64 in an independent validation cohort, providing an improved accuracy compared with a previous model. Prediction outcomes of 2504 individuals from a multiethnic sample were largely consistent with general knowledge on the global distribution of hair shape variation. Our study thus delivers target genes and DNA variants for future functional studies to further evaluate the molecular basis of hair shape in humans. PMID:29220522

  15. Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies 8 novel loci involved in shape variation of human head hair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fan; Chen, Yan; Zhu, Gu; Hysi, Pirro G; Wu, Sijie; Adhikari, Kaustubh; Breslin, Krystal; Pospiech, Ewelina; Hamer, Merel A; Peng, Fuduan; Muralidharan, Charanya; Acuna-Alonzo, Victor; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Bedoya, Gabriel; Gallo, Carla; Poletti, Giovanni; Rothhammer, Francisco; Bortolini, Maria Catira; Gonzalez-Jose, Rolando; Zeng, Changqing; Xu, Shuhua; Jin, Li; Uitterlinden, André G; Ikram, M Arfan; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Nijsten, Tamar; Walsh, Susan; Branicki, Wojciech; Wang, Sijia; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés; Spector, Timothy D; Martin, Nicholas G; Medland, Sarah E; Kayser, Manfred

    2018-02-01

    Shape variation of human head hair shows striking variation within and between human populations, while its genetic basis is far from being understood. We performed a series of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and replication studies in a total of 28 964 subjects from 9 cohorts from multiple geographic origins. A meta-analysis of three European GWASs identified 8 novel loci (1p36.23 ERRFI1/SLC45A1, 1p36.22 PEX14, 1p36.13 PADI3, 2p13.3 TGFA, 11p14.1 LGR4, 12q13.13 HOXC13, 17q21.2 KRTAP, and 20q13.33 PTK6), and confirmed 4 previously known ones (1q21.3 TCHH/TCHHL1/LCE3E, 2q35 WNT10A, 4q21.21 FRAS1, and 10p14 LINC00708/GATA3), all showing genome-wide significant association with hair shape (P 5e-8). All except one (1p36.22 PEX14) were replicated with nominal significance in at least one of the 6 additional cohorts of European, Native American and East Asian origins. Three additional previously known genes (EDAR, OFCC1, and PRSS53) were confirmed at the nominal significance level. A multivariable regression model revealed that 14 SNPs from different genes significantly and independently contribute to hair shape variation, reaching a cross-validated AUC value of 0.66 (95% CI: 0.62-0.70) and an AUC value of 0.64 in an independent validation cohort, providing an improved accuracy compared with a previous model. Prediction outcomes of 2504 individuals from a multiethnic sample were largely consistent with general knowledge on the global distribution of hair shape variation. Our study thus delivers target genes and DNA variants for future functional studies to further evaluate the molecular basis of hair shape in humans. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  16. Quantitative trait loci associated with seed and seedling traits in Lactuca.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyris, Jason; Truco, María José; Ochoa, Oswaldo; Knapp, Steven J; Still, David W; Lenssen, Ger M; Schut, Johan W; Michelmore, Richard W; Bradford, Kent J

    2005-11-01

    Seed and seedling traits related to germination and stand establishment are important in the production of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Six seed and seedling traits segregating in a L. sativa cv. Salinas x L. serriola recombinant inbred line population consisting of 103 F8 families revealed a total of 17 significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) resulting from three seed production environments. Significant QTL were identified for germination in darkness, germination at 25 and 35 degrees C, median maximum temperature of germination, hypocotyl length at 72 h post-imbibition, and plant (seedling) quality. Some QTL for germination and early seedling growth characteristics were co-located, suggestive of pleiotropic loci regulating these traits. A single QTL (Htg6.1) described 25 and 23% of the total phenotypic variation for high temperature germination in California- and Netherlands-grown populations, respectively, and was significant between 33 and 37 degrees C. Additionally, Htg6.1 showed significant epistatic interactions with other Htg QTL and a consistent effect across all the three seed production environments. L. serriola alleles increased germination at these QTL. The estimate of narrow-sense heritability (h2) of Htg6.1 was 0.84, indicating potential for L. serriola as a source of germination thermotolerance for lettuce introgression programs.

  17. CpG island methylator phenotype-low (CIMP-low) colorectal cancer shows not only few methylated CIMP-high-specific CpG islands, but also low-level methylation at individual loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawasaki, Takako; Ohnishi, Mutsuko; Nosho, Katsuhiko; Suemoto, Yuko; Kirkner, Gregory J; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A; Fuchs, Charles S; Ogino, Shuji

    2008-03-01

    The CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP or CIMP-high) with widespread promoter methylation is a distinct phenotype in colorectal cancer. However, the concept of CIMP-low with less extensive CpG island methylation is still evolving. Our aim is to examine whether density of methylation in individual CpG islands was different between CIMP-low and CIMP-high tumors. Utilizing MethyLight technology and 889 population-based colorectal cancers, we quantified DNA methylation (methylation index, percentage of methylated reference) at 14 CpG islands, including 8 CIMP-high-specific loci (CACNA1G, CDKN2A (p16), CRABP1, IGF2, MLH1, NEUROG1, RUNX3 and SOCS1). Methylation positivity in each locus was defined as methylation index>4. Low-level methylation (methylation index>0, CIMP-high-specific locus was significantly more common in 340 CIMP-low tumors (1/8-5/8 methylation-positive loci) than 133 CIMP-high tumors (> or =6/8 methylation-positive loci) and 416 CIMP-0 tumors (0/8 methylation-positive loci) (PCIMP-high, low-level methylation, was not persistently more prevalent in CIMP-low tumors. In conclusion, compared to CIMP-high and CIMP-0 tumors, CIMP-low colorectal cancers show not only few methylated CIMP-high-specific CpG islands, but also more frequent low-level methylation at individual loci. Our data may provide supporting evidence for a difference in pathogenesis of DNA methylation between CIMP-low and CIMP-high tumors.

  18. Genetic Variation and Population Structure in Jamunapari Goats Using Microsatellites, Mitochondrial DNA, and Milk Protein Genes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rout, P. K.; Thangraj, K.; Mandal, A.; Roy, R.

    2012-01-01

    Jamunapari, a dairy goat breed of India, has been gradually declining in numbers in its home tract over the years. We have analysed genetic variation and population history in Jamunapari goats based on 17 microsatellite loci, 2 milk protein loci, mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVRI) sequencing, and three Y-chromosomal gene sequencing. We used the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mismatch distribution, microsatellite data, and bottleneck tests to infer the population history and demography. The mean number of alleles per locus was 9.0 indicating that the allelic variation was high in all the loci and the mean heterozygosity was 0.769 at nuclear loci. Although the population size is smaller than 8,000 individuals, the amount of variability both in terms of allelic richness and gene diversity was high in all the microsatellite loci except ILST 005. The gene diversity and effective number of alleles at milk protein loci were higher than the 10 other Indian goat breeds that they were compared to. Mismatch analysis was carried out and the analysis revealed that the population curve was unimodal indicating the expansion of population. The genetic diversity of Y-chromosome genes was low in the present study. The observed mean M ratio in the population was above the critical significance value (Mc) and close to one indicating that it has maintained a slowly changing population size. The mode-shift test did not detect any distortion of allele frequency and the heterozygosity excess method showed that there was no significant departure from mutation-drift equilibrium detected in the population. However, the effects of genetic bottlenecks were observed in some loci due to decreased heterozygosity and lower level of M ratio. There were two observed genetic subdivisions in the population supporting the observations of farmers in different areas. This base line information on genetic diversity, bottleneck analysis, and mismatch analysis was obtained to assist the conservation

  19. Allozyme variation in spineless Pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes Kunth)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isozyme variation was studied in 161 accessions of pineapple including four species of Ananas and one of Pseudananas. Six enzyme systems (ADH, GPI, PGM, SKDH, TPI, UGPP) involving seven putative loci revealed 35 electromorphs . Considerable variation exists within and between species of Ananas. Sixt...

  20. Development of Microsatellite Loci for the Riparian Tree Species Melaleuca argentea (Myrtaceae Using 454 Sequencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul G. Nevill

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for Melaleuca argentea (Myrtaceae to evaluate genetic diversity and population genetic structure of this broadly distributed northern Australian riparian tree species. Methods and Results: 454 GS-FLX shotgun sequencing was used to obtain 5860 sequences containing putative microsatellite motifs. Two multiplex PCRs were optimized to genotype 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci. These loci were screened for variation in individuals from two populations in the Pilbara region, northwestern Western Australia. Overall, observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.27 to 0.86 (mean: 0.52 and the number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 13 (average: 4.3. Conclusions: These microsatellite loci will be useful in future studies of the evolutionary history and population and spatial genetic structure in M. argentea, and inform the development of seed sourcing strategies for the species.

  1. Genome-wide association study identifies five new schizophrenia loci.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Ripke, Stephan

    2011-10-01

    We examined the role of common genetic variation in schizophrenia in a genome-wide association study of substantial size: a stage 1 discovery sample of 21,856 individuals of European ancestry and a stage 2 replication sample of 29,839 independent subjects. The combined stage 1 and 2 analysis yielded genome-wide significant associations with schizophrenia for seven loci, five of which are new (1p21.3, 2q32.3, 8p23.2, 8q21.3 and 10q24.32-q24.33) and two of which have been previously implicated (6p21.32-p22.1 and 18q21.2). The strongest new finding (P = 1.6 × 10(-11)) was with rs1625579 within an intron of a putative primary transcript for MIR137 (microRNA 137), a known regulator of neuronal development. Four other schizophrenia loci achieving genome-wide significance contain predicted targets of MIR137, suggesting MIR137-mediated dysregulation as a previously unknown etiologic mechanism in schizophrenia. In a joint analysis with a bipolar disorder sample (16,374 affected individuals and 14,044 controls), three loci reached genome-wide significance: CACNA1C (rs4765905, P = 7.0 × 10(-9)), ANK3 (rs10994359, P = 2.5 × 10(-8)) and the ITIH3-ITIH4 region (rs2239547, P = 7.8 × 10(-9)).

  2. Does the evolutionary conservation of microsatellite loci imply function?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shriver, M.D.; Deka, R.; Ferrell, R.E. [Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)] [and others

    1994-09-01

    Microsatellites are highly polymorphic tandem arrays of short (1-6 bp) sequence motifs which have been found widely distributed in the genomes of all eukaryotes. We have analyzed allele frequency data on 16 microsatellite loci typed in the great apes (human, chimp, orangutan, and gorilla). The majority of these loci (13) were isolated from human genomic libraries; three were cloned from chimpanzee genomic DNA. Most of these loci are not only present in all apes species, but are polymorphic with comparable levels of heterozygosity and have alleles which overlap in size. The extent of divergence of allele frequencies among these four species were studies using the stepwise-weighted genetic distance (Dsw), which was previously shown to conform to linearity with evolutionary time since divergence for loci where mutations exist in a stepwise fashion. The phylogenetic tree of the great apes constructed from this distance matrix was consistent with the expected topology, with a high bootstrap confidence (82%) for the human/chimp clade. However, the allele frequency distributions of these species are 10 times more similar to each other than expected when they were calibrated with a conservative estimate of the time since separation of humans and the apes. These results are in agreement with sequence-based surveys of microsatellites which have demonstrated that they are highly (90%) conserved over short periods of evolutionary time (< 10 million years) and moderately (30%) conserved over long periods of evolutionary time (> 60-80 million years). This evolutionary conservation has prompted some authors to speculate that there are functional constraints on microsatellite loci. In contrast, the presence of directional bias of mutations with constraints and/or selection against aberrant sized alleles can explain these results.

  3. High-density genetic mapping identifies new susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eyre, Steve; Bowes, John; Diogo, Dorothee; Lee, Annette; Barton, Anne; Martin, Paul; Zhernakova, Alexandra; Stahl, Eli; Viatte, Sebastien; McAllister, Kate; Amos, Christopher I.; Padyukov, Leonid; Toes, Rene E. M.; Huizinga, Tom W. J.; Wijmenga, Cisca; Trynka, Gosia; Franke, Lude; Westra, Harm-Jan; Alfredsson, Lars; Hu, Xinli; Sandor, Cynthia; de Bakker, Paul I. W.; Davila, Sonia; Khor, Chiea Chuen; Heng, Khai Koon; Andrews, Robert; Edkins, Sarah; Hunt, Sarah E.; Langford, Cordelia; Symmons, Deborah; Concannon, Pat; Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna; Rich, Stephen S.; Deloukas, Panos; Gonzalez-Gay, Miguel A.; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Luis; Arlsetig, Lisbeth; Martin, Javier; Rantapaa-Dahlqvist, Solbritt; Plenge, Robert M.; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Klareskog, Lars; Gregersen, Peter K.; Worthington, Jane

    2012-01-01

    Using the Immunochip custom SNP array, which was designed for dense genotyping of 186 loci identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we analyzed 11,475 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (cases) of European ancestry and 15,870 controls for 129,464 markers. We combined these data

  4. Multiancestry association study identifies new asthma risk loci that colocalize with immune-cell enhancer marks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demenais, Florence; Margaritte-Jeannin, Patricia; Barnes, Kathleen C

    2018-01-01

    We examined common variation in asthma risk by conducting a meta-analysis of worldwide asthma genome-wide association studies (23,948 asthma cases, 118,538 controls) of individuals from ethnically diverse populations. We identified five new asthma loci, found two new associations at two known...

  5. Discovery of new risk loci for IgA nephropathy implicates genes involved in immunity against intestinal pathogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiryluk, Krzysztof; Li, Yifu; Scolari, Francesco; Sanna-Cherchi, Simone; Choi, Murim; Verbitsky, Miguel; Fasel, David; Lata, Sneh; Prakash, Sindhuri; Shapiro, Samantha; Fischman, Clara; Snyder, Holly J.; Appel, Gerald; Izzi, Claudia; Viola, Battista Fabio; Dallera, Nadia; Vecchio, Lucia Del; Barlassina, Cristina; Salvi, Erika; Bertinetto, Francesca Eleonora; Amoroso, Antonio; Savoldi, Silvana; Rocchietti, Marcella; Amore, Alessandro; Peruzzi, Licia; Coppo, Rosanna; Salvadori, Maurizio; Ravani, Pietro; Magistroni, Riccardo; Ghiggeri, Gian Marco; Caridi, Gianluca; Bodria, Monica; Lugani, Francesca; Allegri, Landino; Delsante, Marco; Maiorana, Mariarosa; Magnano, Andrea; Frasca, Giovanni; Boer, Emanuela; Boscutti, Giuliano; Ponticelli, Claudio; Mignani, Renzo; Marcantoni, Carmelita; Di Landro, Domenico; Santoro, Domenico; Pani, Antonello; Polci, Rosaria; Feriozzi, Sandro; Chicca, Silvana; Galliani, Marco; Gigante, Maddalena; Gesualdo, Loreto; Zamboli, Pasquale; Maixnerová, Dita; Tesar, Vladimir; Eitner, Frank; Rauen, Thomas; Floege, Jürgen; Kovacs, Tibor; Nagy, Judit; Mucha, Krzysztof; Pączek, Leszek; Zaniew, Marcin; Mizerska-Wasiak, Małgorzata; Roszkowska-Blaim, Maria; Pawlaczyk, Krzysztof; Gale, Daniel; Barratt, Jonathan; Thibaudin, Lise; Berthoux, Francois; Canaud, Guillaume; Boland, Anne; Metzger, Marie; Panzer, Ulf; Suzuki, Hitoshi; Goto, Shin; Narita, Ichiei; Caliskan, Yasar; Xie, Jingyuan; Hou, Ping; Chen, Nan; Zhang, Hong; Wyatt, Robert J.; Novak, Jan; Julian, Bruce A.; Feehally, John; Stengel, Benedicte; Cusi, Daniele; Lifton, Richard P.; Gharavi, Ali G.

    2014-01-01

    We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of IgA nephropathy (IgAN), the most common form of glomerulonephritis, with discovery and follow-up in 20,612 individuals of European and East Asian ancestry. We identified six novel genome-wide significant associations, four in ITGAM-ITGAX, VAV3 and CARD9 and two new independent signals at HLA-DQB1 and DEFA. We replicated the nine previously reported signals, including known SNPs in the HLA-DQB1 and DEFA loci. The cumulative burden of risk alleles is strongly associated with age at disease onset. Most loci are either directly associated with risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or maintenance of the intestinal epithelial barrier and response to mucosal pathogens. The geo-spatial distribution of risk alleles is highly suggestive of multi-locus adaptation and the genetic risk correlates strongly with variation in local pathogens, particularly helminth diversity, suggesting a possible role for host-intestinal pathogen interactions in shaping the genetic landscape of IgAN. PMID:25305756

  6. The influence of Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci on dough rheology and bread-making properties in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) doubled haploid lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langner, Monika; Krystkowiak, Karolina; Salmanowicz, Bolesław P; Adamski, Tadeusz; Krajewski, Paweł; Kaczmarek, Zygmunt; Surma, Maria

    2017-12-01

    The major determinants of wheat quality are Glu-1 and Glu-3 glutenin loci and environmental factors. Additive effects of alleles at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci, as well as their interactions, were evaluated for dough rheology and baking properties in four groups of wheat doubled haploid lines differing in high- and low-molecular-weight glutenin composition. Flour quality, Reomixer (Reologica Instruments, Lund, Sweden), dough extension, Farinograph (Brabender GmbH, Duisburg, Germany) and baking parameters were determined. Groups of lines with the alleles Glu-A3b and Glu-B3d were characterized by higher values of dough and baking parameters compared to those with the Glu-A3e and Glu-B3a alleles. Effects of interactions between allelic variants at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci on Reomixer parameters, dough extension tests and baking parameters were significant, although additive effects of individual alleles were not always significant. The allelic variants at Glu-B3 had a much greater effect on dough rheological parameters than the variants at Glu-A3 or Glu-D3 loci. The effect of allelic variations at the Glu-D3 loci on rheological parameters and bread-making quality was non-significant, whereas their interactions with a majority of alleles at the other Glu-1 × Glu-3 loci were significant. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. Multiancestry association study identifies new asthma risk loci that colocalize with immune-cell enhancer marks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Demenais, Florence; Margaritte-Jeannin, Patricia; Barnes, Kathleen C; Cookson, William O C; Altmüller, Janine; Ang, Wei; Barr, R Graham; Beaty, Terri H; Becker, Allan B; Beilby, John; Bisgaard, Hans; Bjornsdottir, Unnur Steina; Bleecker, Eugene; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boomsma, Dorret I; Bouzigon, Emmanuelle; Brightling, Christopher E; Brossard, Myriam; Brusselle, Guy G; Burchard, Esteban; Burkart, Kristin M; Bush, Andrew; Chan-Yeung, Moira; Chung, Kian Fan; Couto Alves, Alexessander; Curtin, John A; Custovic, Adnan; Daley, Denise; de Jongste, Johan C; Del-Rio-Navarro, Blanca E; Donohue, Kathleen M; Duijts, Liesbeth; Eng, Celeste; Eriksson, Johan G; Farrall, Martin; Fedorova, Yuliya; Feenstra, Bjarke; Ferreira, Manuel A; Freidin, Maxim B; Gajdos, Zofia; Gauderman, Jim; Gehring, Ulrike; Geller, Frank; Genuneit, Jon; Gharib, Sina A; Gilliland, Frank; Granell, Raquel; Graves, Penelope E; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F; Haahtela, Tari; Heckbert, Susan R; Heederik, Dick; Heinrich, Joachim; Heliövaara, Markku; Henderson, John; Himes, Blanca E; Hirose, Hiroshi; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Hofman, Albert; Holt, Patrick; Hottenga, Jouke; Hudson, Thomas J; Hui, Jennie; Imboden, Medea; Ivanov, Vladimir; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; James, Alan; Janson, Christer; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jarvis, Deborah; Jones, Graham; Jonsdottir, Ingileif; Jousilahti, Pekka; Kabesch, Michael; Kähönen, Mika; Kantor, David B; Karunas, Alexandra S; Khusnutdinova, Elza; Koppelman, Gerard H; Kozyrskyj, Anita L; Kreiner, Eskil; Kubo, Michiaki; Kumar, Rajesh; Kumar, Ashish; Kuokkanen, Mikko; Lahousse, Lies; Laitinen, Tarja; Laprise, Catherine; Lathrop, Mark; Lau, Susanne; Lee, Young-Ae; Lehtimäki, Terho; Letort, Sébastien; Levin, Albert M; Li, Guo; Liang, Liming; Loehr, Laura R; London, Stephanie J; Loth, Daan W; Manichaikul, Ani; Marenholz, Ingo; Martinez, Fernando J; Matheson, Melanie C; Mathias, Rasika A; Matsumoto, Kenji; Mbarek, Hamdi; McArdle, Wendy L; Melbye, Mads; Melén, Erik; Meyers, Deborah; Michel, Sven; Mohamdi, Hamida; Musk, Arthur W; Myers, Rachel A; Nieuwenhuis, Maartje A E; Noguchi, Emiko; O'Connor, George T; Ogorodova, Ludmila M; Palmer, Cameron D; Palotie, Aarno; Park, Julie E; Pennell, Craig E; Pershagen, Göran; Polonikov, Alexey; Postma, Dirkje S; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Puzyrev, Valery P; Raby, Benjamin A; Raitakari, Olli T; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Rich, Stephen S; Robertson, Colin F; Romieu, Isabelle; Salam, Muhammad T; Salomaa, Veikko; Schlünssen, Vivi; Scott, Robert; Selivanova, Polina A; Sigsgaard, Torben; Simpson, Angela; Siroux, Valérie; Smith, Lewis J; Solodilova, Maria; Standl, Marie; Stefansson, Kari; Strachan, David P; Stricker, Bruno H; Takahashi, Atsushi; Thompson, Philip J; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Tiesler, Carla M T; Torgerson, Dara G; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko; Uitterlinden, André G; van der Valk, Ralf J P; Vaysse, Amaury; Vedantam, Sailaja; von Berg, Andrea; von Mutius, Erika; Vonk, Judith M; Waage, Johannes; Wareham, Nick J; Weiss, Scott T; White, Wendy B; Wickman, Magnus; Widén, Elisabeth; Willemsen, Gonneke; Williams, L Keoki; Wouters, Inge M; Yang, James J; Zhao, Jing Hua; Moffatt, Miriam F; Ober, Carole; Nicolae, Dan L

    We examined common variation in asthma risk by conducting a meta-analysis of worldwide asthma genome-wide association studies (23,948 asthma cases, 118,538 controls) of individuals from ethnically diverse populations. We identified five new asthma loci, found two new associations at two known asthma

  8. Understanding human DNA sequence variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, K K; Pakstis, A J; Speed, W C; Kidd, J R

    2004-01-01

    Over the past century researchers have identified normal genetic variation and studied that variation in diverse human populations to determine the amounts and distributions of that variation. That information is being used to develop an understanding of the demographic histories of the different populations and the species as a whole, among other studies. With the advent of DNA-based markers in the last quarter century, these studies have accelerated. One of the challenges for the next century is to understand that variation. One component of that understanding will be population genetics. We present here examples of many of the ways these new data can be analyzed from a population perspective using results from our laboratory on multiple individual DNA-based polymorphisms, many clustered in haplotypes, studied in multiple populations representing all major geographic regions of the world. These data support an "out of Africa" hypothesis for human dispersal around the world and begin to refine the understanding of population structures and genetic relationships. We are also developing baseline information against which we can compare findings at different loci to aid in the identification of loci subject, now and in the past, to selection (directional or balancing). We do not yet have a comprehensive understanding of the extensive variation in the human genome, but some of that understanding is coming from population genetics.

  9. Genome-wide association studies of autoimmune vitiligo identify 23 new risk loci and highlight key pathways and regulatory variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Ying; Andersen, Genevieve; Yorgov, Daniel; Ferrara, Tracey M; Ben, Songtao; Brownson, Kelly M; Holland, Paulene J; Birlea, Stanca A; Siebert, Janet; Hartmann, Anke; Lienert, Anne; van Geel, Nanja; Lambert, Jo; Luiten, Rosalie M; Wolkerstorfer, Albert; Wietze van der Veen, J P; Bennett, Dorothy C; Taïeb, Alain; Ezzedine, Khaled; Kemp, E Helen; Gawkrodger, David J; Weetman, Anthony P; Kõks, Sulev; Prans, Ele; Kingo, Külli; Karelson, Maire; Wallace, Margaret R; McCormack, Wayne T; Overbeck, Andreas; Moretti, Silvia; Colucci, Roberta; Picardo, Mauro; Silverberg, Nanette B; Olsson, Mats; Valle, Yan; Korobko, Igor; Böhm, Markus; Lim, Henry W; Hamzavi, Iltefat; Zhou, Li; Mi, Qing-Sheng; Fain, Pamela R; Santorico, Stephanie A; Spritz, Richard A

    2016-11-01

    Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which depigmented skin results from the destruction of melanocytes, with epidemiological association with other autoimmune diseases. In previous linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS1 and GWAS2), we identified 27 vitiligo susceptibility loci in patients of European ancestry. We carried out a third GWAS (GWAS3) in European-ancestry subjects, with augmented GWAS1 and GWAS2 controls, genome-wide imputation, and meta-analysis of all three GWAS, followed by an independent replication. The combined analyses, with 4,680 cases and 39,586 controls, identified 23 new significantly associated loci and 7 suggestive loci. Most encode immune and apoptotic regulators, with some also associated with other autoimmune diseases, as well as several melanocyte regulators. Bioinformatic analyses indicate a predominance of causal regulatory variation, some of which corresponds to expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) at these loci. Together, the identified genes provide a framework for the genetic architecture and pathobiology of vitiligo, highlight relationships with other autoimmune diseases and melanoma, and offer potential targets for treatment.

  10. Salinity tolerance loci revealed in rice using high-throughput non-invasive phenotyping

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Tamimi, Nadia Ali

    2016-11-17

    High-throughput phenotyping produces multiple measurements over time, which require new methods of analyses that are flexible in their quantification of plant growth and transpiration, yet are computationally economic. Here we develop such analyses and apply this to a rice population genotyped with a 700k SNP high-density array. Two rice diversity panels, indica and aus, containing a total of 553 genotypes, are phenotyped in waterlogged conditions. Using cubic smoothing splines to estimate plant growth and transpiration, we identify four time intervals that characterize the early responses of rice to salinity. Relative growth rate, transpiration rate and transpiration use efficiency (TUE) are analysed using a new association model that takes into account the interaction between treatment (control and salt) and genetic marker. This model allows the identification of previously undetected loci affecting TUE on chromosome 11, providing insights into the early responses of rice to salinity, in particular into the effects of salinity on plant growth and transpiration.

  11. Salinity tolerance loci revealed in rice using high-throughput non-invasive phenotyping

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Tamimi, Nadia Ali; Brien, Chris; Oakey, Helena; Berger, Bettina; Saade, Stephanie; Ho, Yung Shwen; Schmö ckel, Sandra M.; Tester, Mark A.; Negrã o, Só nia

    2016-01-01

    High-throughput phenotyping produces multiple measurements over time, which require new methods of analyses that are flexible in their quantification of plant growth and transpiration, yet are computationally economic. Here we develop such analyses and apply this to a rice population genotyped with a 700k SNP high-density array. Two rice diversity panels, indica and aus, containing a total of 553 genotypes, are phenotyped in waterlogged conditions. Using cubic smoothing splines to estimate plant growth and transpiration, we identify four time intervals that characterize the early responses of rice to salinity. Relative growth rate, transpiration rate and transpiration use efficiency (TUE) are analysed using a new association model that takes into account the interaction between treatment (control and salt) and genetic marker. This model allows the identification of previously undetected loci affecting TUE on chromosome 11, providing insights into the early responses of rice to salinity, in particular into the effects of salinity on plant growth and transpiration.

  12. Genetic diversity of Pinus halepensis Mill. populations detected by RAPD loci

    OpenAIRE

    Gómez , Aránzazu; Alía , Ricardo; Bueno , María

    2001-01-01

    International audience; Genetic diversity of Pinus halepensis Mill. was analysed in nine populations (six Spanish populations and one each from Tunisia, France and Greece). Twenty four RAPD loci were amplified with 60 megagametophyte DNA samples from each population. Populations' contribution to Nei gene diversity and to allelic richness were calculated. Results showed higher within population genetic variation but also a $G_{{\\rm ST}} = 13.6\\%$ higher than those detected in previous studies ...

  13. Identifying loci influencing grain number by microsatellite screening in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Dongling; Hao, Chenyang; Wang, Lanfen; Zhang, Xueyong

    2012-11-01

    Grain number (GN) is one of three major yield-related components in wheat. We used the Chinese wheat mini core collection to undertake a genome-wide association analysis of grain number using 531 SSR markers randomly located on all 21 chromosomes. Grain numbers of all accessions were measured in four trials, i.e. two environments in four growing seasons. Association analysis based on a mixed linear model (MLM) revealed that 27 SSR loci were significantly associated with mean GN (MGN) estimated by the best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) method. These included numerous breeder favorable alleles with strong positive effects at 23 loci. Significant or extremely significant differences were detected on MGN between varieties conveying favored allele and varieties with other alleles. Moreover, statistical simulation showed that the favored alleles have additive genetic effects. Although modern varieties combined larger numbers of favored alleles, the numbers of favored alleles were not significantly different from those in landraces, especially those alleles contributing mostly to the phenotypic variation. These results indicate that there is still considerable genetic potential for use of markers for genome selection of GN for high yield in wheat.

  14. Assessment of intra and interregional genetic variation in the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, via analysis of novel microsatellite markers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander C Cameron

    Full Text Available The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus has long-served as a model system in ecology, evolution, and behavior, and studies surveying molecular variation in this species have become increasingly common over the past decade. However, difficulties are commonly encountered when extending microsatellite markers to populations that are unstudied from a genetic perspective due to high levels of genetic differentiation across this species' range. To ameliorate this issue, we used 454 pyrosequencing to identify hundreds of microsatellite loci. We then screened 40 of our top candidate loci in populations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio-including an isolated island population ~ 4.5 km off the shore of Lake Erie (South Bass Island. We identified 25 loci that are polymorphic in a well-studied region of Virginia and 11 of these loci were polymorphic in populations located in the genetically unstudied regions of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Use of these loci to examine patterns of variation within populations revealed that South Bass Island has low diversity in comparison to other sites. However, neither South Bass Island nor isolated populations around Cleveland are inbred. Assessment of variation between populations revealed three well defined genetic clusters corresponding to Virginia, mainland Ohio/Pennsylvania, and South Bass Island. Comparisons of our results to those of others working in various parts of the range are consistent with the idea that differentiation is lower in regions that were once glaciated. However, these comparisons also suggest that well differentiated isolated populations in the formerly glaciated portion of the range are not uncommon. This work provides novel genetic resources that will facilitate population genetic studies in a part of the red-backed salamander's range that has not previously been studied in this manner. Moreover, this work refines our understanding of how neutral variation is distributed in this ecologically

  15. An integrative genetic study of rice metabolism, growth and stochastic variation reveals potential C/N partitioning loci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Baohua; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Mohammadi, Seyed Abolghasem

    2016-01-01

    metabolites suggesting that they may influence carbon and nitrogen partitioning, with one locus co-localizing with SUSIBA2 (WRKY78). Comparing QTLs for metabolomic and a variety of growth related traits identified few overlaps. Interestingly, the rice population displayed fewer loci controlling stochastic...

  16. High-resolution copy-number variation map reflects human olfactory receptor diversity and evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yehudit Hasin

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Olfactory receptors (ORs, which are involved in odorant recognition, form the largest mammalian protein superfamily. The genomic content of OR genes is considerably reduced in humans, as reflected by the relatively small repertoire size and the high fraction ( approximately 55% of human pseudogenes. Since several recent low-resolution surveys suggested that OR genomic loci are frequently affected by copy-number variants (CNVs, we hypothesized that CNVs may play an important role in the evolution of the human olfactory repertoire. We used high-resolution oligonucleotide tiling microarrays to detect CNVs across 851 OR gene and pseudogene loci. Examining genomic DNA from 25 individuals with ancestry from three populations, we identified 93 OR gene loci and 151 pseudogene loci affected by CNVs, generating a mosaic of OR dosages across persons. Our data suggest that approximately 50% of the CNVs involve more than one OR, with the largest CNV spanning 11 loci. In contrast to earlier reports, we observe that CNVs are more frequent among OR pseudogenes than among intact genes, presumably due to both selective constraints and CNV formation biases. Furthermore, our results show an enrichment of CNVs among ORs with a close human paralog or lacking a one-to-one ortholog in chimpanzee. Interestingly, among the latter we observed an enrichment in CNV losses over gains, a finding potentially related to the known diminution of the human OR repertoire. Quantitative PCR experiments performed for 122 sampled ORs agreed well with the microarray results and uncovered 23 additional CNVs. Importantly, these experiments allowed us to uncover nine common deletion alleles that affect 15 OR genes and five pseudogenes. Comparison to the chimpanzee reference genome revealed that all of the deletion alleles are human derived, therefore indicating a profound effect of human-specific deletions on the individual OR gene content. Furthermore, these deletion alleles may be used

  17. Fine-mapping and initial characterization of QT interval loci in African Americans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christy L Avery

    Full Text Available The QT interval (QT is heritable and its prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden death. Most genetic studies of QT have examined European ancestral populations; however, the increased genetic diversity in African Americans provides opportunities to narrow association signals and identify population-specific variants. We therefore evaluated 6,670 SNPs spanning eleven previously identified QT loci in 8,644 African American participants from two Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE studies: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study and Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trial. Of the fifteen known independent QT variants at the eleven previously identified loci, six were significantly associated with QT in African American populations (P≤1.20×10(-4: ATP1B1, PLN1, KCNQ1, NDRG4, and two NOS1AP independent signals. We also identified three population-specific signals significantly associated with QT in African Americans (P≤1.37×10(-5: one at NOS1AP and two at ATP1B1. Linkage disequilibrium (LD patterns in African Americans assisted in narrowing the region likely to contain the functional variants for several loci. For example, African American LD patterns showed that 0 SNPs were in LD with NOS1AP signal rs12143842, compared with European LD patterns that indicated 87 SNPs, which spanned 114.2 Kb, were in LD with rs12143842. Finally, bioinformatic-based characterization of the nine African American signals pointed to functional candidates located exclusively within non-coding regions, including predicted binding sites for transcription factors such as TBX5, which has been implicated in cardiac structure and conductance. In this detailed evaluation of QT loci, we identified several African Americans SNPs that better define the association with QT and successfully narrowed intervals surrounding established loci. These results demonstrate that the same loci influence variation in QT

  18. Genetic polymorphisms of 20 autosomal STR loci in the Vietnamese population from Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiufeng; Hu, Liping; Du, Lei; Nie, Aiting; Rao, Min; Pang, Jing Bo; Nie, Shengjie

    2017-05-01

    The genetic polymorphisms of 20 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci included in the PowerPlex® 21 kit were evaluated in 522 healthy unrelated Vietnamese from Yunnan, China. All of the loci reached the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These loci were examined to determine allele frequencies and forensic statistical parameters. The combined discrimination power and probability of excluding paternity of the 20 STR loci were 0.999999999999999999999991 26 and 0.999999975, respectively. Results suggested that the 20 STR loci are highly polymorphic, which is suitable for forensic personal identification and paternity testing.

  19. Multiple cold resistance loci confer the high cold tolerance adaptation of Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) to its high-latitude habitat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Donghai; Yu, Li; Chen, Dazhou; Li, Lanying; Zhu, Yuxing; Xiao, Yeqing; Zhang, Dechun; Chen, Caiyan

    2015-07-01

    Dongxiang wild rice is phylogenetically close to temperate japonica and contains multiple cold resistance loci conferring its adaptation to high-latitude habitat. Understanding the nature of adaptation in wild populations will benefit crop breeding in the development of climate-resilient crop varieties. Dongxiang wild rice (DXWR), the northernmost common wild rice known, possesses a high degree of cold tolerance and can survive overwintering in its native habitat. However, to date, it is still unclear how DXWR evolved to cope with low-temperature environment, resulting in limited application of DXWR in rice breeding programs. In this study, we carried out both QTL mapping and phylogenetic analysis to discern the genetic mechanism underlying the strong cold resistance. Through a combination of interval mapping and single locus analysis in two genetic populations, at least 13 QTLs for seedling cold tolerance were identified in DXWR. A phylogenetic study using both genome-wide InDel markers and markers associated with cold tolerance loci reveals that DXWR belongs to the Or-III group, which is most closely related to cold-tolerant Japonica rice rather than to the Indica cultivars that are predominant in the habitat where DXWR grows. Our study paves the way toward an understanding of the nature of adaptation to a northern habitat in O. rufipogon. The QTLs identified in DXWR in this study will be useful for molecular breeding of cold-tolerant rice.

  20. Population structure of the African savannah elephant inferred from mitochondrial control region sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nyakaana, S; Arctander, P; Siegismund, H R

    2002-01-01

    Two hundred and thirty-six mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequences were used in combination with polymorphism at four nuclear microsatellite loci to assess the amount and distribution of genetic variation within and between African savannah elephants. They were sampled from 11 localities in easter...

  1. A microsatellite study for determination of allelic variation of Kurdish population-Kurdistan region-Iraq

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murad, Media J.; Amin, Bushra K.

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this study was detecting genetic variations for the Kurdish population in Kurdistan region-Iraq, using fifteen autosomal STR loci. Buccal swabs were collected and depositing on Nucleic Card (Copan, Italia Spa) from 302 healthy unrelated Iraqi Kurds in five provinces of Kurdistan region-Iraq. Fifteen autosomal STR loci are D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, FGA and Amelogenin included in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler® Direct PCR Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). No significant departure from Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) expectations were observed in 10 from 15 STR loci analyzed (a 5% significance level was taken). The exceptions were the CSF1PO, D3S1358, D13S317, D16S539 and D2S1338 loci. Statistical parameters of forensic efficiencies were estimated for the loci, based on allelic frequencies. The mean of observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity and PIC values across the 15 loci were 0.762, 0.797 and 0.768 respectively, indicating high gene diversity. The combined probability of exclusion, power of discrimination, probability of matching value for all the 15 STR loci were 0.9999968; 0.9999999 and 4.966×10-17, respectively. These parameters indicated the importance of the loci for forensic genetic purposes and paternity testing.

  2. Network-based group variable selection for detecting expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Xuegong

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Analysis of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL aims to identify the genetic loci associated with the expression level of genes. Penalized regression with a proper penalty is suitable for the high-dimensional biological data. Its performance should be enhanced when we incorporate biological knowledge of gene expression network and linkage disequilibrium (LD structure between loci in high-noise background. Results We propose a network-based group variable selection (NGVS method for QTL detection. Our method simultaneously maps highly correlated expression traits sharing the same biological function to marker sets formed by LD. By grouping markers, complex joint activity of multiple SNPs can be considered and the dimensionality of eQTL problem is reduced dramatically. In order to demonstrate the power and flexibility of our method, we used it to analyze two simulations and a mouse obesity and diabetes dataset. We considered the gene co-expression network, grouped markers into marker sets and treated the additive and dominant effect of each locus as a group: as a consequence, we were able to replicate results previously obtained on the mouse linkage dataset. Furthermore, we observed several possible sex-dependent loci and interactions of multiple SNPs. Conclusions The proposed NGVS method is appropriate for problems with high-dimensional data and high-noise background. On eQTL problem it outperforms the classical Lasso method, which does not consider biological knowledge. Introduction of proper gene expression and loci correlation information makes detecting causal markers more accurate. With reasonable model settings, NGVS can lead to novel biological findings.

  3. Genetic and epigenetic variation in 5S ribosomal RNA genes reveals genome dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Lauriane; Rabanal, Fernando A; Dubos, Tristan; Oliver, Cecilia; Lauber, Damien; Poulet, Axel; Vogt, Alexander; Mandlbauer, Ariane; Le Goff, Samuel; Sommer, Andreas; Duborjal, Hervé; Tatout, Christophe; Probst, Aline V

    2018-04-06

    Organized in tandem repeat arrays in most eukaryotes and transcribed by RNA polymerase III, expression of 5S rRNA genes is under epigenetic control. To unveil mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, we obtained here in depth sequence information on 5S rRNA genes from the Arabidopsis thaliana genome and identified differential enrichment in epigenetic marks between the three 5S rDNA loci situated on chromosomes 3, 4 and 5. We reveal the chromosome 5 locus as the major source of an atypical, long 5S rRNA transcript characteristic of an open chromatin structure. 5S rRNA genes from this locus translocated in the Landsberg erecta ecotype as shown by linkage mapping and chromosome-specific FISH analysis. These variations in 5S rDNA locus organization cause changes in the spatial arrangement of chromosomes in the nucleus. Furthermore, 5S rRNA gene arrangements are highly dynamic with alterations in chromosomal positions through translocations in certain mutants of the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway and important copy number variations among ecotypes. Finally, variations in 5S rRNA gene sequence, chromatin organization and transcripts indicate differential usage of 5S rDNA loci in distinct ecotypes. We suggest that both the usage of existing and new 5S rDNA loci resulting from translocations may impact neighboring chromatin organization.

  4. Genetics analysis of 38 STR loci in Uygur population from Southern Xinjiang of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Li; Liu, Haibo; Liao, Qinxiang; Xu, Xu; Chen, Wen; Hao, Shicheng

    2016-05-01

    The allele frequencies and statistical parameters of 38 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci were analyzed in the Uygur population from Southern Xinjiang of China with 290 unrelated individuals. The results show these 38 STR loci have high or medium power of discrimination and probabilities of exclusion. All loci are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The genetic distances between the Uygur population and other Chinese populations were also estimated.

  5. Genetic Variation of 25 Y-Chromosomal and 15 Autosomal STR Loci in the Han Chinese Population of Liaoning Province, Northeast China.

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    Jun Yao

    Full Text Available In the present study, we investigated the genetic characteristics of 25 Y-chromosomal and 15 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR loci in 305 unrelated Han Chinese male individuals from Liaoning Province using AmpFISTR® Yfiler® Plus and IdentifilerTM PCR amplification kits. Population comparison was performed between Liaoning Han population and different ethnic groups to better understand the genetic background of the Liaoning Han population. For Y-STR loci, the overall haplotype diversity was 0.9997 and the discrimination capacity was 0.9607. Gene diversity values ranged from 0.4525 (DYS391 to 0.9617 (DYS385. Rst and two multi-dimensional scaling plots showed that minor differences were observed when the Liaoning Han population was compared to the Jilin Han Chinese, Beijing Han Chinese, Liaoning Manchu, Liaoning Mongolian, Liaoning Xibe, Shandong Han Chinese, Jiangsu Han Chinese, Anhui Han Chinese, Guizhou Han Chinese and Liaoning Hui populations; by contrast, major differences were observed when the Shanxi Han Chinese, Yunnan Bai, Jiangxi Han Chinese, Guangdong Han Chinese, Liaoning Korean, Hunan Tujia, Guangxi Zhuang, Gansu Tibetan, Xishuangbanna Dai, South Korean, Japanese and Hunan Miao populations. For autosomal STR loci, DP ranged from 0.9621 (D2S1338 to 0.8177 (TPOX, with PE distributing from 0.7521 (D18S51 to 0.2988 (TH01. A population comparison was performed and no statistically significant differences were detected at any STR loci between Liaoning Han, China Dong, and Shaanxi Han populations. The results showed that the 25 Y-STR and 15 autosomal STR loci in the Liaoning Han population were valuable for forensic applications and human genetics, and Liaoning Han was an independent endogenous ethnicity with a unique subpopulation structure.

  6. Genetic Variation of 25 Y-Chromosomal and 15 Autosomal STR Loci in the Han Chinese Population of Liaoning Province, Northeast China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Jun; Wang, Bao-Jie

    2016-01-01

    In the present study, we investigated the genetic characteristics of 25 Y-chromosomal and 15 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci in 305 unrelated Han Chinese male individuals from Liaoning Province using AmpFISTR® Yfiler® Plus and IdentifilerTM PCR amplification kits. Population comparison was performed between Liaoning Han population and different ethnic groups to better understand the genetic background of the Liaoning Han population. For Y-STR loci, the overall haplotype diversity was 0.9997 and the discrimination capacity was 0.9607. Gene diversity values ranged from 0.4525 (DYS391) to 0.9617 (DYS385). Rst and two multi-dimensional scaling plots showed that minor differences were observed when the Liaoning Han population was compared to the Jilin Han Chinese, Beijing Han Chinese, Liaoning Manchu, Liaoning Mongolian, Liaoning Xibe, Shandong Han Chinese, Jiangsu Han Chinese, Anhui Han Chinese, Guizhou Han Chinese and Liaoning Hui populations; by contrast, major differences were observed when the Shanxi Han Chinese, Yunnan Bai, Jiangxi Han Chinese, Guangdong Han Chinese, Liaoning Korean, Hunan Tujia, Guangxi Zhuang, Gansu Tibetan, Xishuangbanna Dai, South Korean, Japanese and Hunan Miao populations. For autosomal STR loci, DP ranged from 0.9621 (D2S1338) to 0.8177 (TPOX), with PE distributing from 0.7521 (D18S51) to 0.2988 (TH01). A population comparison was performed and no statistically significant differences were detected at any STR loci between Liaoning Han, China Dong, and Shaanxi Han populations. The results showed that the 25 Y-STR and 15 autosomal STR loci in the Liaoning Han population were valuable for forensic applications and human genetics, and Liaoning Han was an independent endogenous ethnicity with a unique subpopulation structure.

  7. Genome-wide association studies of autoimmune vitiligo identify 23 new risk loci and highlight key pathways and regulatory variants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Ying; Andersen, Genevieve; Yorgov, Daniel; Ferrara, Tracey M; Ben, Songtao; Brownson, Kelly M; Holland, Paulene J; Birlea, Stanca A; Siebert, Janet; Hartmann, Anke; Lienert, Anne; van Geel, Nanja; Lambert, Jo; Luiten, Rosalie M; Wolkerstorfer, Albert; van der Veen, JP Wietze; Bennett, Dorothy C; Taïeb, Alain; Ezzedine, Khaled; Kemp, E Helen; Gawkrodger, David J; Weetman, Anthony P; Kõks, Sulev; Prans, Ele; Kingo, Külli; Karelson, Maire; Wallace, Margaret R; McCormack, Wayne T; Overbeck, Andreas; Moretti, Silvia; Colucci, Roberta; Picardo, Mauro; Silverberg, Nanette B; Olsson, Mats; Valle, Yan; Korobko, Igor; Böhm, Markus; Lim, Henry W.; Hamzavi, Iltefat; Zhou, Li; Mi, Qing-Sheng; Fain, Pamela R.; Santorico, Stephanie A; Spritz, Richard A

    2016-01-01

    Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which depigmented skin results from destruction of melanocytes1, with epidemiologic association with other autoimmune diseases2. In previous linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS1, GWAS2), we identified 27 vitiligo susceptibility loci in patients of European (EUR) ancestry. We carried out a third GWAS (GWAS3) in EUR subjects, with augmented GWAS1 and GWAS2 controls, genome-wide imputation, and meta-analysis of all three GWAS, followed by an independent replication. The combined analyses, with 4,680 cases and 39,586 controls, identified 23 new loci and 7 suggestive loci, most encoding immune and apoptotic regulators, some also associated with other autoimmune diseases, as well as several melanocyte regulators. Bioinformatic analyses indicate a predominance of causal regulatory variation, some corresponding to eQTL at these loci. Together, the identified genes provide a framework for vitiligo genetic architecture and pathobiology, highlight relationships to other autoimmune diseases and melanoma, and offer potential targets for treatment. PMID:27723757

  8. Multi-allelic major effect genes interact with minor effect QTLs to control adaptive color pattern variation in Heliconius erato.

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    Riccardo Papa

    Full Text Available Recent studies indicate that relatively few genomic regions are repeatedly involved in the evolution of Heliconius butterfly wing patterns. Although this work demonstrates a number of cases where homologous loci underlie both convergent and divergent wing pattern change among different Heliconius species, it is still unclear exactly how many loci underlie pattern variation across the genus. To address this question for Heliconius erato, we created fifteen independent crosses utilizing the four most distinct color pattern races and analyzed color pattern segregation across a total of 1271 F2 and backcross offspring. Additionally, we used the most variable brood, an F2 cross between H. himera and the east Ecuadorian H. erato notabilis, to perform a quantitative genetic analysis of color pattern variation and produce a detailed map of the loci likely involved in the H. erato color pattern radiation. Using AFLP and gene based markers, we show that fewer major genes than previously envisioned control the color pattern variation in H. erato. We describe for the first time the genetic architecture of H. erato wing color pattern by assessing quantitative variation in addition to traditional linkage mapping. In particular, our data suggest three genomic intervals modulate the bulk of the observed variation in color. Furthermore, we also identify several modifier loci of moderate effect size that contribute to the quantitative wing pattern variation. Our results are consistent with the two-step model for the evolution of mimetic wing patterns in Heliconius and support a growing body of empirical data demonstrating the importance of major effect loci in adaptive change.

  9. The Case for High Resolution Extended 6-Loci HLA Typing for Identifying Related Donors in the Indian Subcontinent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Rajat Kumar; Kumari, Ankita; Sedai, Amit; Parmar, Lalith; Dhanya, Rakesh; Faulkner, Lawrence

    2017-09-01

    Three-loci low-resolution (LR) or intermediate-resolution HLA typing is generally considered adequate in the related blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) context. However, a single high-resolution (HR) mismatch may have a similar adverse impact on BMT outcome as an LR one. We sought to determine the frequency of mismatches that may go undetected when standard typing (LR or 3-loci HR) is used compared with 6-loci HR typing for related donor compatibility testing, and to assess its impact on relevant BMT outcomes. We analyzed data from a total of 2554 6-loci (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, -DQB1, and -DPB1) HR sequence-based typing (full typing [FT]) from 754 patients, 1011 siblings, and 789 parents done at DKMS Germany (www.DKMS.de) between January 1, 2014, and June 21, 2016. We also studied 38 cases in which the family had undergone 3-loci HLA typing (standard typing [ST]). Patients were from India (70%), Pakistan (22%), and Sri Lanka (8%). The IMGT/HLA database (www.ebi.ac.uk/ipd/imgt/hla) was used to tease out nonpermissive DPB1 mismatches. HLA disparity-related outcomes, such as rejection and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) were assessed in a retrospective matched-pair cohort of 50 patients (25 with ST and 25 with FT) who underwent BMT for severe thalassemia from compatible related donors. We found fully matched (either 12/12 HR matches or with a single permissive DPB1 mismatch) related donors for 285 patients (38%). Of these donors, 89% were siblings and 11% were parents. The likelihood of matching on an individual locus on LR but not on HR was found to be 5%. A total of 9 donors (3%; 7 siblings and 2 parents) who would have been considered a full match by HR typing on A, B, and DRB1 alone were not a match by extended 6-loci HR typing. Five of these 9 donors had a mismatch on C or DQB1, and 4 had a nonpermissive DPB1 mismatch. In this group, 5 donors (56%) belonged to a consanguineous family, in 2 donors (22%) there was no reported consanguinity, and in 2 donors (22

  10. Nonlinear selection and a blend of convergent, divergent and parallel evolution shapes natural variation in glucosinolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kliebenstein, Daniel James; Cacho, N. Ivalú

    2016-01-01

    and traits that is highly similar both within and between species. Further, early field trials with single gene recreations of natural variation are showing that selection is highly fluctuating both from site to site and from year to year within a location. This review goes into the specific ecological......The molecular mechanisms underlying organismal fitness in complex environments is just beginning to be illuminated. One of the pre-eminent model systems that span the molecular to field fitness chasm is the natural variation in glucosinolate defence metabolites within the Capparales. In this system......, evolutionary and molecular observations for each of the major loci controlling natural variation in glucosinolates....

  11. CoLIde: A bioinformatics tool for CO-expression based small RNA Loci Identification using high-throughput sequencing data

    OpenAIRE

    Mohorianu, Irina; Stocks, Matthew Benedict; Wood, John; Dalmay, Tamas; Moulton, Vincent

    2013-01-01

    Small RNAs (sRNAs) are 20–25 nt non-coding RNAs that act as guides for the highly sequence-specific regulatory mechanism known as RNA silencing. Due to the recent increase in sequencing depth, a highly complex and diverse population of sRNAs in both plants and animals has been revealed. However, the exponential increase in sequencing data has also made the identification of individual sRNA transcripts corresponding to biological units (sRNA loci) more challenging when based exclusively on the...

  12. Dynamics of genetic variation at gliadin-coding loci in bread wheat cultivars developed in small grains research center (Kragujevac during last 35 years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novosljska-Dragovič Aleksandra

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple alleles of gliadin-coding loci are well-known genetic markers of common wheat genotypes. Based on analysis of gliadin patterns in common wheat cultivars developed at the Small Grains Research Center in Kragujevac dynamics of genetic variability at gliadin-coding loci has been surveyed for the period of 35 years. It was shown that long-term breeding of the wheat cultivars involved gradual replacement of ancient alleles for those widely spread in some regions in the world, which belong to well-known cultivars-donor of some important traits. Developing cultivars whose pedigree involved much new foreign genetic material has increased genetic diversity as well as has changed frequency of alleles of gliadin-coding loci. So we can conclude that the genetic profile of modern Serbian cultivars has changed considerably. Genetic formula of gliadin was made for each the cultivar studied. The most frequent alleles of gliadin-coding loci among modern cultivars should be of great interest of breeders because these alleles are probably linked with genes that confer advantage to their carriers at present.

  13. Discrimination of candidate subgenome-specific loci by linkage map construction with an S1 population of octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagano, Soichiro; Shirasawa, Kenta; Hirakawa, Hideki; Maeda, Fumi; Ishikawa, Masami; Isobe, Sachiko N

    2017-05-12

    The strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, is an allo-octoploid (2n = 8x = 56) and outcrossing species. Although it is the most widely consumed berry crop in the world, its complex genome structure has hindered its genetic and genomic analysis, and thus discrimination of subgenome-specific loci among the homoeologous chromosomes is needed. In the present study, we identified candidate subgenome-specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci, and constructed a linkage map using an S 1 mapping population of the cultivar 'Reikou' with an IStraw90 Axiom® SNP array and previously published SSR markers. The 'Reikou' linkage map consisted of 11,574 loci (11,002 SNPs and 572 SSR loci) spanning 2816.5 cM of 31 linkage groups. The 11,574 loci were located on 4738 unique positions (bin) on the linkage map. Of the mapped loci, 8999 (8588 SNPs and 411 SSR loci) showed a 1:2:1 segregation ratio of AA:AB:BB allele, which suggested the possibility of deriving loci from candidate subgenome-specific sequences. In addition, 2575 loci (2414 SNPs and 161 SSR loci) showed a 3:1 segregation of AB:BB allele, indicating they were derived from homoeologous genomic sequences. Comparative analysis of the homoeologous linkage groups revealed differences in genome structure among the subgenomes. Our results suggest that candidate subgenome-specific loci are randomly located across the genomes, and that there are small- to large-scale structural variations among the subgenomes. The mapped SNPs and SSR loci on the linkage map are expected to be seed points for the construction of pseudomolecules in the octoploid strawberry.

  14. Allelic variation at the vernalization and photoperiod sensitivity loci in Chinese winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.

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    Xiangfen eZhang

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A total of 205 wheat cultivars from the Yellow and Huai valley of China were used to identify allelic variations of vernalization and photoperiod response genes, as well as the copy number variations (CNVs of Ppd-B1 and Vrn-A1 genes. A novel Vrn-D1 allele with 174-bp insertion in the promoter region of the recessive allele vrn-D1 was discovered in three Chinese wheat cultivars and designated as Vrn-D1c. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that cultivars with the Vrn-D1c allele exhibited significantly higher expression of the Vrn-D1 gene than that in cultivars with the recessive allele vrn-D1, indicating that the 174-bp insertion of Vrn-D1c contributed to the increase in Vrn-D1 gene expression and caused early heading and flowering. The five new cis-elements (Box II-like, 3-AF1 binding site, TC-rich repeats, Box-W1 and CAT-box in the 174-bp insertion possibly promoted the basal activity level of Vrn-D1 gene. Two new polymorphism combinations of photoperiod genes were identified and designated as Ppd-D1_Hapl-IX and Ppd-D1_Hapl-X. Association of the CNV of Ppd-B1 gene with the heading and flowering days showed that the cultivars with Ppd-B1_Hapl-VI demonstrated the earliest heading and flowering times, and those with Ppd-B1_Hapl-IV presented the latest heading and flowering times in three cropping seasons. Distribution of the vernalization and photoperiod response genes indicated that all recessive alleles at the four vernalization response loci, Ppd-B1_Hapl-I at Ppd-B1 locus, and Ppd-D1_Hapl-I at the Ppd-D1 locus were predominant in Chinese winter wheat cultivars. This study can provide useful information for wheat breeding programs to screen wheat cultivars with relatively superior adaptability and maturity.

  15. Identification and genetic mapping of highly polymorphic microsatellite loci from an EST database of the septoria tritici blotch pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Stephen B; van der Lee, Theo A J; Cavaletto, Jessica R; Te Lintel Hekkert, Bas; Crane, Charles F; Kema, Gert H J

    2007-05-01

    A database of 30,137 EST sequences from Mycosphaerella graminicola, the septoria tritici blotch fungus of wheat, was scanned with a custom software pipeline for di- and trinucleotide units repeated tandemly six or more times. The bioinformatics analysis identified 109 putative SSR loci, and for 99 of them, flanking primers were developed successfully and tested for amplification and polymorphism by PCR on five field isolates of diverse origin, including the parents of the standard M. graminicola mapping population. Seventy-seven of the 99 primer pairs generated an easily scored banding pattern and 51 were polymorphic, with up to four alleles per locus, among the isolates tested. Among these 51 loci, 23 were polymorphic between the parents of the mapping population. Twenty-one of these as well as two previously published microsatellite loci were positioned on the existing genetic linkage map of M. graminicola on 13 of the 24 linkage groups. Most (66%) of the primer pairs also amplified bands in the closely related barley pathogen Septoria passerinii, but only six were polymorphic among four isolates tested. A subset of the primer pairs also revealed polymorphisms when tested with DNA from the related banana black leaf streak (Black Sigatoka) pathogen, M. fijiensis. The EST database provided an excellent source of new, highly polymorphic microsatellite markers that can be multiplexed for high-throughput genetic analyses of M. graminicola and related species.

  16. Mapping the genetic basis of symbiotic variation in legume-rhizobium interactions in Medicago truncatula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorton, Amanda J; Heath, Katy D; Pilet-Nayel, Marie-Laure; Baranger, Alain; Stinchcombe, John R

    2012-11-01

    Mutualisms are known to be genetically variable, where the genotypes differ in the fitness benefits they gain from the interaction. To date, little is known about the loci that underlie such genetic variation in fitness or whether the loci influencing fitness are partner specific, and depend on the genotype of the interaction partner. In the legume-rhizobium mutualism, one set of potential candidate genes that may influence the fitness benefits of the symbiosis are the plant genes involved in the initiation of the signaling pathway between the two partners. Here we performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping in Medicago truncatula in two different rhizobium strain treatments to locate regions of the genome influencing plant traits, assess whether such regions are dependent on the genotype of the rhizobial mutualist (QTL × rhizobium strain), and evaluate the contribution of sequence variation at known symbiosis signaling genes. Two of the symbiotic signaling genes, NFP and DMI3, colocalized with two QTL affecting average fruit weight and leaf number, suggesting that natural variation in nodulation genes may potentially influence plant fitness. In both rhizobium strain treatments, there were QTL that influenced multiple traits, indicative of either tight linkage between loci or pleiotropy, including one QTL with opposing effects on growth and reproduction. There was no evidence for QTL × rhizobium strain or genotype × genotype interactions, suggesting either that such interactions are due to small-effect loci or that more genotype-genotype combinations need to be tested in future mapping studies.

  17. List of isozyme loci - RGP gmap98 | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available List Contact us RGP gmap98 List of isozyme loci Data detail Data name List of isozyme loci DOI 10.18908/lsdb...he present high-density linkage map, and that were putatively identified as isozyme genes. Data file File name: rgp_gmap98_iso...gmap98/LATEST/rgp_gmap98_isozyme_loci.zip File size: 611 B Simple search URL http://togodb.biosciencedbc.jp/...0001 were considered as functionally identical clones. And we have selected the ones that hit the isozyme ge...his Database Database Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us List of isozyme loci - RGP gmap98 | LSDB Archive ...

  18. MICROSATELLITE GENETIC VARIATION IN CULTURED POPULATIONS OF AFRICAN CATFISH (Clarias gariepinus IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imron Imron

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is one of economically important farmed species in Indonesia. To support the development of aquaculture industry, high genetic quality of both broodstock and seeds is required and breeding program is considered as viable option. Information on genetic variation of the populations being considered to form a base population may give insight toward the appropriate strategy to be implemented in breeding program. This study was aimed to assess genetic variation in farmed populations of catfish in Indonesia using microsatellite markers with special emphasis on their use to develop breeding program. Three populations of farmed catfish, namely Dumbo, Paiton, and Sangkuriang were collected. Fifteen individuals representing each population were screened for microsatellite variability using seven primer sets (cga01, cga02, cga03, cga05, cga06, cga09, cga10. Results found that with exception of two loci (cga01 and cg02 which had a slight increase, the other four loci showed reduction in the number of alleles ranging from 35% to 80% depending on loci. Farmed populations also showed heterozygote deficient and inbreeding level, being the highest was found in Sangkuriang and the least was observed in Dumbo population. Individuals within populations contributed most (95% while interpopulation variation accounted for only 5% of the total genetic variation. Populations of Dumbo and Sangkuriang were genetically similar while populations of Paiton were genetically different from both Dumbo and Sangkuriang. Viewed from genetic perspective, by combining all information emerging from this study, the best possible strategy to establish a base population with broad genetic base and less inbreeding would be to combine all the populations into a synthetic base population.

  19. A revised nomenclature for transcribed human endogenous retroviral loci

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and ERV-like sequences comprise 8% of the human genome. A hitherto unknown proportion of ERV loci are transcribed and thus contribute to the human transcriptome. A small proportion of these loci encode functional proteins. As the role of ERVs in normal and diseased biological processes is not yet established, transcribed ERV loci are of particular interest. As more transcribed ERV loci are likely to be identified in the near future, the development of a systematic nomenclature is important to ensure that all information on each locus can be easily retrieved. Results Here we present a revised nomenclature of transcribed human endogenous retroviral loci that sorts loci into groups based on Repbase classifications. Each symbol is of the format ERV + group symbol + unique number. Group symbols are based on a mixture of Repbase designations and well-supported symbols used in the literature. The presented guidelines will allow newly identified loci to be easily incorporated into the scheme. Conclusions The naming system will be employed by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee for naming transcribed human ERV loci. We hope that the system will contribute to clarifying a certain aspect of a sometimes confusing nomenclature for human endogenous retroviruses. The presented system may also be employed for naming transcribed loci of human non-ERV repeat loci. PMID:21542922

  20. Gene transposition causing natural variation for growth in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlad, Daniela; Rappaport, Fabrice; Simon, Matthieu; Loudet, Olivier

    2010-05-13

    A major challenge in biology is to identify molecular polymorphisms responsible for variation in complex traits of evolutionary and agricultural interest. Using the advantages of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model species, we sought to identify new genes and genetic mechanisms underlying natural variation for shoot growth using quantitative genetic strategies. More quantitative trait loci (QTL) still need be resolved to draw a general picture as to how and where in the pathways adaptation is shaping natural variation and the type of molecular variation involved. Phenotypic variation for shoot growth in the Bur-0 x Col-0 recombinant inbred line set was decomposed into several QTLs. Nearly-isogenic lines generated from the residual heterozygosity segregating among lines revealed an even more complex picture, with major variation controlled by opposite linked loci and masked by the segregation bias due to the defective phenotype of SG3 (Shoot Growth-3), as well as epistasis with SG3i (SG3-interactor). Using principally a fine-mapping strategy, we have identified the underlying gene causing phenotypic variation at SG3: At4g30720 codes for a new chloroplast-located protein essential to ensure a correct electron flow through the photosynthetic chain and, hence, photosynthesis efficiency and normal growth. The SG3/SG3i interaction is the result of a structural polymorphism originating from the duplication of the gene followed by divergent paralogue's loss between parental accessions. Species-wide, our results illustrate the very dynamic rate of duplication/transposition, even over short periods of time, resulting in several divergent--but still functional-combinations of alleles fixed in different backgrounds. In predominantly selfing species like Arabidopsis, this variation remains hidden in wild populations but is potentially revealed when divergent individuals outcross. This work highlights the need for improved tools and algorithms to resolve structural variation

  1. Human red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate mutase and monophosphoglycerate mutase: genetic evidence for two separate loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, S H; Anderson, J E; Giblett, E R

    1977-01-01

    Rare genetic variants of human red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate mutase (DPGM) and monophosphoglycerate mutase (MPGM) were compared by starch gel electrophoresis. The isozyme patterns showed that genetic variation of the enzymes were independent from each other, thus DPGM and MPGM must be controlled by two separate loci. Images Fig. 1 PMID:195467

  2. Cultivar identification by means of isoenzymes 2. Genetic variation at 4 enzyme loci in diploid ryegrass lolium-spp

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, G.; Østergaard, H.; Johansen, Henrik

    1985-01-01

    gel electrophoresis. Cultivars were pairwise compared by means of allelic frequencies assuming Hardy-Weinberg proportions. At first, the comparisons were carried out for each locus separately. The 2 loci Pgi-2 and Got-3 distinguished perennial ryegrass cultivars fairly well, but the discrimination...

  3. Genetic variation of cowslip (Primula veris L. populations (West Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Morozowska

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Genetic variation of twelve Polish populations of Primula veris L. from western Poland was investigated in respect of six enzyme systems: 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD, diaphorase (DIA, menadione reductase (MNR, formate dehydrogenase (FDH, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT. Only two of them (6PGD and DIA were polymorphic and all populations were compared according to four loci and eight alleles. For 6PGD only one out of the two detected loci (locus 6PGD-2 was polymorphic and consisted of three alleles a, b and c. For DIA each of two detected loci had two alleles. For 6PGD-2 one population was monomorphic and four populations were monomorphic for DIA-1 and DIA-2. The rest of the populations were polymorphic with low frequency of heterozygotes. The low heterozygosity level, found in the examined populations, was confirmed by high values of the fixation index (F. The level of genetic differentiation among GST populations specified for each polymorphic loci, was equal to 0.045 for 6PGD-2 and had the value of 0.078 for DIA-2 and 0.186 for DIA-1. Nm value for polymorphic loci was 1.10 for DIA-1 and 2.94 for DIA-2, and for 6PGD-2 was 5.33, what indicates some gene flow between the examined populations. The dendrogram constructed on the basis of genotype frequencies showed that the populations were divided into two groups, however the most southern population No. 2 was clearly similar to the northern population No. 8.

  4. Allelic interaction of F1 pollen sterility loci and abnormal chromosome behaviour caused pollen sterility in intersubspecific autotetraploid rice hybrids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, J H; Shahid, M Q; Li, Y J; Guo, H B; Cheng, X A; Liu, X D; Lu, Y G

    2011-08-01

    The intersubspecific hybrids of autotetraploid rice has many features that increase rice yield, but lower seed set is a major hindrance in its utilization. Pollen sterility is one of the most important factors which cause intersubspecific hybrid sterility. The hybrids with greater variation in seed set were used to study how the F(1) pollen sterile loci (S-a, S-b, and S-c) interact with each other and how abnormal chromosome behaviour and allelic interaction of F(1) sterility loci affect pollen fertility and seed set of intersubspecific autotetraploid rice hybrids. The results showed that interaction between pollen sterility loci have significant effects on the pollen fertility of autotetraploid hybrids, and pollen fertility further decreased with an increase in the allelic interaction of F(1) pollen sterility loci. Abnormal ultra-structure and microtubule distribution patterns during pollen mother cell (PMC) meiosis were found in the hybrids with low pollen fertility in interphase and leptotene, suggesting that the effect-time of pollen sterility loci interaction was very early. There were highly significant differences in the number of quadrivalents and bivalents, and in chromosome configuration among all the hybrids, and quadrivalents decreased with an increase in the seed set of autotetraploid hybrids. Many different kinds of chromosomal abnormalities, such as chromosome straggling, chromosome lagging, asynchrony of chromosome disjunction, and tri-fission were found during the various developmental stages of PMC meiosis. All these abnormalities were significantly higher in sterile hybrids than in fertile hybrids, suggesting that pollen sterility gene interactions tend to increase the chromosomal abnormalities which cause the partial abortion of male gametes and leads to the decline in the seed set of the autotetraploid rice hybrids. © 2011 The Author(s).

  5. Genetic determination of human facial morphology: links between cleft-lips and normal variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boehringer, Stefan; van der Lijn, Fedde; Liu, Fan; Günther, Manuel; Sinigerova, Stella; Nowak, Stefanie; Ludwig, Kerstin U; Herberz, Ruth; Klein, Stefan; Hofman, Albert; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Niessen, Wiro J; Breteler, Monique M B; van der Lugt, Aad; Würtz, Rolf P; Nöthen, Markus M; Horsthemke, Bernhard; Wieczorek, Dagmar; Mangold, Elisabeth; Kayser, Manfred

    2011-11-01

    Recent genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P), and other previous studies showed distinctly differing facial distance measurements when comparing unaffected relatives of NSCL/P patients with normal controls. Here, we test the hypothesis that genetic loci involved in NSCL/P also influence normal variation in facial morphology. We tested 11 SNPs from 10 genomic regions previously showing replicated evidence of association with NSCL/P for association with normal variation of nose width and bizygomatic distance in two cohorts from Germany (N=529) and the Netherlands (N=2497). The two most significant associations found were between nose width and SNP rs1258763 near the GREM1 gene in the German cohort (P=6 × 10(-4)), and between bizygomatic distance and SNP rs987525 at 8q24.21 near the CCDC26 gene (P=0.017) in the Dutch sample. A genetic prediction model explained 2% of phenotype variation in nose width in the German and 0.5% of bizygomatic distance variation in the Dutch cohort. Although preliminary, our data provide a first link between genetic loci involved in a pathological facial trait such as NSCL/P and variation of normal facial morphology. Moreover, we present a first approach for understanding the genetic basis of human facial appearance, a highly intriguing trait with implications on clinical practice, clinical genetics, forensic intelligence, social interactions and personal identity.

  6. A PQL (protein quantity loci) analysis of mature pea seed proteins identifies loci determining seed protein composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourgeois, Michael; Jacquin, Françoise; Cassecuelle, Florence; Savois, Vincent; Belghazi, Maya; Aubert, Grégoire; Quillien, Laurence; Huart, Myriam; Marget, Pascal; Burstin, Judith

    2011-05-01

    Legume seeds are a major source of dietary proteins for humans and animals. Deciphering the genetic control of their accumulation is thus of primary significance towards their improvement. At first, we analysed the genetic variability of the pea seed proteome of three genotypes over 3 years of cultivation. This revealed that seed protein composition variability was under predominant genetic control, with as much as 60% of the spots varying quantitatively among the three genotypes. Then, by combining proteomic and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping approaches, we uncovered the genetic architecture of seed proteome variability. Protein quantity loci (PQL) were searched for 525 spots detected on 2-D gels obtained for 157 recombinant inbred lines. Most protein quantity loci mapped in clusters, suggesting that the accumulation of the major storage protein families was under the control of a limited number of loci. While convicilin accumulation was mainly under the control of cis-regulatory regions, vicilins and legumins were controlled by both cis- and trans-regulatory regions. Some loci controlled both seed protein composition and protein content and a locus on LGIIa appears to be a major regulator of protein composition and of protein in vitro digestibility. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. GENETIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION OF POPULATIONS BELONGING TO THE BULINUS TRUNCATUS/TROPICUS COMPLEX (GASTROPODA; PLANORBIDAE) IN SOUTH WESTERN ZIMBABWE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mukaratirwa, S.; Kristensen, Thomas K.; Siegismund, Hans Redlef

    1998-01-01

    , in respect of allozyme variation (5 polymorphic loci), shell morphology (9 variables), copulatory organ and chromosome number. Comparative data were obtained from snails from north western Zimbabwe identified definitely as B. tropicus. Analysis of the genetic structure revealed a high degree of polymorphism...... (P) ranging from 0.29-0.80 among populations from Plumtree and expected heterozygosity (He) from 0.02-0.22. No enzymatic diagnostic loci were found which could differentiate the different morphs or populations and discriminant function analysis on the morphological data showed an overlap of morphs...

  8. Plant-symbiotic fungi as chemical engineers: multi-genome analysis of the clavicipitaceae reveals dynamics of alkaloid loci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher L Schardl

    Full Text Available The fungal family Clavicipitaceae includes plant symbionts and parasites that produce several psychoactive and bioprotective alkaloids. The family includes grass symbionts in the epichloae clade (Epichloë and Neotyphodium species, which are extraordinarily diverse both in their host interactions and in their alkaloid profiles. Epichloae produce alkaloids of four distinct classes, all of which deter insects, and some-including the infamous ergot alkaloids-have potent effects on mammals. The exceptional chemotypic diversity of the epichloae may relate to their broad range of host interactions, whereby some are pathogenic and contagious, others are mutualistic and vertically transmitted (seed-borne, and still others vary in pathogenic or mutualistic behavior. We profiled the alkaloids and sequenced the genomes of 10 epichloae, three ergot fungi (Claviceps species, a morning-glory symbiont (Periglandula ipomoeae, and a bamboo pathogen (Aciculosporium take, and compared the gene clusters for four classes of alkaloids. Results indicated a strong tendency for alkaloid loci to have conserved cores that specify the skeleton structures and peripheral genes that determine chemical variations that are known to affect their pharmacological specificities. Generally, gene locations in cluster peripheries positioned them near to transposon-derived, AT-rich repeat blocks, which were probably involved in gene losses, duplications, and neofunctionalizations. The alkaloid loci in the epichloae had unusual structures riddled with large, complex, and dynamic repeat blocks. This feature was not reflective of overall differences in repeat contents in the genomes, nor was it characteristic of most other specialized metabolism loci. The organization and dynamics of alkaloid loci and abundant repeat blocks in the epichloae suggested that these fungi are under selection for alkaloid diversification. We suggest that such selection is related to the variable life histories

  9. Fitness of allozyme variants in Drosophila pseudoobscura. II. Selection at the Est-5, Odh and Mdh-2 loci

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marinkovic, D; Ayala, F J

    1975-01-01

    We have studied the effects on fitness of allelic variation at three gene loci (Est-5, Odh, and Mdh-2) coding for enzymes in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Genotype has a significant effect on fitness for all six parameters measured (female fecundity, male mating capacity, egg-to-adult survival under near-optimal and under competitive conditions, and rate of development under near-optimal and under competitive conditions). No single genotype is best for all six fitness parameters; rather, genotypes with superior performance during a certain stage of the life-cycle may have low fitness at some other stage, or in different environmental conditions. Heterozygotes are sometimes best when all fitness parameters are considered. There are significant interactions between loci. The various forms of balancing selection uncovered in our experiments may account for the polymorphisms occurring in natural populations of D. pseudoobscura at the three loci studied. (auth)

  10. [Identification of novel variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci in Mycobacterium avium and development of an effective means of VNTR typing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurokawa, Kazuhiro; Uchiya, Kei-Ichi; Yagi, Tetsuya; Takahashi, Hiroyasu; Niimi, Masaki; Ichikawa, Kazuya; Inagaki, Takayuki; Moriyama, Makoto; Nikai, Toshiaki; Hayashi, Yuta; Nakagawa, Taku; Ogawa, Kenji

    2012-07-01

    To make more effective use of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) typing, we identified novel VNTR loci in Mycobacterium avium and used them for modified M. avium tandem repeat-VNTR (MATR-VNTR) typing. Analysis of a DNA sample extracted from a clinical isolate (strain HN135) with the FLX system genome sequencer (Roche Diagnostic System) led to discovery of several novel VNTR loci. The allelic diversity of the novel VNTR loci was evaluated for 71 clinical isolates and compared with the diversity of the MATR-VNTR loci. To improve efficacy of MATR-VNTR typing, we tested typing using 2 sets of loci selected from the newly identified loci and the MATR loci, i.e., one set containing 7 and another 16 loci. Hunter Gaston's discriminatory index (HGDI) was calculated for these sets. Six VNTR loci were newly identified, of which 5 showed a high diversity. The HGDI was 0.980 for the improved new typing using a set of 7 loci, and 0.995 for another set of 16 loci, while it was 0.992 for the conventional MATR-VNTR typing. VNTR typing with the set of the 7 loci enabled a rapid analysis, and another set of 16 loci enabled a precise analysis, as compared with conventional MATR-VNTR typing. A method that uses only VNTR loci with relatively high allelic diversity is considered to be a useful tool for VNTR typing of MAC isolates.

  11. Discovery and fine-mapping of adiposity loci using high density imputation of genome-wide association studies in individuals of African ancestry: African Ancestry Anthropometry Genetics Consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Maggie C Y; Graff, Mariaelisa; Lu, Yingchang; Justice, Anne E; Mudgal, Poorva; Liu, Ching-Ti; Young, Kristin; Yanek, Lisa R; Feitosa, Mary F; Wojczynski, Mary K; Rand, Kristin; Brody, Jennifer A; Cade, Brian E; Dimitrov, Latchezar; Duan, Qing; Guo, Xiuqing; Lange, Leslie A; Nalls, Michael A; Okut, Hayrettin; Tajuddin, Salman M; Tayo, Bamidele O; Vedantam, Sailaja; Bradfield, Jonathan P; Chen, Guanjie; Chen, Wei-Min; Chesi, Alessandra; Irvin, Marguerite R; Padhukasahasram, Badri; Smith, Jennifer A; Zheng, Wei; Allison, Matthew A; Ambrosone, Christine B; Bandera, Elisa V; Bartz, Traci M; Berndt, Sonja I; Bernstein, Leslie; Blot, William J; Bottinger, Erwin P; Carpten, John; Chanock, Stephen J; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Conti, David V; Cooper, Richard S; Fornage, Myriam; Freedman, Barry I; Garcia, Melissa; Goodman, Phyllis J; Hsu, Yu-Han H; Hu, Jennifer; Huff, Chad D; Ingles, Sue A; John, Esther M; Kittles, Rick; Klein, Eric; Li, Jin; McKnight, Barbara; Nayak, Uma; Nemesure, Barbara; Ogunniyi, Adesola; Olshan, Andrew; Press, Michael F; Rohde, Rebecca; Rybicki, Benjamin A; Salako, Babatunde; Sanderson, Maureen; Shao, Yaming; Siscovick, David S; Stanford, Janet L; Stevens, Victoria L; Stram, Alex; Strom, Sara S; Vaidya, Dhananjay; Witte, John S; Yao, Jie; Zhu, Xiaofeng; Ziegler, Regina G; Zonderman, Alan B; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Ambs, Stefan; Cushman, Mary; Faul, Jessica D; Hakonarson, Hakon; Levin, Albert M; Nathanson, Katherine L; Ware, Erin B; Weir, David R; Zhao, Wei; Zhi, Degui; Arnett, Donna K; Grant, Struan F A; Kardia, Sharon L R; Oloapde, Olufunmilayo I; Rao, D C; Rotimi, Charles N; Sale, Michele M; Williams, L Keoki; Zemel, Babette S; Becker, Diane M; Borecki, Ingrid B; Evans, Michele K; Harris, Tamara B; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Li, Yun; Patel, Sanjay R; Psaty, Bruce M; Rotter, Jerome I; Wilson, James G; Bowden, Donald W; Cupples, L Adrienne; Haiman, Christopher A; Loos, Ruth J F; North, Kari E

    2017-04-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >300 loci associated with measures of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), but few have been identified through screening of the African ancestry genomes. We performed large scale meta-analyses and replications in up to 52,895 individuals for BMI and up to 23,095 individuals for WHRadjBMI from the African Ancestry Anthropometry Genetics Consortium (AAAGC) using 1000 Genomes phase 1 imputed GWAS to improve coverage of both common and low frequency variants in the low linkage disequilibrium African ancestry genomes. In the sex-combined analyses, we identified one novel locus (TCF7L2/HABP2) for WHRadjBMI and eight previously established loci at P African ancestry individuals. An additional novel locus (SPRYD7/DLEU2) was identified for WHRadjBMI when combined with European GWAS. In the sex-stratified analyses, we identified three novel loci for BMI (INTS10/LPL and MLC1 in men, IRX4/IRX2 in women) and four for WHRadjBMI (SSX2IP, CASC8, PDE3B and ZDHHC1/HSD11B2 in women) in individuals of African ancestry or both African and European ancestry. For four of the novel variants, the minor allele frequency was low (African ancestry sex-combined and sex-stratified analyses, 26 BMI loci and 17 WHRadjBMI loci contained ≤ 20 variants in the credible sets that jointly account for 99% posterior probability of driving the associations. The lead variants in 13 of these loci had a high probability of being causal. As compared to our previous HapMap imputed GWAS for BMI and WHRadjBMI including up to 71,412 and 27,350 African ancestry individuals, respectively, our results suggest that 1000 Genomes imputation showed modest improvement in identifying GWAS loci including low frequency variants. Trans-ethnic meta-analyses further improved fine mapping of putative causal variants in loci shared between the African and European ancestry populations.

  12. High Resolution of Quantitative Traits Into Multiple Loci via Interval Mapping

    OpenAIRE

    Jansen, Ritsert C.; Stam, Piet

    1994-01-01

    A very general method is described for multiple linear regression of a quantitative phenotype on genotype [putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and markers] in segregating generations obtained from line crosses. The method exploits two features, (a) the use of additional parental and F1 data, which fixes the joint QTL effects and the environmental error, and (b) the use of markers as cofactors, which reduces the genetic background noise. As a result, a significant increase of QTL detection...

  13. A meta-analysis of thyroid-related traits reveals novel loci and gender-specific differences in the regulation of thyroid function.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonora Porcu

    Full Text Available Thyroid hormone is essential for normal metabolism and development, and overt abnormalities in thyroid function lead to common endocrine disorders affecting approximately 10% of individuals over their life span. In addition, even mild alterations in thyroid function are associated with weight changes, atrial fibrillation, osteoporosis, and psychiatric disorders. To identify novel variants underlying thyroid function, we performed a large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for serum levels of the highly heritable thyroid function markers TSH and FT4, in up to 26,420 and 17,520 euthyroid subjects, respectively. Here we report 26 independent associations, including several novel loci for TSH (PDE10A, VEGFA, IGFBP5, NFIA, SOX9, PRDM11, FGF7, INSR, ABO, MIR1179, NRG1, MBIP, ITPK1, SASH1, GLIS3 and FT4 (LHX3, FOXE1, AADAT, NETO1/FBXO15, LPCAT2/CAPNS2. Notably, only limited overlap was detected between TSH and FT4 associated signals, in spite of the feedback regulation of their circulating levels by the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Five of the reported loci (PDE8B, PDE10A, MAF/LOC440389, NETO1/FBXO15, and LPCAT2/CAPNS2 show strong gender-specific differences, which offer clues for the known sexual dimorphism in thyroid function and related pathologies. Importantly, the TSH-associated loci contribute not only to variation within the normal range, but also to TSH values outside the reference range, suggesting that they may be involved in thyroid dysfunction. Overall, our findings explain, respectively, 5.64% and 2.30% of total TSH and FT4 trait variance, and they improve the current knowledge of the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function and the consequences of genetic variation for hypo- or hyperthyroidism.

  14. A Meta-Analysis of Thyroid-Related Traits Reveals Novel Loci and Gender-Specific Differences in the Regulation of Thyroid Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volpato, Claudia B.; Wilson, Scott G.; Cappola, Anne R.; Bos, Steffan D.; Deelen, Joris; den Heijer, Martin; Freathy, Rachel M.; Lahti, Jari; Liu, Chunyu; Lopez, Lorna M.; Nolte, Ilja M.; O'Connell, Jeffrey R.; Tanaka, Toshiko; Trompet, Stella; Arnold, Alice; Bandinelli, Stefania; Beekman, Marian; Böhringer, Stefan; Brown, Suzanne J.; Buckley, Brendan M.; Camaschella, Clara; de Craen, Anton J. M.; Davies, Gail; de Visser, Marieke C. H.; Ford, Ian; Forsen, Tom; Frayling, Timothy M.; Fugazzola, Laura; Gögele, Martin; Hattersley, Andrew T.; Hermus, Ad R.; Hofman, Albert; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine J.; Jensen, Richard A.; Kajantie, Eero; Kloppenburg, Margreet; Lim, Ee M.; Masciullo, Corrado; Mariotti, Stefano; Minelli, Cosetta; Mitchell, Braxton D.; Nagaraja, Ramaiah; Netea-Maier, Romana T.; Palotie, Aarno; Persani, Luca; Piras, Maria G.; Psaty, Bruce M.; Räikkönen, Katri; Richards, J. Brent; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Sala, Cinzia; Sabra, Mona M.; Sattar, Naveed; Shields, Beverley M.; Soranzo, Nicole; Starr, John M.; Stott, David J.; Sweep, Fred C. G. J.; Usala, Gianluca; van der Klauw, Melanie M.; van Heemst, Diana; van Mullem, Alies; H.Vermeulen, Sita; Visser, W. Edward; Walsh, John P.; Westendorp, Rudi G. J.; Widen, Elisabeth; Zhai, Guangju; Cucca, Francesco; Deary, Ian J.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Fox, Caroline S.; Jukema, J. Wouter; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Schlessinger, David; Shuldiner, Alan R.; Slagboom, Eline P.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Vaidya, Bijay; Visser, Theo J.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Meulenbelt, Ingrid; Rotter, Jerome I.; Spector, Tim D.; Hicks, Andrew A.; Toniolo, Daniela; Sanna, Serena; Peeters, Robin P.; Naitza, Silvia

    2013-01-01

    Thyroid hormone is essential for normal metabolism and development, and overt abnormalities in thyroid function lead to common endocrine disorders affecting approximately 10% of individuals over their life span. In addition, even mild alterations in thyroid function are associated with weight changes, atrial fibrillation, osteoporosis, and psychiatric disorders. To identify novel variants underlying thyroid function, we performed a large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for serum levels of the highly heritable thyroid function markers TSH and FT4, in up to 26,420 and 17,520 euthyroid subjects, respectively. Here we report 26 independent associations, including several novel loci for TSH (PDE10A, VEGFA, IGFBP5, NFIA, SOX9, PRDM11, FGF7, INSR, ABO, MIR1179, NRG1, MBIP, ITPK1, SASH1, GLIS3) and FT4 (LHX3, FOXE1, AADAT, NETO1/FBXO15, LPCAT2/CAPNS2). Notably, only limited overlap was detected between TSH and FT4 associated signals, in spite of the feedback regulation of their circulating levels by the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Five of the reported loci (PDE8B, PDE10A, MAF/LOC440389, NETO1/FBXO15, and LPCAT2/CAPNS2) show strong gender-specific differences, which offer clues for the known sexual dimorphism in thyroid function and related pathologies. Importantly, the TSH-associated loci contribute not only to variation within the normal range, but also to TSH values outside the reference range, suggesting that they may be involved in thyroid dysfunction. Overall, our findings explain, respectively, 5.64% and 2.30% of total TSH and FT4 trait variance, and they improve the current knowledge of the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function and the consequences of genetic variation for hypo- or hyperthyroidism. PMID:23408906

  15. Signatures of positive selection: from selective sweeps at individual loci to subtle allele frequency changes in polygenic adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  16. In-silico QTL mapping of postpubertal mammary ductal development in the mouse uncovers potential human breast cancer risk loci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genetic background plays a dominant role in mammary gland development and breast cancer (BrCa). Despite this, the role of genetics is only partially understood. This study used strain-dependent variation in an inbred mouse mapping panel, to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying structura...

  17. Eighteen microsatellite loci in Salix arbutifolia (Salicaceae) and cross-species amplification in Salix and Populus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoshikawa, Takeshi; Kikuchi, Satoshi; Nagamitsu, Teruyoshi; Tomaru, Nobuhiro

    2009-07-01

    Salix arbutifolia is a riparian dioecious tree species that is of conservation concern in Japan because of its highly restricted distribution. Eighteen polymorphic loci of dinucleotide microsatellites were isolated and characterized. Among these, estimates of the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.350 to 0.879. Cross-species amplification was successful at 9-13 loci among six Salix species and at three loci in one Populus species. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Hieab HH; Hibar, Derrek P; Chouraki, Vincent; Stein, Jason L; Nyquist, Paul A; Rentería, Miguel E; Trompet, Stella; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Seshadri, Sudha; Desrivières, Sylvane; Beecham, Ashley H; Jahanshad, Neda; Wittfeld, Katharina; Van der Lee, Sven J; Abramovic, Lucija; Alhusaini, Saud; Amin, Najaf; Andersson, Micael; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Aribisala, Benjamin S; Armstrong, Nicola J; Athanasiu, Lavinia; Axelsson, Tomas; Beiser, Alexa; Bernard, Manon; Bis, Joshua C; Blanken, Laura ME; Blanton, Susan H; Bohlken, Marc M; Boks, Marco P; Bralten, Janita; Brickman, Adam M; Carmichael, Owen; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Chauhan, Ganesh; Chen, Qiang; Ching, Christopher RK; Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Den Braber, Anouk; Doan, Nhat Trung; Ehrlich, Stefan; Filippi, Irina; Ge, Tian; Giddaluru, Sudheer; Goldman, Aaron L; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Greven, Corina U; Grimm, Oliver; Griswold, Michael E; Guadalupe, Tulio; Hass, Johanna; Haukvik, Unn K; Hilal, Saima; Hofer, Edith; Hoehn, David; Holmes, Avram J; Hoogman, Martine; Janowitz, Deborah; Jia, Tianye; Kasperaviciute, Dalia; Kim, Sungeun; Klein, Marieke; Kraemer, Bernd; Lee, Phil H; Liao, Jiemin; Liewald, David CM; Lopez, Lorna M; Luciano, Michelle; Macare, Christine; Marquand, Andre; Matarin, Mar; Mather, Karen A; Mattheisen, Manuel; Mazoyer, Bernard; McKay, David R; McWhirter, Rebekah; Milaneschi, Yuri; Mirza-Schreiber, Nazanin; Muetzel, Ryan L; Maniega, Susana Muñoz; Nho, Kwangsik; Nugent, Allison C; Olde Loohuis, Loes M; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Papmeyer, Martina; Pappa, Irene; Pirpamer, Lukas; Pudas, Sara; Pütz, Benno; Rajan, Kumar B; Ramasamy, Adaikalavan; Richards, Jennifer S; Risacher, Shannon L; Roiz-Santiañez, Roberto; Rommelse, Nanda; Rose, Emma J; Royle, Natalie A; Rundek, Tatjana; Sämann, Philipp G; Satizabal, Claudia L; Schmaal, Lianne; Schork, Andrew J; Shen, Li; Shin, Jean; Shumskaya, Elena; Smith, Albert V; Sprooten, Emma; Strike, Lachlan T; Teumer, Alexander; Thomson, Russell; Tordesillas-Gutierrez, Diana; Toro, Roberto; Trabzuni, Daniah; Vaidya, Dhananjay; Van der Grond, Jeroen; Van der Meer, Dennis; Van Donkelaar, Marjolein MJ; Van Eijk, Kristel R; Van Erp, Theo GM; Van Rooij, Daan; Walton, Esther; Westlye, Lars T; Whelan, Christopher D; Windham, Beverly G; Winkler, Anderson M; Woldehawariat, Girma; Wolf, Christiane; Wolfers, Thomas; Xu, Bing; Yanek, Lisa R; Yang, Jingyun; Zijdenbos, Alex; Zwiers, Marcel P; Agartz, Ingrid; Aggarwal, Neelum T; Almasy, Laura; Ames, David; Amouyel, Philippe; Andreassen, Ole A; Arepalli, Sampath; Assareh, Amelia A; Barral, Sandra; Bastin, Mark E; Becker, Diane M; Becker, James T; Bennett, David A; Blangero, John; van Bokhoven, Hans; Boomsma, Dorret I; Brodaty, Henry; Brouwer, Rachel M; Brunner, Han G; Buckner, Randy L; Buitelaar, Jan K; Bulayeva, Kazima B; Cahn, Wiepke; Calhoun, Vince D; Cannon, Dara M; Cavalleri, Gianpiero L; Chen, Christopher; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Cichon, Sven; Cookson, Mark R; Corvin, Aiden; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Curran, Joanne E; Czisch, Michael; Dale, Anders M; Davies, Gareth E; De Geus, Eco JC; De Jager, Philip L; de Zubicaray, Greig I; Delanty, Norman; Depondt, Chantal; DeStefano, Anita L; Dillman, Allissa; Djurovic, Srdjan; Donohoe, Gary; Drevets, Wayne C; Duggirala, Ravi; Dyer, Thomas D; Erk, Susanne; Espeseth, Thomas; Evans, Denis A; Fedko, Iryna O; Fernández, Guillén; Ferrucci, Luigi; Fisher, Simon E; Fleischman, Debra A; Ford, Ian; Foroud, Tatiana M; Fox, Peter T; Francks, Clyde; Fukunaga, Masaki; Gibbs, J Raphael; Glahn, David C; Gollub, Randy L; Göring, Harald HH; Grabe, Hans J; Green, Robert C; Gruber, Oliver; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Guelfi, Sebastian; Hansell, Narelle K; Hardy, John; Hartman, Catharina A; Hashimoto, Ryota; Hegenscheid, Katrin; Heinz, Andreas; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Hernandez, Dena G; Heslenfeld, Dirk J; Ho, Beng-Choon; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Hoffmann, Wolfgang; Hofman, Albert; Holsboer, Florian; Homuth, Georg; Hosten, Norbert; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Ikeda, Masashi; Ikram, M Kamran; Jack, Clifford R; Jenkinson, Mark; Johnson, Robert; Jönsson, Erik G; Jukema, J Wouter; Kahn, René S; Kanai, Ryota; Kloszewska, Iwona; Knopman, David S; Kochunov, Peter; Kwok, John B; Lawrie, Stephen M; Lemaître, Hervé; Liu, Xinmin; Longo, Dan L; Longstreth, WT; Lopez, Oscar L; Lovestone, Simon; Martinez, Oliver; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Mattay, Venkata S; McDonald, Colm; McIntosh, Andrew M; McMahon, Katie L; McMahon, Francis J; Mecocci, Patrizia; Melle, Ingrid; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Mohnke, Sebastian; Montgomery, Grant W; Morris, Derek W; Mosley, Thomas H; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Nalls, Michael A; Nauck, Matthias; Nichols, Thomas E; Niessen, Wiro J; Nöthen, Markus M; Nyberg, Lars; Ohi, Kazutaka; Olvera, Rene L; Ophoff, Roel A; Pandolfo, Massimo; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Penninx, Brenda WJH; Pike, G Bruce; Potkin, Steven G; Psaty, Bruce M; Reppermund, Simone; Rietschel, Marcella; Roffman, Joshua L; Romanczuk-Seiferth, Nina; Rotter, Jerome I; Ryten, Mina; Sacco, Ralph L; Sachdev, Perminder S; Saykin, Andrew J; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schofield, Peter R; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Simmons, Andy; Singleton, Andrew; Sisodiya, Sanjay M; Smith, Colin; Smoller, Jordan W; Soininen, Hilkka; Srikanth, Velandai; Steen, Vidar M; Stott, David J; Sussmann, Jessika E; Thalamuthu, Anbupalam; Tiemeier, Henning; Toga, Arthur W; Traynor, Bryan J; Troncoso, Juan; Turner, Jessica A; Tzourio, Christophe; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Valdés Hernández, Maria C; Van der Brug, Marcel; Van der Lugt, Aad; Van der Wee, Nic JA; Van Duijn, Cornelia M; Van Haren, Neeltje EM; Van 't Ent, Dennis; Van Tol, Marie-Jose; Vardarajan, Badri N; Veltman, Dick J; Vernooij, Meike W; Völzke, Henry; Walter, Henrik; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Wassink, Thomas H; Weale, Michael E; Weinberger, Daniel R; Weiner, Michael W; Wen, Wei; Westman, Eric; White, Tonya; Wong, Tien Y; Wright, Clinton B; Zielke, H Ronald; Zonderman, Alan B; Deary, Ian J; DeCarli, Charles; Schmidt, Helena; Martin, Nicholas G; De Craen, Anton JM; Wright, Margaret J; Launer, Lenore J; Schumann, Gunter; Fornage, Myriam; Franke, Barbara; Debette, Stéphanie; Medland, Sarah E; Ikram, M Arfan; Thompson, Paul M

    2016-01-01

    Intracranial volume reflects the maximally attained brain size during development, and remains stable with loss of tissue in late life. It is highly heritable, but the underlying genes remain largely undetermined. In a genome-wide association study of 32,438 adults, we discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Four of the loci are also associated with adult human stature, but these remained associated with intracranial volume after adjusting for height. We found a high genetic correlation with child head circumference (ρgenetic=0.748), which indicated a similar genetic background and allowed for the identification of four additional loci through meta-analysis (Ncombined = 37,345). Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function, Parkinson’s disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways including PI3K–AKT signaling. These findings identify biological underpinnings of intracranial volume and provide genetic support for theories on brain reserve and brain overgrowth. PMID:27694991

  19. Disparity in population differentiation of sex-linked and autosomal variation in sibling species of the Jaera albifrons (Isopoda) complex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siegismund, H R

    2003-01-01

    The genetic variation at four enzyme loci is described for 22 populations of three Jaera species--J. albifrons, J. ischiosetosa, and J. praehirsuta--in the J. albifrons complex (Crustacea, Isopoda) in Denmark. The variation at three of the loci is similar, with the allele frequency spectra close...... to each other in all three species. An evolutionary tree based on the variation at these three loci revealed that the populations from the different species are completely intermixed in the tree. This was supported by hierarchical F-statistics where the between-species component was zero. At a fourth....... An evolutionary tree for this locus partitions the populations into separate groups and a hierarchical F-statistic has a between-species component of about 50%. The results are attributed to introgression with a higher rate for autosomes than for sex chromosomes....

  20. Quantitative trait loci mapping of heat tolerance in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) using genotyping-by-sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branham, Sandra E; Stansell, Zachary J; Couillard, David M; Farnham, Mark W

    2017-03-01

    Five quantitative trait loci and one epistatic interaction were associated with heat tolerance in a doubled haploid population of broccoli evaluated in three summer field trials. Predicted rising global temperatures due to climate change have generated a demand for crops that are resistant to yield and quality losses from heat stress. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is a cool weather crop with high temperatures during production decreasing both head quality and yield. Breeding for heat tolerance in broccoli has potential to both expand viable production areas and extend the growing season but breeding efficiency is constrained by limited genetic information. A doubled haploid (DH) broccoli population segregating for heat tolerance was evaluated for head quality in three summer fields in Charleston, SC, USA. Multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of 1,423 single nucleotide polymorphisms developed through genotyping-by-sequencing identified five QTL and one positive epistatic interaction that explained 62.1% of variation in heat tolerance. The QTL identified here can be used to develop markers for marker-assisted selection and to increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying plant response to heat stress.

  1. Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association

    OpenAIRE

    Adams, Hieab HH; Hibar, Derrek P; Chouraki, Vincent; Stein, Jason L; Nyquist, Paul A; Renter��a, Miguel E; Trompet, Stella; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Seshadri, Sudha; Desrivi��res, Sylvane; Beecham, Ashley H; Jahanshad, Neda; Wittfeld, Katharina; Van der Lee, Sven J; Abramovic, Lucija

    2016-01-01

    Intracranial volume reflects the maximally attained brain size during development, and remains stable with loss of tissue in late life. It is highly heritable, but the underlying genes remain largely undetermined. In a genome-wide association study of 32,438 adults, we discovered five previously unknown loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Four of the loci were also associated with adult human stature, but these remained associated with intracranial volume after adjus...

  2. Identification of new susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes and shared etiological pathways with coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Wei; Rasheed, Asif; Tikkanen, Emmi

    2017-01-01

    To evaluate the shared genetic etiology of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary heart disease (CHD), we conducted a genome-wide, multi-ancestry study of genetic variation for both diseases in up to 265,678 subjects for T2D and 260,365 subjects for CHD. We identify 16 previously unreported loci for ...

  3. Autosomal and sex-linked microsatellite loci in the green oak leaf roller Tortrix viridana L.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schroeder, H.C.; Arens, P.F.P.; Smulders, M.J.M.

    2009-01-01

    Eight microsatellite markers were developed for the lepidopteran species Tortrix viridana using an enrichment protocol. The loci were highly variable with number of alleles ranging from four to 38. Six of the eight loci were in Hardy¿Weinberg equilibrium. The other two were linked to the

  4. Library Spirit and Genius Loci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahlkild, Nan

    2009-01-01

    The architecture and design of Nyborg Public Library in the light of the concepts "Library Spirit" and "Genius Loci", related to contemporary social and cultural movements, the development of the early welfare state and the "Scandinavian Style".......The architecture and design of Nyborg Public Library in the light of the concepts "Library Spirit" and "Genius Loci", related to contemporary social and cultural movements, the development of the early welfare state and the "Scandinavian Style"....

  5. Multi-ethnic fine-mapping of 14 central adiposity loci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, C.T.; Buchkovich, M.L.; Winkler, T.W.; Heid, I.M.; Hottenga, J.J.; Boomsma, D.I.; de Geus, E.J.C.; Willemsen, G.; Borecki, I.B.; Fox, C.S.; Mohlke, K.L.; North, K.E.; Cupples, L.A.

    2014-01-01

    The Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium identified 14 loci in European Ancestry (EA) individuals associated with waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) adjusted for body mass index. These loci are wide and narrowingthe signalsremains necessary. Twelve of 14 loci identified inGIANTEA

  6. Oligonucleotide array discovery of polymorphisms in cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. reveals patterns of SNP variation associated with breeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhu Tong

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. has narrow genetic diversity that makes it difficult to identify polymorphisms between elite germplasm. We explored array-based single feature polymorphism (SFP discovery as a high-throughput approach for marker development in cultivated tomato. Results Three varieties, FL7600 (fresh-market, OH9242 (processing, and PI114490 (cherry were used as a source of genomic DNA for hybridization to oligonucleotide arrays. Identification of SFPs was based on outlier detection using regression analysis of normalized hybridization data within a probe set for each gene. A subset of 189 putative SFPs was sequenced for validation. The rate of validation depended on the desired level of significance (α used to define the confidence interval (CI, and ranged from 76% for polymorphisms identified at α ≤ 10-6 to 60% for those identified at α ≤ 10-2. Validation percentage reached a plateau between α ≤ 10-4 and α ≤ 10-7, but failure to identify known SFPs (Type II error increased dramatically at α ≤ 10-6. Trough sequence validation, we identified 279 SNPs and 27 InDels in 111 loci. Sixty loci contained ≥ 2 SNPs per locus. We used a subset of validated SNPs for genetic diversity analysis of 92 tomato varieties and accessions. Pairwise estimation of θ (Fst suggested significant differentiation between collections of fresh-market, processing, vintage, Latin American (landrace, and S. pimpinellifolium accessions. The fresh-market and processing groups displayed high genetic diversity relative to vintage and landrace groups. Furthermore, the patterns of SNP variation indicated that domestication and early breeding practices have led to progressive genetic bottlenecks while modern breeding practices have reintroduced genetic variation into the crop from wild species. Finally, we examined the ratio of non-synonymous (Ka to synonymous substitutions (Ks for 20 loci with multiple SNPs (≥ 4 per

  7. Genome-wide association study identifies six new loci influencing pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wain, Louise V; Verwoert, Germaine C; O’Reilly, Paul F; Shi, Gang; Johnson, Toby; Johnson, Andrew D; Bochud, Murielle; Rice, Kenneth M; Henneman, Peter; Smith, Albert V; Ehret, Georg B; Amin, Najaf; Larson, Martin G; Mooser, Vincent; Hadley, David; Dörr, Marcus; Bis, Joshua C; Aspelund, Thor; Esko, Tõnu; Janssens, A Cecile JW; Zhao, Jing Hua; Heath, Simon; Laan, Maris; Fu, Jingyuan; Pistis, Giorgio; Luan, Jian’an; Arora, Pankaj; Lucas, Gavin; Pirastu, Nicola; Pichler, Irene; Jackson, Anne U; Webster, Rebecca J; Zhang, Feng; Peden, John F; Schmidt, Helena; Tanaka, Toshiko; Campbell, Harry; Igl, Wilmar; Milaneschi, Yuri; Hotteng, Jouke-Jan; Vitart, Veronique; Chasman, Daniel I; Trompet, Stella; Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z; Chambers, John C; Guo, Xiuqing; Lehtimäki, Terho; Kühnel, Brigitte; Lopez, Lorna M; Polašek, Ozren; Boban, Mladen; Nelson, Christopher P; Morrison, Alanna C; Pihur, Vasyl; Ganesh, Santhi K; Hofman, Albert; Kundu, Suman; Mattace-Raso, Francesco US; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Sijbrands, Eric JG; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hwang, Shih-Jen; Vasan, Ramachandran S; Wang, Thomas J; Bergmann, Sven; Vollenweider, Peter; Waeber, Gérard; Laitinen, Jaana; Pouta, Anneli; Zitting, Paavo; McArdle, Wendy L; Kroemer, Heyo K; Völker, Uwe; Völzke, Henry; Glazer, Nicole L; Taylor, Kent D; Harris, Tamara B; Alavere, Helene; Haller, Toomas; Keis, Aime; Tammesoo, Mari-Liis; Aulchenko, Yurii; Barroso, Inês; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Galan, Pilar; Hercberg, Serge; Lathrop, Mark; Eyheramendy, Susana; Org, Elin; Sõber, Siim; Lu, Xiaowen; Nolte, Ilja M; Penninx, Brenda W; Corre, Tanguy; Masciullo, Corrado; Sala, Cinzia; Groop, Leif; Voight, Benjamin F; Melander, Olle; O’Donnell, Christopher J; Salomaa, Veikko; d’Adamo, Adamo Pio; Fabretto, Antonella; Faletra, Flavio; Ulivi, Sheila; Del Greco, M Fabiola; Facheris, Maurizio; Collins, Francis S; Bergman, Richard N; Beilby, John P; Hung, Joseph; Musk, A William; Mangino, Massimo; Shin, So-Youn; Soranzo, Nicole; Watkins, Hugh; Goel, Anuj; Hamsten, Anders; Gider, Pierre; Loitfelder, Marisa; Zeginigg, Marion; Hernandez, Dena; Najjar, Samer S; Navarro, Pau; Wild, Sarah H; Corsi, Anna Maria; Singleton, Andrew; de Geus, Eco JC; Willemsen, Gonneke; Parker, Alex N; Rose, Lynda M; Buckley, Brendan; Stott, David; Orru, Marco; Uda, Manuela; van der Klauw, Melanie M; Zhang, Weihua; Li, Xinzhong; Scott, James; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Burke, Gregory L; Kähönen, Mika; Viikari, Jorma; Döring, Angela; Meitinger, Thomas; Davies, Gail; Starr, John M; Emilsson, Valur; Plump, Andrew; Lindeman, Jan H; ’t Hoen, Peter AC; König, Inke R; Felix, Janine F; Clarke, Robert; Hopewell, Jemma C; Ongen, Halit; Breteler, Monique; Debette, Stéphanie; DeStefano, Anita L; Fornage, Myriam; Mitchell, Gary F; Smith, Nicholas L; Holm, Hilma; Stefansson, Kari; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Samani, Nilesh J; Preuss, Michael; Rudan, Igor; Hayward, Caroline; Deary, Ian J; Wichmann, H-Erich; Raitakari, Olli T; Palmas, Walter; Kooner, Jaspal S; Stolk, Ronald P; Jukema, J Wouter; Wright, Alan F; Boomsma, Dorret I; Bandinelli, Stefania; Gyllensten, Ulf B; Wilson, James F; Ferrucci, Luigi; Schmidt, Reinhold; Farrall, Martin; Spector, Tim D; Palmer, Lyle J; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Pfeufer, Arne; Gasparini, Paolo; Siscovick, David; Altshuler, David; Loos, Ruth JF; Toniolo, Daniela; Snieder, Harold; Gieger, Christian; Meneton, Pierre; Wareham, Nicholas J; Oostra, Ben A; Metspalu, Andres; Launer, Lenore; Rettig, Rainer; Strachan, David P; Beckmann, Jacques S; Witteman, Jacqueline CM; Erdmann, Jeanette; van Dijk, Ko Willems; Boerwinkle, Eric; Boehnke, Michael; Ridker, Paul M; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Abecasis, Goncalo R; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Newton-Cheh, Christopher; Levy, Daniel; Munroe, Patricia B; Psaty, Bruce M; Caulfield, Mark J; Rao, Dabeeru C

    2012-01-01

    Numerous genetic loci influence systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in Europeans 1-3. We now report genome-wide association studies of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In discovery (N=74,064) and follow-up studies (N=48,607), we identified at genome-wide significance (P= 2.7×10-8 to P=2.3×10-13) four novel PP loci (at 4q12 near CHIC2/PDGFRAI, 7q22.3 near PIK3CG, 8q24.12 in NOV, 11q24.3 near ADAMTS-8), two novel MAP loci (3p21.31 in MAP4, 10q25.3 near ADRB1) and one locus associated with both traits (2q24.3 near FIGN) which has recently been associated with SBP in east Asians. For three of the novel PP signals, the estimated effect for SBP was opposite to that for DBP, in contrast to the majority of common SBP- and DBP-associated variants which show concordant effects on both traits. These findings indicate novel genetic mechanisms underlying blood pressure variation, including pathways that may differentially influence SBP and DBP. PMID:21909110

  8. Identification of two novel mammographic density loci at 6Q25.1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, Judith S; Li, Jingmei; Humphreys, Keith; Karlsson, Robert; Eriksson, Mikael; Ivansson, Emma; Hall, Per; Czene, Kamila

    2015-06-03

    Mammographic density (MD) is a strong heritable and intermediate phenotype for breast cancer, but much of its genetic variation remains unexplained. We performed a large-scale genetic association study including 8,419 women of European ancestry to identify MD loci. Participants of three Swedish studies were genotyped on a custom Illumina iSelect genotyping array and percent and absolute mammographic density were ascertained using semiautomated and fully automated methods from film and digital mammograms. Linear regression analysis was used to test for SNP-MD associations, adjusting for age, body mass index, menopausal status and six principal components. Meta-analyses were performed by combining P values taking sample size, study-specific inflation factor and direction of effect into account. Genome-wide significant associations were observed for two previously identified loci: ZNF365 (rs10995194, P = 2.3 × 10(-8) for percent MD and P = 8.7 × 10(-9) for absolute MD) and AREG (rs10034692, P = 6.7 × 10(-9) for absolute MD). In addition, we found evidence of association for two variants at 6q25.1, both of which are known breast cancer susceptibility loci: rs9485370 in the TAB2 gene (P = 4.8 × 10(-9) for percent MD and P = 2.5 × 10(-8) for absolute MD) and rs60705924 in the CCDC170/ESR1 region (P = 2.2 × 10(-8) for absolute MD). Both regions have been implicated in estrogen receptor signaling with TAB2 being a potential regulator of tamoxifen response. We identified two novel MD loci at 6q25.1. These findings underscore the importance of 6q25.1 as a susceptibility region and provide more insight into the mechanisms through which MD influences breast cancer risk.

  9. Reconstructing recent human phylogenies with forensic STR loci: A statistical approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khan Faisal

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Forensic Short Tandem Repeat (STR loci are effective for the purpose of individual identification, and other forensic applications. Most of these markers have high allelic variability and mutation rate because of which they have limited use in the phylogenetic reconstruction. In the present study, we have carried out a meta-analysis to explore the possibility of using only five STR loci (TPOX, FES, vWA, F13A and Tho1 to carry out phylogenetic assessment based on the allele frequency profile of 20 world population and north Indian Hindus analyzed in the present study. Results Phylogenetic analysis based on two different approaches – genetic distance and maximum likelihood along with statistical bootstrapping procedure involving 1000 replicates was carried out. The ensuing tree topologies and PC plots were further compared with those obtained in earlier phylogenetic investigations. The compiled database of 21 populations got segregated and finely resolved into three basal clusters with very high bootstrap values corresponding to three geo-ethnic groups of African, Orientals, and Caucasians. Conclusion Based on this study we conclude that if appropriate and logistic statistical approaches are followed then even lesser number of forensic STR loci are powerful enough to reconstruct the recent human phylogenies despite of their relatively high mutation rates.

  10. Identification of Multiple Loci Associated with Social Parasitism in Honeybees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallberg, Andreas; Pirk, Christian W; Allsopp, Mike H; Webster, Matthew T

    2016-06-01

    In colonies of the honeybee Apis mellifera, the queen is usually the only reproductive female, which produces new females (queens and workers) by laying fertilized eggs. However, in one subspecies of A. mellifera, known as the Cape bee (A. m. capensis), worker bees reproduce asexually by thelytoky, an abnormal form of meiosis where two daughter nucleii fuse to form single diploid eggs, which develop into females without being fertilized. The Cape bee also exhibits a suite of phenotypes that facilitate social parasitism whereby workers lay such eggs in foreign colonies so their offspring can exploit their resources. The genetic basis of this switch to social parasitism in the Cape bee is unknown. To address this, we compared genome variation in a sample of Cape bees with other African populations. We find genetic divergence between these populations to be very low on average but identify several regions of the genome with extreme differentiation. The regions are strongly enriched for signals of selection in Cape bees, indicating that increased levels of positive selection have produced the unique set of derived phenotypic traits in this subspecies. Genetic variation within these regions allows unambiguous genetic identification of Cape bees and likely underlies the genetic basis of social parasitism. The candidate loci include genes involved in ecdysteroid signaling and juvenile hormone and dopamine biosynthesis, which may regulate worker ovary activation and others whose products localize at the centrosome and are implicated in chromosomal segregation during meiosis. Functional analysis of these loci will yield insights into the processes of reproduction and chemical signaling in both parasitic and non-parasitic populations and advance understanding of the process of normal and atypical meiosis.

  11. Identification of Multiple Loci Associated with Social Parasitism in Honeybees.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Wallberg

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In colonies of the honeybee Apis mellifera, the queen is usually the only reproductive female, which produces new females (queens and workers by laying fertilized eggs. However, in one subspecies of A. mellifera, known as the Cape bee (A. m. capensis, worker bees reproduce asexually by thelytoky, an abnormal form of meiosis where two daughter nucleii fuse to form single diploid eggs, which develop into females without being fertilized. The Cape bee also exhibits a suite of phenotypes that facilitate social parasitism whereby workers lay such eggs in foreign colonies so their offspring can exploit their resources. The genetic basis of this switch to social parasitism in the Cape bee is unknown. To address this, we compared genome variation in a sample of Cape bees with other African populations. We find genetic divergence between these populations to be very low on average but identify several regions of the genome with extreme differentiation. The regions are strongly enriched for signals of selection in Cape bees, indicating that increased levels of positive selection have produced the unique set of derived phenotypic traits in this subspecies. Genetic variation within these regions allows unambiguous genetic identification of Cape bees and likely underlies the genetic basis of social parasitism. The candidate loci include genes involved in ecdysteroid signaling and juvenile hormone and dopamine biosynthesis, which may regulate worker ovary activation and others whose products localize at the centrosome and are implicated in chromosomal segregation during meiosis. Functional analysis of these loci will yield insights into the processes of reproduction and chemical signaling in both parasitic and non-parasitic populations and advance understanding of the process of normal and atypical meiosis.

  12. Genomic signatures of local directional selection in a high gene flow marine organism; the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mittelholzer Christian

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Marine fishes have been shown to display low levels of genetic structuring and associated high levels of gene flow, suggesting shallow evolutionary trajectories and, possibly, limited or lacking adaptive divergence among local populations. We investigated variation in 98 gene-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs for evidence of selection in local populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L. across the species distribution. Results Our global genome scan analysis identified eight outlier gene loci with very high statistical support, likely to be subject to directional selection in local demes, or closely linked to loci under selection. Likewise, on a regional south/north transect of central and eastern Atlantic populations, seven loci displayed strongly elevated levels of genetic differentiation. Selection patterns among populations appeared to be relatively widespread and complex, i.e. outlier loci were generally not only associated with one of a few divergent local populations. Even on a limited geographical scale between the proximate North Sea and Baltic Sea populations four loci displayed evidence of adaptive evolution. Temporal genome scan analysis applied to DNA from archived otoliths from a Faeroese population demonstrated stability of the intra-population variation over 24 years. An exploratory landscape genetic analysis was used to elucidate potential effects of the most likely environmental factors responsible for the signatures of local adaptation. We found that genetic variation at several of the outlier loci was better correlated with temperature and/or salinity conditions at spawning grounds at spawning time than with geographic distance per se. Conclusion These findings illustrate that adaptive population divergence may indeed be prevalent despite seemingly high levels of gene flow, as found in most marine fishes. Thus, results have important implications for our understanding of the interplay of

  13. Genome-wide meta-analysis of myopia and hyperopia provides evidence for replication of 11 loci.

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    Claire L Simpson

    Full Text Available Refractive error (RE is a complex, multifactorial disorder characterized by a mismatch between the optical power of the eye and its axial length that causes object images to be focused off the retina. The two major subtypes of RE are myopia (nearsightedness and hyperopia (farsightedness, which represent opposite ends of the distribution of the quantitative measure of spherical refraction. We performed a fixed effects meta-analysis of genome-wide association results of myopia and hyperopia from 9 studies of European-derived populations: AREDS, KORA, FES, OGP-Talana, MESA, RSI, RSII, RSIII and ERF. One genome-wide significant region was observed for myopia, corresponding to a previously identified myopia locus on 8q12 (p = 1.25×10(-8, which has been reported by Kiefer et al. as significantly associated with myopia age at onset and Verhoeven et al. as significantly associated to mean spherical-equivalent (MSE refractive error. We observed two genome-wide significant associations with hyperopia. These regions overlapped with loci on 15q14 (minimum p value = 9.11×10(-11 and 8q12 (minimum p value 1.82×10(-11 previously reported for MSE and myopia age at onset. We also used an intermarker linkage- disequilibrium-based method for calculating the effective number of tests in targeted regional replication analyses. We analyzed myopia (which represents the closest phenotype in our data to the one used by Kiefer et al. and showed replication of 10 additional loci associated with myopia previously reported by Kiefer et al. This is the first replication of these loci using myopia as the trait under analysis. "Replication-level" association was also seen between hyperopia and 12 of Kiefer et al.'s published loci. For the loci that show evidence of association to both myopia and hyperopia, the estimated effect of the risk alleles were in opposite directions for the two traits. This suggests that these loci are important contributors to variation of

  14. High and uneven levels of 45S rDNA site-number variation across wild populations of a diploid plant genus (Anacyclus, Asteraceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosato, Marcela; Álvarez, Inés; Nieto Feliner, Gonzalo; Rosselló, Josep A

    2017-01-01

    The nuclear genome harbours hundreds to several thousand copies of ribosomal DNA. Despite their essential role in cellular ribogenesis few studies have addressed intrapopulation, interpopulation and interspecific levels of rDNA variability in wild plants. Some studies have assessed the extent of rDNA variation at the sequence and copy-number level with large sampling in several species. However, comparable studies on rDNA site number variation in plants, assessed with extensive hierarchical sampling at several levels (individuals, populations, species) are lacking. In exploring the possible causes for ribosomal loci dynamism, we have used the diploid genus Anacyclus (Asteraceae) as a suitable system to examine the evolution of ribosomal loci. To this end, the number and chromosomal position of 45S rDNA sites have been determined in 196 individuals from 47 populations in all Anacyclus species using FISH. The 45S rDNA site-number has been assessed in a significant sample of seed plants, which usually exhibit rather consistent features, except for polyploid plants. In contrast, the level of rDNA site-number variation detected in Anacyclus is outstanding in the context of angiosperms particularly regarding populations of the same species. The number of 45S rDNA sites ranged from four to 11, accounting for 14 karyological ribosomal phenotypes. Our results are not even across species and geographical areas, and show that there is no clear association between the number of 45S rDNA loci and the life cycle in Anacyclus. A single rDNA phenotype was detected in several species, but a more complex pattern that included intra-specific and intra-population polymorphisms was recorded in A. homogamos, A. clavatus and A. valentinus, three weedy species showing large and overlapping distribution ranges. It is likely that part of the cytogenetic changes and inferred dynamism found in these species have been triggered by genomic rearrangements resulting from contemporary

  15. Epigenetic variation contributes to environmental adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooke, R.; Keurentjes, J.J.B.

    2015-01-01

    Epigenetic variation is frequently observed in plants and direct relationships between differences in DNA methylation and phenotypic responses to changing environments have often been described. The identification of contributing genetic loci, however, was until recently hampered by the lack of

  16. Microsatellite loci isolated from the scleractinian coral, Acropora nobilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isomura, Naoko; Hidaka, Michio

    2008-05-01

    We report the isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci from the scleractinian coral, Acropora nobilis. The microsatellite loci were obtained using compound SSR primers or an enrichment protocol. All the loci were polymorphic with four to eight alleles per locus and observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.22 to 0.76. Some of the primers developed for the two congeners, Acropora palmata and Acropora millepora were applicable to A. nobilis. These loci are useful for studying the connectivity among A. nobilis populations in Okinawa, southern Japan. © 2007 The Authors.

  17. Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szatmari, Peter; Paterson, Andrew; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Roberts, Wendy; Brian, Jessica; Liu, Xiao-Qing; Vincent, John; Skaug, Jennifer; Thompson, Ann; Senman, Lili; Feuk, Lars; Qian, Cheng; Bryson, Susan; Jones, Marshall; Marshall, Christian; Scherer, Stephen; Vieland, Veronica; Bartlett, Christopher; Mangin, La Vonne; Goedken, Rhinda; Segre, Alberto; Pericak-Vance, Margaret; Cuccaro, Michael; Gilbert, John; Wright, Harry; Abramson, Ruth; Betancur, Catalina; Bourgeron, Thomas; Gillberg, Christopher; Leboyer, Marion; Buxbaum, Joseph; Davis, Kenneth; Hollander, Eric; Silverman, Jeremy; Hallmayer, Joachim; Lotspeich, Linda; Sutcliffe, James; Haines, Jonathan; Folstein, Susan; Piven, Joseph; Wassink, Thomas; Sheffield, Val; Geschwind, Daniel; Bucan, Maja; Brown, Ted; Cantor, Rita; Constantino, John; Gilliam, Conrad; Herbert, Martha; Lajonchere, Clara; Ledbetter, David; Lese-Martin, Christa; Miller, Janet; Nelson, Stan; Samango-Sprouse, Carol; Spence, Sarah; State, Matthew; Tanzi, Rudolph; Coon, Hilary; Dawson, Geraldine; Devlin, Bernie; Estes, Annette; Flodman, Pamela; Klei, Lambertus; Mcmahon, William; Minshew, Nancy; Munson, Jeff; Korvatska, Elena; Rodier, Patricia; Schellenberg, Gerard; Smith, Moyra; Spence, Anne; Stodgell, Chris; Tepper, Ping Guo; Wijsman, Ellen; Yu, Chang-En; Rogé, Bernadette; Mantoulan, Carine; Wittemeyer, Kerstin; Poustka, Annemarie; Felder, Bärbel; Klauck, Sabine; Schuster, Claudia; Poustka, Fritz; Bölte, Sven; Feineis-Matthews, Sabine; Herbrecht, Evelyn; Schmötzer, Gabi; Tsiantis, John; Papanikolaou, Katerina; Maestrini, Elena; Bacchelli, Elena; Blasi, Francesca; Carone, Simona; Toma, Claudio; Van Engeland, Herman; De Jonge, Maretha; Kemner, Chantal; Koop, Frederieke; Langemeijer, Marjolein; Hijmans, Channa; Staal, Wouter; Baird, Gillian; Bolton, Patrick; Rutter, Michael; Weisblatt, Emma; Green, Jonathan; Aldred, Catherine; Wilkinson, Julie-Anne; Pickles, Andrew; Le Couteur, Ann; Berney, Tom; Mcconachie, Helen; Bailey, Anthony; Francis, Kostas; Honeyman, Gemma; Hutchinson, Aislinn; Parr, Jeremy; Wallace, Simon; Monaco, Anthony; Barnby, Gabrielle; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Lamb, Janine; Sousa, Ines; Sykes, Nuala; Cook, Edwin; Guter, Stephen; Leventhal, Bennett; Salt, Jeff; Lord, Catherine; Corsello, Christina; Hus, Vanessa; Weeks, Daniel; Volkmar, Fred; Tauber, Maïté; Fombonne, Eric; Shih, Andy; Meyer, Kacie

    2007-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are common, heritable neurodevelopmental conditions. The genetic architecture of ASD is complex, requiring large samples to overcome heterogeneity. Here we broaden coverage and sample size relative to other studies of ASD by using Affymetrix 10K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays and 1168 families with ≥ 2 affected individuals to perform the largest linkage scan to date, while also analyzing copy number variation (CNV) in these families. Linkage and CNV analyses implicate chromosome 11p12-p13 and neurexins, respectively, amongst other candidate loci. Neurexins team with previously-implicated neuroligins for glutamatergic synaptogenesis, highlighting glutamate-related genes as promising candidates for ASD. PMID:17322880

  18. Efficient assembly of de novo human artificial chromosomes from large genomic loci

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    Stromberg Gregory

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human Artificial Chromosomes (HACs are potentially useful vectors for gene transfer studies and for functional annotation of the genome because of their suitability for cloning, manipulating and transferring large segments of the genome. However, development of HACs for the transfer of large genomic loci into mammalian cells has been limited by difficulties in manipulating high-molecular weight DNA, as well as by the low overall frequencies of de novo HAC formation. Indeed, to date, only a small number of large (>100 kb genomic loci have been reported to be successfully packaged into de novo HACs. Results We have developed novel methodologies to enable efficient assembly of HAC vectors containing any genomic locus of interest. We report here the creation of a novel, bimolecular system based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs for the construction of HACs incorporating any defined genomic region. We have utilized this vector system to rapidly design, construct and validate multiple de novo HACs containing large (100–200 kb genomic loci including therapeutically significant genes for human growth hormone (HGH, polycystic kidney disease (PKD1 and ß-globin. We report significant differences in the ability of different genomic loci to support de novo HAC formation, suggesting possible effects of cis-acting genomic elements. Finally, as a proof of principle, we have observed sustained ß-globin gene expression from HACs incorporating the entire 200 kb ß-globin genomic locus for over 90 days in the absence of selection. Conclusion Taken together, these results are significant for the development of HAC vector technology, as they enable high-throughput assembly and functional validation of HACs containing any large genomic locus. We have evaluated the impact of different genomic loci on the frequency of HAC formation and identified segments of genomic DNA that appear to facilitate de novo HAC formation. These genomic loci

  19. Characteristics of Japanese inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arimura, Yoshiaki; Isshiki, Hiroyuki; Onodera, Kei; Nagaishi, Kanna; Yamashita, Kentaro; Sonoda, Tomoko; Matsumoto, Takayuki; Takahashi, Atsushi; Takazoe, Masakazu; Yamazaki, Keiko; Kubo, Michiaki; Fujimiya, Mineko; Imai, Kohzoh; Shinomura, Yasuhisa

    2014-08-01

    There are substantial differences in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) genetics depending on the populations examined. We aimed to identify Japanese population-specific or true culprit susceptibility genes through a meta-analysis of past genetic studies of Japanese IBD. For this study, we reviewed 2,703 articles. The review process consisted of three screening stages: we initially searched for relevant studies and then relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Finally, we adjusted them for the meta-analysis. To maximize our chances of analysis, we introduced proxy SNPs during the first stage. To minimize publication bias, no significant SNPs and solitary SNPs without pairs were combined to be reconsidered during the third stage. Additionally, two SNPs were newly genotyped. Finally, we conducted a meta-analysis of 37 published studies in 50 SNPs located at 22 loci corresponding to the total number of 4,853 Crohn's disease (CD), 5,612 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and 14,239 healthy controls. We confirmed that the NKX2-3 polymorphism is associated with common susceptibility to IBD and that HLA-DRB1*0450 alleles increase susceptibility to CD but reduce risk for UC while HLA-DRB1*1502 alleles increase susceptibility to UC but reduce CD risk. Moreover, we found individual disease risk loci: TNFSF15 and TNFα to CD and HLA-B*5201, and NFKBIL1 to UC. The genetic risk of HLA was substantially high (odds ratios ranged from 1.54 to 2.69) while that of common susceptibility loci to IBD was modest (odds ratio ranged from 1.13 to 1.24). Results indicate that Japanese IBD susceptibility loci identified by the meta-analysis are closely associated with the HLA regions.

  20. Genetic variability and population structure in loci related to milk production traits in native Argentine Creole and commercial Argentine Holstein cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golijow C.D.

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Many cattle breeds have been subjected to high selection pressure for production traits. Consequently, population genetic structure and allelic distribution could differ in breeds under high selection pressure compared to unselected breeds. Analysis of k-casein, aS1-casein and prolactin gene frequencies was made for Argentine Creole (AC and Argentine Holstein (AH cattle herds. The calculated FST values measured the degree of genetic differentiation of subpopulations, depending on the variances of gene frequencies.The AC breed had considerably more variation among herds at the aS1-casein and k-casein loci. Conservation strategies should consider the entire AC population in order to maintain the genetic variability found in this native breed.

  1. Genetic variation in caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, M A; Patton, J C; Balmysheva, N; MacNeil, M D

    2003-02-01

    Genetic variation at seven microsatellite DNA loci was quantified in 19 herds of wild caribou and domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from North America, Scandinavia and Russia. There is an average of 2.0-6.6 alleles per locus and observed individual heterozygosity of 0.33-0.50 in most herds. A herd on Svalbard Island, Scandinavia, is an exception, with relatively few alleles and low heterozygosity. The Central Arctic, Western Arctic and Porcupine River caribou herds in Alaska have similar allele frequencies and comprise one breeding population. Domestic reindeer in Alaska originated from transplants from Siberia, Russia, more than 100 years ago. Reindeer in Alaska and Siberia have different allele frequencies at several loci, but a relatively low level of genetic differentiation. Wild caribou and domestic reindeer in Alaska have significantly different allele frequencies at the seven loci, indicating that gene flow between reindeer and caribou in Alaska has been limited.

  2. The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przeworski, Molly

    2002-03-01

    In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequency alleles drift to fixation and no longer contribute to polymorphism, while linkage disequilibrium is broken down by recombination. As a result, loci chosen without independent evidence of recent selection are not expected to exhibit either of these features, even if they have been affected by numerous sweeps in their genealogical history. How then can we explain the patterns in the data? One possibility is population structure, with unequal sampling from different subpopulations. Alternatively, positive selection may not operate as is commonly modeled. In particular, the rate of fixation of advantageous mutations may have increased in the recent past.

  3. Microgeographic and temporal genetic variation in populations of the bluetongue virus vector Culicoides variipennis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, W J

    1992-05-01

    Seven Colorado populations of the bluetongue virus vector Culicoides varipennis (Coquillett) were analyzed for genetic variation at 19-21 isozyme loci. Permanent populations, which overwinter as larvae, showed little temporal genetic change at 19 loci. PGD and MDH showed seasonal changes in gene frequencies, attributable to selection at two permanent populations. Two temporary populations showed low heterozygosity compared with permanent populations. Independent estimates of gene flow, calculated using FST and the private allele method, were Nm* = 2.15 and 6.95, respectively. Colorado C. variipennis permanent populations showed high levels of gene flow which prevented significant genetic differentiation due to genetic drift. Temporary populations showed significant gene frequency differences from nearby permanent populations due to the "founder effect" associated with chance colonization.

  4. Association Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Mineral Element Contents in Whole Grain Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yan; Sun, Chengxiao; Min, Jie; Chen, Yaling; Tong, Chuan; Bao, Jinsong

    2015-12-23

    Mineral elements in brown rice grain play an important role in human health. In this study, variations in the content of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in 378 accessions of brown rice were investigated, and association mapping was used to detect the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the variation. Among seven subpopulations, the mean values of Zn and Cd in the japonica group were significantly higher than in the indica groups. The population structure accounted for from 5.7% (Se) to 22.1% (Pb) of the total variation. Correlation analyses showed that Pb was positively correlated with the other minerals (P rice grain by marker-assisted selection (MAS).

  5. Genetic analysis of 20 autosomal STR loci in the Miao ethnic group from Yunnan Province, Southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiufeng; Hu, Liping; Du, Lei; Nie, Aiting; Rao, Min; Pang, Jing Bo; Xiran, Zeng; Nie, Shengjie

    2017-05-01

    The genetic polymorphisms of 20 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci included in the PowerPlex ® 21 kit were evaluated from 748 unrelated healthy individuals of the Miao ethnic minority living in the Yunnan province in southwestern China. All of the loci reached Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These loci were examined to determine allele frequencies and forensic statistical parameters. The genetic relationship between the Miao population and other Chinese populations were also estimated. The combined discrimination power and probability of excluding paternity of the 20 STR loci were 0.999 999 999 999 999 999 999 991 26 and 0.999 999 975, respectively. The results suggested that the 20 STR loci were highly polymorphic, which makes them suitable for forensic personal identification and paternity testing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Isolation and characterization of 23 polymorphic microsatellite loci for a West Indian iguana (Cyclura pinguis) from the British Virgin Islands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Jennie; Alberts, Allison C; Chemnick, Leona G; Gerber, Glenn P; Jones, Kenneth C; Mitchell, Adele A; Ryder, Oliver A

    2009-09-01

    Twenty-three polymorphic microsatellite markers were identified and characterized for Cyclura pinguis, a critically endangered species of lizard (Sauria: Iguanidae) native to Anegada Island in the British Virgin Islands. We examined variation at these loci for 39 C. pinguis, finding up to five alleles per locus and an average expected heterozygosity of 0.55. Allele frequency estimates for these microsatellite loci will be used to characterize genetic diversity of captive and wild C. pinguis populations and to estimate relatedness among adult iguanas at the San Diego Zoo that form the nucleus of a captive breeding programme for this critically endangered species. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Partitioning of genetic variation between regulatory and coding gene segments: the predominance of software variation in genes encoding introvert proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchison, A

    1997-01-01

    In considering genetic variation in eukaryotes, a fundamental distinction can be made between variation in regulatory (software) and coding (hardware) gene segments. For quantitative traits the bulk of variation, particularly that near the population mean, appears to reside in regulatory segments. The main exceptions to this rule concern proteins which handle extrinsic substances, here termed extrovert proteins. The immune system includes an unusually large proportion of this exceptional category, but even so its chief source of variation may well be polymorphism in regulatory gene segments. The main evidence for this view emerges from genome scanning for quantitative trait loci (QTL), which in the case of the immune system points to a major contribution of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes. Further support comes from sequencing of major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) class II promoters, where a high level of polymorphism has been detected. These Mhc promoters appear to act, in part at least, by gating the back-signal from T cells into antigen-presenting cells. Both these forms of polymorphism are likely to be sustained by the need for flexibility in the immune response. Future work on promoter polymorphism is likely to benefit from the input from genome informatics.

  8. Variation in human recombination rates and its genetic determinants.

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    Adi Fledel-Alon

    Full Text Available Despite the fundamental role of crossing-over in the pairing and segregation of chromosomes during human meiosis, the rates and placements of events vary markedly among individuals. Characterizing this variation and identifying its determinants are essential steps in our understanding of the human recombination process and its evolution.Using three large sets of European-American pedigrees, we examined variation in five recombination phenotypes that capture distinct aspects of crossing-over patterns. We found that the mean recombination rate in males and females and the historical hotspot usage are significantly heritable and are uncorrelated with one another. We then conducted a genome-wide association study in order to identify loci that influence them. We replicated associations of RNF212 with the mean rate in males and in females as well as the association of Inversion 17q21.31 with the female mean rate. We also replicated the association of PRDM9 with historical hotspot usage, finding that it explains most of the genetic variance in this phenotype. In addition, we identified a set of new candidate regions for further validation.These findings suggest that variation at broad and fine scales is largely separable and that, beyond three known loci, there is no evidence for common variation with large effects on recombination phenotypes.

  9. Supervised machine learning reveals introgressed loci in the genomes of Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrider, Daniel R; Ayroles, Julien; Matute, Daniel R; Kern, Andrew D

    2018-04-01

    Hybridization and gene flow between species appears to be common. Even though it is clear that hybridization is widespread across all surveyed taxonomic groups, the magnitude and consequences of introgression are still largely unknown. Thus it is crucial to develop the statistical machinery required to uncover which genomic regions have recently acquired haplotypes via introgression from a sister population. We developed a novel machine learning framework, called FILET (Finding Introgressed Loci via Extra-Trees) capable of revealing genomic introgression with far greater power than competing methods. FILET works by combining information from a number of population genetic summary statistics, including several new statistics that we introduce, that capture patterns of variation across two populations. We show that FILET is able to identify loci that have experienced gene flow between related species with high accuracy, and in most situations can correctly infer which population was the donor and which was the recipient. Here we describe a data set of outbred diploid Drosophila sechellia genomes, and combine them with data from D. simulans to examine recent introgression between these species using FILET. Although we find that these populations may have split more recently than previously appreciated, FILET confirms that there has indeed been appreciable recent introgression (some of which might have been adaptive) between these species, and reveals that this gene flow is primarily in the direction of D. simulans to D. sechellia.

  10. Genetic Variations in Pattern Recognition Receptor Loci Are Associated with Anti-TNF Response in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

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    Jacob Sode

    Full Text Available To determine whether genetic variation within genes related to the Toll-like receptor, inflammasome and interferon-γ pathways contributes to the differences in treatment response to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (anti-TNF in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA.In a retrospective case-case study, we assessed 23 functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in 15 genes. We included 538 anti-TNF naïve Danish RA patients from the nationwide DANBIO database. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to detect associations (p-value<0.05 between genotypes and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR treatment responses. False Discovery Rate corrections for multiple testing (q-value and stratified analyses were performed to investigate association with individual therapies and IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF status.Six of twenty successfully genotyped polymorphisms were nominally associated with EULAR treatment response. Three of these were in weak to moderate linkage disequilibrium with polymorphisms previously reported associated with anti-TNF treatment response. TLR5(rs5744174 variant allele carriers (odds ratio(OR = 1.7(1.1-2.5,p = 0.010,q = 0.46 and TLR1(rs4833095 homozygous variant carriers (OR = 2.8(1.1-7.4,p = 0.037,q = 0.46 had higher odds for a positive treatment response. NLRP3(rs10754558 variant allele carriers (odds ratio(OR = 0.6(0.4-1.0,p = 0.045,q = 0.46 were more likely to have a negative treatment response. The association in TLR5(rs5744174 remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons among patients negative for RF (OR = 6.2(2.4-16.3,p = 0.0002,q = 0.024. No other association withstood correction for multiple testing. Post hoc analyses showed that change in Patient Global score on a visual analogue scale (VAS and change in pain VAS were the main factors responsible for the association.We reproduced previously reported associations between genetic variation in the TLR10/1/6 gene cluster, TLR5

  11. A novel HURRAH protocol reveals high numbers of monomorphic MHC class II loci and two asymmetric multi-locus haplotypes in the Père David's deer.

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    Qiu-Hong Wan

    Full Text Available The Père David's deer is a highly inbred, but recovered, species, making it interesting to consider their adaptive molecular evolution from an immunological perspective. Prior to this study, genomic sequencing was the only method for isolating all functional MHC genes within a certain species. Here, we report a novel protocol for isolating MHC class II loci from a species, and its use to investigate the adaptive evolution of this endangered deer at the level of multi-locus haplotypes. This protocol was designated "HURRAH" based on its various steps and used to estimate the total number of MHC class II loci. We confirmed the validity of this novel protocol in the giant panda and then used it to examine the Père David's deer. Our results revealed that the Père David's deer possesses nine MHC class II loci and therefore has more functional MHC class II loci than the eight genome-sequenced mammals for which full MHC data are currently available. This could potentially account at least in part for the strong survival ability of this species in the face of severe bottlenecking. The results from the HURRAH protocol also revealed that: (1 All of the identified MHC class II loci were monomorphic at their antigen-binding regions, although DRA was dimorphic at its cytoplasmic tail; and (2 these genes constituted two asymmetric functional MHC class II multi-locus haplotypes: DRA1*01 ∼ DRB1 ∼ DRB3 ∼ DQA1 ∼ DQB2 (H1 and DRA1*02 ∼ DRB2 ∼ DRB4 ∼ DQA2 ∼ DQB1 (H2. The latter finding indicates that the current members of the deer species have lost the powerful ancestral MHC class II haplotypes of nine or more loci, and have instead fixed two relatively weak haplotypes containing five genes. As a result, the Père David's deer are currently at risk for increased susceptibility to infectious pathogens.

  12. Genetic polymorphism study on 12 X STR loci of investigator Argus X STR kit in Bhil tribal population of Madhya Pradesh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrivastava, Pankaj; Jain, Toshi; Gupta, Umang; Trivedi, Veena Ben

    2015-05-01

    The analysis of 12 X STR loci (DXS10103, DXS8378, DXS7132, DXS10134, DXS10074, DXS10101, DXS10135, DXS7423, DXS10146, DXS10079, HPRTB and DXS10148) belonging to four linkage group was done in 183 (100 males and 83 females) unrelated members of Bhil population. Heterozygosity among the studied 12 X STR loci showed a distribution of from 59.7% to 92.8%. No significant difference was recorded in the allele frequencies of males and females. The loci DXS10135 and DXS10101 were found to be most polymorphic. Haplotype diversity was found to be higher than 0.990 for all the four linkage groups. A total of 86, 69, 71 and 71 haplotypes were observed for linkage group I, II, III and IV, respectively. The results showed departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium with respect to three loci DXS10079, DXS10135 and DXS10101. This is first report on these 12 X STR markers from India. All the loci in the Argus X 12 kit were fairly informative in the Bhil population and the population showed significant genetic variation with all the compared populations from other parts of the world. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. [Relationship between genetic polymorphisms of 3 SNP loci in 5-HTT gene and paranoid schizophrenia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xuan, Jin-Feng; Ding, Mei; Pang, Hao; Xing, Jia-Xin; Sun, Yi-Hua; Yao, Jun; Zhao, Yi; Li, Chun-Mei; Wang, Bao-Jie

    2012-12-01

    To investigate the population genetic data of 3 SNP loci (rs25533, rs34388196 and rs1042173) of 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (5-HTT) gene and the association with paranoid schizophrenia. Three SNP loci of 5-HTT gene were examined in 132 paranoid schizophrenia patients and 150 unrelated healthy individuals of Northern Chinese Han population by PCR-RFLP technique. The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test was performed using the chi-square test and the data of haplotype frequency and population genetics parameters were statistically analyzed. Among these three SNP loci, four haplotypes were obtained. There were no statistically significant differences between the patient group and the control group (P > 0.05). The DP values of the 3 SNP loci were 0.276, 0.502 and 0.502. The PIC of them were 0.151, 0.281 and 0.281. The PE of them were 0.014, 0.072 and 0.072. The three SNP loci and four haplotypes of 5-HTT gene have no association with paranoid schizophrenia, while the polymorphism still have high potential application in forensic practice.

  14. Fast magnetic resonance imaging based on high degree total variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sujie; Lu, Liangliang; Zheng, Junbao; Jiang, Mingfeng

    2018-04-01

    In order to eliminating the artifacts and "staircase effect" of total variation in Compressive Sensing MRI, high degree total variation model is proposed for dynamic MRI reconstruction. the high degree total variation regularization term is used as a constraint to reconstruct the magnetic resonance image, and the iterative weighted MM algorithm is proposed to solve the convex optimization problem of the reconstructed MR image model, In addtion, one set of cardiac magnetic resonance data is used to verify the proposed algorithm for MRI. The results show that the high degree total variation method has a better reconstruction effect than the total variation and the total generalized variation, which can obtain higher reconstruction SNR and better structural similarity.

  15. An evolutionary reduction principle for mutation rates at multiple Loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altenberg, Lee

    2011-06-01

    A model of mutation rate evolution for multiple loci under arbitrary selection is analyzed. Results are obtained using techniques from Karlin (Evolutionary Biology, vol. 14, pp. 61-204, 1982) that overcome the weak selection constraints needed for tractability in prior studies of multilocus event models.A multivariate form of the reduction principle is found: reduction results at individual loci combine topologically to produce a surface of mutation rate alterations that are neutral for a new modifier allele. New mutation rates survive if and only if they fall below this surface-a generalization of the hyperplane found by Zhivotovsky et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91, 1079-1083, 1994) for a multilocus recombination modifier. Increases in mutation rates at some loci may evolve if compensated for by decreases at other loci. The strength of selection on the modifier scales in proportion to the number of germline cell divisions, and increases with the number of loci affected. Loci that do not make a difference to marginal fitnesses at equilibrium are not subject to the reduction principle, and under fine tuning of mutation rates would be expected to have higher mutation rates than loci in mutation-selection balance.Other results include the nonexistence of 'viability analogous, Hardy-Weinberg' modifier polymorphisms under multiplicative mutation, and the sufficiency of average transmission rates to encapsulate the effect of modifier polymorphisms on the transmission of loci under selection. A conjecture is offered regarding situations, like recombination in the presence of mutation, that exhibit departures from the reduction principle. Constraints for tractability are: tight linkage of all loci, initial fixation at the modifier locus, and mutation distributions comprising transition probabilities of reversible Markov chains.

  16. The signature of positive selection at randomly chosen loci.

    OpenAIRE

    Przeworski, Molly

    2002-01-01

    In Drosophila and humans, there are accumulating examples of loci with a significant excess of high-frequency-derived alleles or high levels of linkage disequilibrium, relative to a neutral model of a random-mating population of constant size. These are features expected after a recent selective sweep. Their prevalence suggests that positive directional selection may be widespread in both species. However, as I show here, these features do not persist long after the sweep ends: The high-frequ...

  17. [A population genetic study of 22 autosomal loci of single nucleotide polymorphisms].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jian-pin; Jiang, Feng-hui; Shi, Mei-sen; Xu, Chuan-chao; Chen, Rui; Lai, Xiao-pin

    2012-12-01

    To evaluate polymorphisms and forensic efficiency of 22 non-binary single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci. One hundred ethnic Han Chinese individuals were recruited from Dongguan, Guangdong. The 22 loci were genotyped with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Nine loci were found with a single allele, 4 loci were found to be biallelic, whilst 9 loci were found to have 3 alleles. For 13 polymorphic loci, the combined discrimination power and power of exclusion were 0.999 98 and 0.9330, respectively. For the 9 non-biallelic loci, the combined discrimination power and power of exclusion were 0.9998 and 0.8956, respectively. For motherless cases, the combined power of exclusion was 0.6405 for 13 polymorphic SNPs and 0.6405 for 9 non-binary SNPs. Non-binary loci have a greater discrimination power and exclusion power per SNP.

  18. Discovery and fine mapping of serum protein loci through transethnic meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franceschini, Nora; van Rooij, Frank J A; Prins, Bram P; Feitosa, Mary F; Karakas, Mahir; Eckfeldt, John H; Folsom, Aaron R; Kopp, Jeffrey; Vaez, Ahmad; Andrews, Jeanette S; Baumert, Jens; Boraska, Vesna; Broer, Linda; Hayward, Caroline; Ngwa, Julius S; Okada, Yukinori; Polasek, Ozren; Westra, Harm-Jan; Wang, Ying A; Del Greco M, Fabiola; Glazer, Nicole L; Kapur, Karen; Kema, Ido P; Lopez, Lorna M; Schillert, Arne; Smith, Albert V; Winkler, Cheryl A; Zgaga, Lina; Bandinelli, Stefania; Bergmann, Sven; Boban, Mladen; Bochud, Murielle; Chen, Y D; Davies, Gail; Dehghan, Abbas; Ding, Jingzhong; Doering, Angela; Durda, J Peter; Ferrucci, Luigi; Franco, Oscar H; Franke, Lude; Gunjaca, Grog; Hofman, Albert; Hsu, Fang-Chi; Kolcic, Ivana; Kraja, Aldi; Kubo, Michiaki; Lackner, Karl J; Launer, Lenore; Loehr, Laura R; Li, Guo; Meisinger, Christa; Nakamura, Yusuke; Schwienbacher, Christine; Starr, John M; Takahashi, Atsushi; Torlak, Vesela; Uitterlinden, André G; Vitart, Veronique; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wild, Philipp S; Kirin, Mirna; Zeller, Tanja; Zemunik, Tatijana; Zhang, Qunyuan; Ziegler, Andreas; Blankenberg, Stefan; Boerwinkle, Eric; Borecki, Ingrid B; Campbell, Harry; Deary, Ian J; Frayling, Timothy M; Gieger, Christian; Harris, Tamara B; Hicks, Andrew A; Koenig, Wolfgang; O' Donnell, Christopher J; Fox, Caroline S; Pramstaller, Peter P; Psaty, Bruce M; Reiner, Alex P; Rotter, Jerome I; Rudan, Igor; Snieder, Harold; Tanaka, Toshihiro; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Vollenweider, Peter; Waeber, Gerard; Wilson, James F; Witteman, Jacqueline C M; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R; Wright, Alan F; Wu, Qingyu; Liu, Yongmei; Jenny, Nancy S; North, Kari E; Felix, Janine F; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z; Cupples, L Adrienne; Perry, John R B; Morris, Andrew P

    2012-10-05

    Many disorders are associated with altered serum protein concentrations, including malnutrition, cancer, and cardiovascular, kidney, and inflammatory diseases. Although these protein concentrations are highly heritable, relatively little is known about their underlying genetic determinants. Through transethnic meta-analysis of European-ancestry and Japanese genome-wide association studies, we identified six loci at genome-wide significance (p Japanese individuals) and three loci for total protein (TNFRS13B, 6q21.3, and ELL2, in up to 25,539 European-ancestry and 10,168 Japanese individuals). We observed little evidence of heterogeneity in allelic effects at these loci between groups of European and Japanese ancestry but obtained substantial improvements in the resolution of fine mapping of potential causal variants by leveraging transethnic differences in the distribution of linkage disequilibrium. We demonstrated a functional role for the most strongly associated serum albumin locus, HPN, for which Hpn knockout mice manifest low plasma albumin concentrations. Other loci associated with serum albumin harbor genes related to ribosome function, protein translation, and proteasomal degradation, whereas those associated with serum total protein include genes related to immune function. Our results highlight the advantages of transethnic meta-analysis for the discovery and fine mapping of complex trait loci and have provided initial insights into the underlying genetic architecture of serum protein concentrations and their association with human disease. Copyright © 2012 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Unraveling possible association between quantitative trait loci (QTL ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Unraveling possible association between quantitative trait loci (QTL) for partial resistance and nonhost resistance in food barley ( Hordeum vulgaris L.) ... Abstract. Many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in different barley populations were discovered for resistance to Puccinia hordei and heterologous rust species. Partial ...

  20. Genius loci / Madis Kõiv

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Kõiv, Madis, 1929-2014

    2005-01-01

    Ettekanne 37. Kreutzwaldi päevadel Tartu Kirjandusmuuseumis 18.-19. dets. 1993, pealkirjaga "Kus on see Valga, kus on see Tartu...: Genius loci B. Kangro ja V. Uibopuu romaanides". Varem ilmunud: Akadeemia, 1994, nr. 4

  1. Quantitative Trait Loci Analysis of Allelopathy in Rice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, L B; Courtois, B; Olofsdotter, M

    2008-01-01

    The allelopathic potential of rice (Oryza sativa L.) against Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. was investigated under both laboratory and greenhouse conditions. A population of 150 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was derived through single-seed descent from a cross between the indica cultivar AC...... the population phenotype was normally distributed. Two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were located on chromosomes 4 and 7, explaining 20% of the phenotypic variation. A second relay seeding experiment was set up, this time including charcoal in the perlite. This screening showed that the allelopathic rice...... varieties did not have any effect on the weed species when grown with charcoal, the charcoal reversing the effect of any potential allelochemicals exuded from the rice roots. The second phenotypic experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in pots. Thirteen QTLs were detected for four different...

  2. [Discriminatory power of variable number on tandem repeats loci for genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, H X; Cai, C; Liu, J Y; Zhang, Z G; Yuan, M; Jia, J N; Sun, Z G; Huang, H R; Gao, J M; Li, W M

    2017-06-10

    Objective: Using the standard genotype method, variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), we constructed a VNTR database to cover all provinces and proposed a set of optimized VNTR loci combinations for each province, in order to improve the preventive and control programs on tuberculosis, in China. Methods: A total of 15 loci VNTR was used to analyze 4 116 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, isolated from national survey of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, in 2007. Hunter-Gaston Index (HGI) was also used to analyze the discriminatory power of each VNTR site. A set combination of 12-VNTR, 10-VNTR, 8-VNTR and 5-VNTR was respectively constructed for each province, based on 1) epidemic characteristics of M. tuberculosis lineages in China, with high discriminatory power and genetic stability. Results: Through the completed 15 loci VNTR patterns of 3 966 strains under 96.36 % (3 966/4 116) coverage, we found seven high HGI loci (including QUB11b and MIRU26) as well as low stable loci (including QUB26, MIRU16, Mtub21 and QUB11b) in several areas. In all the 31 provinces, we found an optimization VNTR combination as 10-VNTR loci in Inner Mongolia, Chongqing and Heilongjiang, but with 8-VNTR combination shared in other provinces. Conclusions: It is necessary to not only use the VNTR database for tracing the source of infection and cluster of M. tuberculosis in the nation but also using the set of optimized VNTR combinations in monitoring those local epidemics and M. tuberculosis (genetics in local) population.

  3. Genetic loci for retinal arteriolar microcirculation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xueling Sim

    Full Text Available Narrow arterioles in the retina have been shown to predict hypertension as well as other vascular diseases, likely through an increase in the peripheral resistance of the microcirculatory flow. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study in 18,722 unrelated individuals of European ancestry from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium and the Blue Mountain Eye Study, to identify genetic determinants associated with variations in retinal arteriolar caliber. Retinal vascular calibers were measured on digitized retinal photographs using a standardized protocol. One variant (rs2194025 on chromosome 5q14 near the myocyte enhancer factor 2C MEF2C gene was associated with retinal arteriolar caliber in the meta-analysis of the discovery cohorts at genome-wide significance of P-value <5×10(-8. This variant was replicated in an additional 3,939 individuals of European ancestry from the Australian Twins Study and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (rs2194025, P-value = 2.11×10(-12 in combined meta-analysis of discovery and replication cohorts. In independent studies of modest sample sizes, no significant association was found between this variant and clinical outcomes including coronary artery disease, stroke, myocardial infarction or hypertension. In conclusion, we found one novel loci which underlie genetic variation in microvasculature which may be relevant to vascular disease. The relevance of these findings to clinical outcomes remains to be determined.

  4. radEq Add-On Module for CFD Solver Loci-CHEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCloud, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Loci-CHEM to be applied to flow velocities where surface radiation due to heating from compression and friction becomes significant. The module adds a radiation equilibrium boundary condition to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code to produce accurate results. The module expanded the upper limit for accurate CFD solutions of Loci-CHEM from Mach 4 to Mach 10 based on Space Shuttle Orbiter Re-Entry trajectories. Loci-CHEM already has a very promising architecture and performance, but absence of radiation equilibrium boundary condition limited the application of Loci-CHEM to below Mach 4. The immediate advantage of the add-on module is that it allows Loci-CHEM to work with supersonic flows up to Mach 10. This transformed Loci-CHEM from a rocket engine- heritage CFD code with general subsonic and low-supersonic applications, to an aeroheating code with hypersonic applications. The follow-on advantage of the module is that it is a building block for additional add-on modules that will solve for the heating generated at Mach numbers higher than 10.

  5. Targeted exonic sequencing of GWAS loci in the high extremes of the plasma lipids distribution

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Patel, Aniruddh P.; Peloso, Gina M.; Pirruccello, James P.; Johansen, Christopher T.; Dubé, Joseph B.; Larach, Daniel B.; Ban, Matthew R.; Dallinge-Thie, Geesje M.; Gupta, Namrata; Boehnke, Michael; Abecasis, Gonçalo R.; Kastelein, John J. P.; Hovingh, G. Kees; Hegele, Robert A.; Rader, Daniel J.; Kathiresan, Sekar

    2016-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for plasma lipid levels have mapped numerous genomic loci, with each region often containing many protein-coding genes. Targeted re-sequencing of exons is a strategy to pinpoint causal variants and genes. We performed solution-based hybrid selection of 9008

  6. Intraspecific karyotypic polymorphism is highly concordant with allozyme variation in Lysimachia mauritiana (Primulaceae: Myrsinoideae) in Taiwan: implications for the colonization history and dispersal patterns of coastal plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kono, Yoshiko; Chung, Kuo-Fang; Chen, Chih-Hui; Hoshi, Yoshikazu; Setoguchi, Hiroaki; Chou, Chang-Hung; Oginuma, Kazuo; Peng, Ching-I

    2012-01-01

    Background and Aims Investigating intraspecific karyotypic and genetic variations jointly can provide unique insights into how historical, ecological and cytogenetic factors influence microevolution. A coastal herb, Lysimachia mauritiana, exhibits extensive karyotypic polymorphism and displays a complex cytogeographic pattern across the Ryukyus. To explore whether a similar degree of chromosomal variation exists south of the Ryukyus, and in an attempt to ascertain the mechanisms that may have generated the patterns, comprehensive sampling was conducted in Taiwan. Methods Karyotypes were analysed at mitotic metaphase for 550 individuals from 42 populations throughout Taiwan Proper and its adjacent islands. In addition, genetic variation was estimated using 12 allozymes (21 loci) of 314 individuals sampled from 12 localities. Key Results Four chromosome numbers and eight cytotypes, including four endemic cytotypes, were detected. Cytotype distributions were highly structured geographically, with single cytotypes present in most populations and four major cytotypes dominating the north, east and south of Taiwan and the Penghu Archipelago. Allozyme variation was very low and F-statistics indicated an extremely high level of population differentiation, implying limited gene flow among populations. Cluster analysis of allozyme variation uncovered four geographic groups, each corresponding perfectly to the four dominant cytotypes. The geographic structure of cytotype distribution and allozyme variation probably resulted from severe genetic drift triggered by genetic bottlenecks, suggesting that Taiwanese populations were likely to be derived from four independent founder events. In the few localities with multiple cytotypes, cytogeographic patterns and inferences of chromosomal evolution revealed a trend of northward dispersal, consistent with the course of the Kuroshio Current that has been influential in shaping the coastal biota of the region. Conclusions The data

  7. Loci influencing blood pressure identified using a cardiovascular gene-centric array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesh, Santhi K; Tragante, Vinicius; Guo, Wei; Guo, Yiran; Lanktree, Matthew B; Smith, Erin N; Johnson, Toby; Castillo, Berta Almoguera; Barnard, John; Baumert, Jens; Chang, Yen-Pei Christy; Elbers, Clara C; Farrall, Martin; Fischer, Mary E; Franceschini, Nora; Gaunt, Tom R; Gho, Johannes M I H; Gieger, Christian; Gong, Yan; Isaacs, Aaron; Kleber, Marcus E; Mateo Leach, Irene; McDonough, Caitrin W; Meijs, Matthijs F L; Mellander, Olle; Molony, Cliona M; Nolte, Ilja M; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Price, Tom S; Rajagopalan, Ramakrishnan; Shaffer, Jonathan; Shah, Sonia; Shen, Haiqing; Soranzo, Nicole; van der Most, Peter J; Van Iperen, Erik P A; Van Setten, Jessica; Van Setten, Jessic A; Vonk, Judith M; Zhang, Li; Beitelshees, Amber L; Berenson, Gerald S; Bhatt, Deepak L; Boer, Jolanda M A; Boerwinkle, Eric; Burkley, Ben; Burt, Amber; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Chen, Wei; Cooper-Dehoff, Rhonda M; Curtis, Sean P; Dreisbach, Albert; Duggan, David; Ehret, Georg B; Fabsitz, Richard R; Fornage, Myriam; Fox, Ervin; Furlong, Clement E; Gansevoort, Ron T; Hofker, Marten H; Hovingh, G Kees; Kirkland, Susan A; Kottke-Marchant, Kandice; Kutlar, Abdullah; Lacroix, Andrea Z; Langaee, Taimour Y; Li, Yun R; Lin, Honghuang; Liu, Kiang; Maiwald, Steffi; Malik, Rainer; Murugesan, Gurunathan; Newton-Cheh, Christopher; O'Connell, Jeffery R; Onland-Moret, N Charlotte; Ouwehand, Willem H; Palmas, Walter; Penninx, Brenda W; Pepine, Carl J; Pettinger, Mary; Polak, Joseph F; Ramachandran, Vasan S; Ranchalis, Jane; Redline, Susan; Ridker, Paul M; Rose, Lynda M; Scharnag, Hubert; Schork, Nicholas J; Shimbo, Daichi; Shuldiner, Alan R; Srinivasan, Sathanur R; Stolk, Ronald P; Taylor, Herman A; Thorand, Barbara; Trip, Mieke D; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Verschuren, W Monique; Wijmenga, Cisca; Winkelmann, Bernhard R; Wyatt, Sharon; Young, J Hunter; Boehm, Bernhard O; Caulfield, Mark J; Chasman, Daniel I; Davidson, Karina W; Doevendans, Pieter A; Fitzgerald, Garret A; Gums, John G; Hakonarson, Hakon; Hillege, Hans L; Illig, Thomas; Jarvik, Gail P; Johnson, Julie A; Kastelein, John J P; Koenig, Wolfgang; März, Winfried; Mitchell, Braxton D; Murray, Sarah S; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Rader, Daniel J; Reilly, Muredach P; Reiner, Alex P; Schadt, Eric E; Silverstein, Roy L; Snieder, Harold; Stanton, Alice V; Uitterlinden, André G; van der Harst, Pim; van der Schouw, Yvonne T; Samani, Nilesh J; Johnson, Andrew D; Munroe, Patricia B; de Bakker, Paul I W; Zhu, Xiaofeng; Levy, Daniel; Keating, Brendan J; Asselbergs, Folkert W

    2013-04-15

    Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable determinant of risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). To investigate genetic associations with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP), we genotyped ∼50 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that capture variation in ∼2100 candidate genes for cardiovascular phenotypes in 61 619 individuals of European ancestry from cohort studies in the USA and Europe. We identified novel associations between rs347591 and SBP (chromosome 3p25.3, in an intron of HRH1) and between rs2169137 and DBP (chromosome1q32.1 in an intron of MDM4) and between rs2014408 and SBP (chromosome 11p15 in an intron of SOX6), previously reported to be associated with MAP. We also confirmed 10 previously known loci associated with SBP, DBP, MAP or PP (ADRB1, ATP2B1, SH2B3/ATXN2, CSK, CYP17A1, FURIN, HFE, LSP1, MTHFR, SOX6) at array-wide significance (P < 2.4 × 10(-6)). We then replicated these associations in an independent set of 65 886 individuals of European ancestry. The findings from expression QTL (eQTL) analysis showed associations of SNPs in the MDM4 region with MDM4 expression. We did not find any evidence of association of the two novel SNPs in MDM4 and HRH1 with sequelae of high BP including coronary artery disease (CAD), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or stroke. In summary, we identified two novel loci associated with BP and confirmed multiple previously reported associations. Our findings extend our understanding of genes involved in BP regulation, some of which may eventually provide new targets for therapeutic intervention.

  8. GENETIC STRUCTURE OF NORWAY SPRUCE (PICEA ABIES): CONCORDANCE OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND ALLOZYMIC VARIATION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagercrantz, Ulf; Ryman, Nils

    1990-02-01

    This study describes the population structure of Norway spruce (Picea abies) as revealed by protein polymorphisms and morphological variation. Electrophoretically detectable genetic variability was examined at 22 protein loci in 70 populations from the natural range of the species in Europe. Like other conifers, Norway spruce exhibits a relatively large amount of genetic variability and little differentiation among populations. Sixteen polymorphic loci (73%) segregate for a total of 51 alleles, and average heterozygosity per population is 0.115. Approximately 5% of the total genetic diversity is explained by differences between populations (G ST = 0.052), and Nei's standard genetic distance is less than 0.04 in all cases. We suggest that the population structure largely reflects relatively recent historical events related to the last glaciation and that Norway spruce is still in a process of adaptation and differentiation. There is a clear geographic pattern in the variation of allele frequencies. A major part of the allelefrequency variation can be accounted for by a few synthetic variables (principal components), and 80% of the variation of the first principal component is "explained" by latitude and longitude. The central European populations are consistently depauperate of genetic variability, most likely as an effect of severe restrictions of population size during the last glaciation. The pattern of differentiation at protein loci is very similar to that observed for seven morphological traits examined. This similarity suggests that the same evolutionary forces have acted upon both sets of characters. © 1990 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  9. Genetic loci involved in antibody response to Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in cattle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulietta Minozzi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP causes chronic enteritis in a wide range of animal species. In cattle, MAP causes a chronic disease called Johne's disease, or paratuberculosis, that is not treatable and the efficacy of vaccine control is controversial. The clinical phase of the disease is characterised by diarrhoea, weight loss, drop in milk production and eventually death. Susceptibility to MAP infection is heritable with heritability estimates ranging from 0.06 to 0.10. There have been several studies over the last few years that have identified genetic loci putatively associated with MAP susceptibility, however, with the availability of genome-wide high density SNP maker panels it is now possible to carry out association studies that have higher precision. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The objective of the current study was to localize genes having an impact on Johne's disease susceptibility using the latest bovine genome information and a high density SNP panel (Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip to perform a case/control, genome-wide association analysis. Samples from MAP case and negative controls were selected from field samples collected in 2007 and 2008 in the province of Lombardy, Italy. Cases were defined as animals serologically positive for MAP by ELISA. In total 966 samples were genotyped: 483 MAP ELISA positive and 483 ELISA negative. Samples were selected randomly among those collected from 119 farms which had at least one positive animal. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: THE ANALYSIS OF THE GENOTYPE DATA IDENTIFIED SEVERAL CHROMOSOMAL REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE STATUS: a region on chromosome 12 with high significance (P<5x10(-6, while regions on chromosome 9, 11, and 12 had moderate significance (P<5x10(-5. These results provide evidence for genetic loci involved in the humoral response to MAP. Knowledge of genetic variations related to susceptibility will facilitate the incorporation of this information

  10. Genetic variation and differentiation of three Schistosoma species from the Philippines, Laos, and Peninsular Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodruff, D S; Merenlender, A M; Upatham, E S; Viyanant, V

    1987-03-01

    Electrophoretically-detected allozyme variation is described in strains of Schistosoma japonicum (4 Philippine strains), S. mekongi (Laos), and an undescribed anthropophilic S. japonicum-like schistosome from Peninsular Malaysia. Result, together with those reported previously for 8 other strains (S. japonicum, China, Formosa, Japan, Philippines; S. mekongi, 2 substrains; Malaysian schistosome, 2 strains) permit a composite genetic characterization of 15 strains of Asian schistosomes at 9-18 presumptive loci. The proportion of polymorphic loci (P) and the mean heterozygosity per locus (H) were zero in all strains. Although this was expected for strains that had been in laboratory culture for up to 50 years, we expected to detect variation in strains based on 10-50 recently field-collected infected snails. We expected S. japonicum to be as variable as S. mansoni (P = 0.13 (0-0.33), H = 0.04, 18 loci, 22 strains) as it is believed to reproduce sexually, has an evolutionary history of several million years, inhabits a wide geographic range, coevolved with a genetically variable intermediate snail host, and has a diversity of mammalian hosts. No differences were detected between the 5 S. japonicum strains from Leyte and Luzon (Philippines), between the 3 S. mekongi strains, or between the 3 Malaysian schistosome strains; these groups and the remaining S. japonicum strains representing Mindoro (Philippines), China, Formosa, and Japan each have distinctive multilocus electromorphic patterns. Nei's genetic distances (D) were calculated to estimate interstrain and interspecific divergence. Interstrain genetic distances in S. japonicum averaged greater than 0.3; much higher than those reported previously for S. mansoni (D = 0.06, D(max) = 0.24). S. japonicum (Mindoro) was moderately differentiated from the Leyte-Luzon strains (D = 0.29, 12 loci). Estimates of the S. japonicum China-Philippine distance (D greater than 0.4, 11 loci) are high for conspecific populations and

  11. Conditional analysis identifies three novel major histocompatibility complex loci associated with psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Jo; Spain, Sarah L; Capon, Francesca; Hayday, Adrian; Nestle, Frank O; Clop, Alex; Barker, Jonathan N; Weale, Michael E; Trembath, Richard C

    2012-12-01

    Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin disorder. A number of genetic loci have been shown to confer risk for psoriasis. Collectively, these offer an integrated model for the inherited basis for susceptibility to psoriasis that combines altered skin barrier function together with the dysregulation of innate immune pathogen sensing and adap-tive immunity. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) harbours the psoriasis susceptibility region which exhibits the largest effect size, driven in part by variation contained on the HLA-Cw*0602 allele. However, the resolution of the number and genomic location of potential independent risk loci are hampered by extensive linkage disequilibrium across the region. We leveraged the power of large psoriasis case and control data sets and the statistical approach of conditional analysis to identify potential further association signals distributed across the MHC. In addition to the major loci at HLA-C (P = 2.20 × 10(-236)), we observed and replicated four additional independent signals for disease association, three of which are novel. We detected evidence for association at SNPs rs2507971 (P = 6.73 × 10(-14)), rs9260313 (P = 7.93 × 10(-09)), rs66609536 (P = 3.54 × 10(-07)) and rs380924 (P = 6.24 × 10(-06)), located within the class I region of the MHC, with each observation replicated in an independent sample (P ≤ 0.01). The previously identified locus is close to MICA, the other three lie near MICB, HLA-A and HCG9 (a non-coding RNA gene). The identification of disease associations with both MICA and MICB is particularly intriguing, since each encodes an MHC class I-related protein with potent immunological function.

  12. Polymorphism at Expressed DQ and DR Loci in Five Common Equine MHC Haplotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Donald; Tallmadge, Rebecca L.; Binns, Matthew; Zhu, Baoli; Mohamoud, Yasmin Ali; Ahmed, Ayeda; Brooks, Samantha A.; Antczak, Douglas F.

    2016-01-01

    The polymorphism of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II DQ and DR genes in five common Equine Leukocyte Antigen (ELA) haplotypes was determined through sequencing of mRNA transcripts isolated from lymphocytes of eight ELA homozygous horses. Ten expressed MHC class II genes were detected in horses of the ELA-A3 haplotype carried by the donor horses of the equine Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) library and the reference genome sequence: four DR genes and six DQ genes. The other four ELA haplotypes contained at least eight expressed polymorphic MHC class II loci. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of genomic DNA of these four MHC haplotypes revealed stop codons in the DQA3 gene in the ELA-A2, ELA-A5, and ELA-A9 haplotypes. Few NGS reads were obtained for the other MHC class II genes that were not amplified in these horses. The amino acid sequences across haplotypes contained locus-specific residues, and the locus clusters produced by phylogenetic analysis were well supported. The MHC class II alleles within the five tested haplotypes were largely non-overlapping between haplotypes. The complement of equine MHC class II DQ and DR genes appears to be well conserved between haplotypes, in contrast to the recently described variation in class I gene loci between equine MHC haplotypes. The identification of allelic series of equine MHC class II loci will aid comparative studies of mammalian MHC conservation and evolution and may also help to interpret associations between the equine MHC class II region and diseases of the horse. PMID:27889800

  13. Ancient conservation of trinucleotide microsatellite loci in polistine wasps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ezenwa, V O; Peters, J M; Zhu, Y

    1998-01-01

    Microsatellites have proven to be very useful genetic markers for studies of kinship, parentage, and gene mapping. If microsatellites are conserved among species, then those developed for one species can be used on related species, which would save the time and effort of developing new loci. We...... evaluated conservation of 27 trinucleotide loci that were derived from 2 species of Polistes wasps in cross-species applications on 27 species chosen from the major lineages of the Vespidae, which diverged as much as 144 million years ago. We further investigated cross-species polymorphism levels for 18...... of the loci. There was a clear relationship between cladistic distance and both conservation of the priming sites and heterozygosity. However the loci derived from P. bellicosus were much more widely conserved and polymorphic than were those derived from P. annularis. The disparity in cross-species utility...

  14. Alzheimer's Disease Risk Polymorphisms Regulate Gene Expression in the ZCWPW1 and the CELF1 Loci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Celeste M Karch

    Full Text Available Late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD is a genetically complex and clinically heterogeneous disease. Recent large-scale genome wide association studies (GWAS have identified more than twenty loci that modify risk for AD. Despite the identification of these loci, little progress has been made in identifying the functional variants that explain the association with AD risk. Thus, we sought to determine whether the novel LOAD GWAS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs alter expression of LOAD GWAS genes and whether expression of these genes is altered in AD brains. The majority of LOAD GWAS SNPs occur in gene dense regions under large linkage disequilibrium (LD blocks, making it unclear which gene(s are modified by the SNP. Thus, we tested for brain expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs between LOAD GWAS SNPs and SNPs in high LD with the LOAD GWAS SNPs in all of the genes within the GWAS loci. We found a significant eQTL between rs1476679 and PILRB and GATS, which occurs within the ZCWPW1 locus. PILRB and GATS expression levels, within the ZCWPW1 locus, were also associated with AD status. Rs7120548 was associated with MTCH2 expression, which occurs within the CELF1 locus. Additionally, expression of several genes within the CELF1 locus, including MTCH2, were highly correlated with one another and were associated with AD status. We further demonstrate that PILRB, as well as other genes within the GWAS loci, are most highly expressed in microglia. These findings together with the function of PILRB as a DAP12 receptor supports the critical role of microglia and neuroinflammation in AD risk.

  15. Genome-Wide Characterization of Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Loci in Chinese Jujube and Jujube SSR Primer Transferability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Jing; Zhao, Jin; Liu, Mengjun; Liu, Ping; Dai, Li; Zhao, Zhihui

    2015-01-01

    Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba), an economically important species in the Rhamnaceae family, is a popular fruit tree in Asia. Here, we surveyed and characterized simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the jujube genome. A total of 436,676 SSR loci were identified, with an average distance of 0.93 Kb between the loci. A large proportion of the SSRs included mononucleotide, dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeat motifs, which accounted for 64.87%, 24.40%, and 8.74% of all repeats, respectively. Among the mononucleotide repeats, A/T was the most common, whereas AT/TA was the most common dinucleotide repeat. A total of 30,565 primer pairs were successfully designed and screened using a series of criteria. Moreover, 725 of 1,000 randomly selected primer pairs were effective among 6 cultivars, and 511 of these primer pairs were polymorphic. Sequencing the amplicons of two SSRs across three jujube cultivars revealed variations in the repeats. The transferability of jujube SSR primers proved that 35/64 SSRs could be transferred across family boundary. Using jujube SSR primers, clustering analysis results from 15 species were highly consistent with the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APGIII) System. The genome-wide characterization of SSRs in Chinese jujube is very valuable for whole-genome characterization and marker-assisted selection in jujube breeding. In addition, the transferability of jujube SSR primers could provide a solid foundation for their further utilization. PMID:26000739

  16. "Byrummets ånd. Genius Loci/The Spirit of Urban Spaces"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reeh, Henrik

    2004-01-01

    byrum, Genius loci, Christian Norberg-Schulz, Sønder Boulevard, Berlin, nykultur, fortove, barndomserindringer......byrum, Genius loci, Christian Norberg-Schulz, Sønder Boulevard, Berlin, nykultur, fortove, barndomserindringer...

  17. Advanced Nongray Radiation Module in the LOCI Framework for Combustion CFD, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — In this STTR, an innovative, efficient and high fidelity computational tool to predict radiative heat transfer will be implemented in the LOCI framework. Radiative...

  18. Balancing selection and heterogeneity across the classical human leukocyte antigen loci: a meta-analytic review of 497 population studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solberg, Owen D; Mack, Steven J; Lancaster, Alex K; Single, Richard M; Tsai, Yingssu; Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia; Thomson, Glenys

    2008-07-01

    This paper presents a meta-analysis of high-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele frequency data describing 497 population samples. Most of the datasets were compiled from studies published in eight journals from 1990 to 2007; additional datasets came from the International Histocompatibility Workshops and from the AlleleFrequencies.net database. In all, these data represent approximately 66,800 individuals from throughout the world, providing an opportunity to observe trends that may not have been evident at the time the data were originally analyzed, especially with regard to the relative importance of balancing selection among the HLA loci. Population genetic measures of allele frequency distributions were summarized across populations by locus and geographic region. A role for balancing selection maintaining much of HLA variation was confirmed. Further, the breadth of this meta-analysis allowed the ranking of the HLA loci, with DQA1 and HLA-C showing the strongest balancing selection and DPB1 being compatible with neutrality. Comparisons of the allelic spectra reported by studies since 1990 indicate that most of the HLA alleles identified since 2000 are very-low-frequency alleles. The literature-based allele-count data, as well as maps summarizing the geographic distributions for each allele, are available online.

  19. Non-codingRNA sequence variations in human chronic lymphocytic leukemia and colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojcik, Sylwia E; Rossi, Simona; Shimizu, Masayoshi; Nicoloso, Milena S; Cimmino, Amelia; Alder, Hansjuerg; Herlea, Vlad; Rassenti, Laura Z; Rai, Kanti R; Kipps, Thomas J; Keating, Michael J; Croce, Carlo M; Calin, George A

    2010-02-01

    Cancer is a genetic disease in which the interplay between alterations in protein-coding genes and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) plays a fundamental role. In recent years, the full coding component of the human genome was sequenced in various cancers, whereas such attempts related to ncRNAs are still fragmentary. We screened genomic DNAs for sequence variations in 148 microRNAs (miRNAs) and ultraconserved regions (UCRs) loci in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or colorectal cancer (CRC) by Sanger technique and further tried to elucidate the functional consequences of some of these variations. We found sequence variations in miRNAs in both sporadic and familial CLL cases, mutations of UCRs in CLLs and CRCs and, in certain instances, detected functional effects of these variations. Furthermore, by integrating our data with previously published data on miRNA sequence variations, we have created a catalog of DNA sequence variations in miRNAs/ultraconserved genes in human cancers. These findings argue that ncRNAs are targeted by both germ line and somatic mutations as well as by single-nucleotide polymorphisms with functional significance for human tumorigenesis. Sequence variations in ncRNA loci are frequent and some have functional and biological significance. Such information can be exploited to further investigate on a genome-wide scale the frequency of genetic variations in ncRNAs and their functional meaning, as well as for the development of new diagnostic and prognostic markers for leukemias and carcinomas.

  20. Mapping of four distinct BCR-related loci to chromosome region 22q11: order of BCR loci relative to chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia breakpoints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croce, C.M.; Huebner, K.; Isobe, M.; Fainstain, E.; Lifshitz, B.; Shtivelman, E.; Canaani, E.

    1987-01-01

    A probe derived from the 3' region of the BCR gene (breakpoint cluster region gene) detects four distinct loci in the human genome. One of the loci corresponds to the complete BCR gene, whereas the other contain a 3' segment of the gene. After HindIII cleavage of human DNA, these four loci are detected as 23-, 19-, 13-, and 9-kikobase-pair fragments, designated BCR4, BCR3, BCR2, and BCR1, respectively, with BCR1 deriving from the original complete BCR gene. All four BCR loci segregate 100% concordantly with human chromosome 22 in a rodent-human somatic cell hybrid panel and are located at chromosome region 22q11.2 by chromosomal in situ hybridization. The BCR2 and BCR4 loci are amplified in leukemia cell line K562 cells, indicating that they fall within the amplification unit that includes immunoglobulin λ light chain locus (IGL) and ABL locus on the K562 Philadelphia chromosome (Ph 1 ). Similarly, in mouse-human hybrids retaining a Ph 1 chromosome derived from an acute lymphoblastic leukemia-in the absence of the 9q + and 22, only BCR2 and BCR4 loci are retained. Thus, the order of loci on chromosome 22 is centromere → BCR2, BCR4, and IGL → BCR1 → BCR3 → SIS, possibly eliminating BCR2 and BCR4 loci as candidate targets for juxtaposition to the ABL gene in the acute lymphoblastic leukemia Ph 1 chromosome

  1. Isolation and Characterization of Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci from Metapenaeopsis barbata Using PCR-Based Isolation of Microsatellite Arrays (PIMA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Tzen-Yuh; Tzeng, Tzong-Der; Lin, Hung-Du; Cho, Ching-Ju; Lin, Feng-Jiau

    2012-01-01

    The red-spot prawn, Metapenaeopsis barbata, is a commercially important, widely distributed demersal species in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. Overfishing has made its populations decline in the past decade. To study conservation genetics, eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated. Genetic characteristics of the SSR (simple sequence repeat) fingerprints were estimated in 61 individuals from adjacent seas of Taiwan and China. The number of alleles, ranging from 2 to 4, as well as observed and expected heterozygosities in populations, ranging from 0.048 to 0.538, and 0.048 and 0.654, respectively, were detected. No deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations was detected at either locus. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected in locus pairs. The polymorphic microsatellite loci will be useful for investigations of the genetic variation, population structure, and conservation genetics of this species. PMID:22489123

  2. Novel loci associated with increased risk of sudden cardiac death in the context of coronary artery disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Huertas-Vazquez

    Full Text Available Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS have identified novel loci associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD. Despite this progress, identified DNA variants account for a relatively small portion of overall SCD risk, suggesting that additional loci contributing to SCD susceptibility await discovery. The objective of this study was to identify novel DNA variation associated with SCD in the context of coronary artery disease (CAD.Using the MetaboChip custom array we conducted a case-control association analysis of 119,117 SNPs in 948 SCD cases (with underlying CAD from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (Oregon-SUDS and 3,050 controls with CAD from the Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium (WTCCC. Two newly identified loci were significantly associated with increased risk of SCD after correction for multiple comparisons at: rs6730157 in the RAB3GAP1 gene on chromosome 2 (P = 4.93×10(-12, OR = 1.60 and rs2077316 in the ZNF365 gene on chromosome 10 (P = 3.64×10(-8, OR = 2.41.Our findings suggest that RAB3GAP1 and ZNF365 are relevant candidate genes for SCD and will contribute to the mechanistic understanding of SCD susceptibility.

  3. Nuclear positioning rather than contraction controls ordered rearrangements of immunoglobulin loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rother, Magdalena B; Palstra, Robert-Jan; Jhunjhunwala, Suchit; van Kester, Kevin A M; van IJcken, Wilfred F J; Hendriks, Rudi W; van Dongen, Jacques J M; Murre, Cornelis; van Zelm, Menno C

    2016-01-08

    Progenitor-B cells recombine their immunoglobulin (Ig) loci to create unique antigen receptors. Despite a common recombination machinery, the Ig heavy and Ig light chain loci rearrange in a stepwise manner. We studied pre-pro-B cells and Rag(-/-) progenitor-B cells to determine whether Ig locus contraction or nuclear positioning is decisive for stepwise rearrangements. We found that both Ig loci were contracted in pro-B and pre-B cells. Igh relocated from the nuclear lamina to central domains only at the pro-B cell stage, whereas, Igκ remained sequestered at the lamina, and only at the pre-B cell stage located to central nuclear domains. Finally, in vitro induced re-positioning of Ig alleles away from the nuclear periphery increased germline transcription of Ig loci in pre-pro-B cells. Thus, Ig locus contraction juxtaposes genomically distant elements to mediate efficient recombination, however, sequential positioning of Ig loci away from the nuclear periphery determines stage-specific accessibility of Ig loci. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  4. Activation of int-1 and int-2 loci in GRf mammary tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, D A; Jackson, D P; Percy, D H; Morris, V L

    1986-10-30

    The Mtv-2 locus is known to be associated with a high mammary tumor incidence (97%) and early development of mammary tumors (3-13 months) in GR mice. However, it was not previously known whether the provirus which resides at the Mtv-2 locus is tumorigenic in and of itself or whether reintegration of proviruses generated from Mtv-2 is required for tumorigenesis. Foster-nursing GR mice on C57/BL mice eliminates the milk-borne source of GR virus, and allows the study of Mtv-2 derived proviruses alone. Using this approach, we have tested predictions which follow from the "positional" versus "reintegrational" models of tumorigenesis. Specifically, we have examined tumors from primary foster-nursed (GRf) mice to determine if MMTV proviruses derived from Mtv-2 were scattered randomly throughout the genome or were clustered in the vicinity of the int-1 and int-2 loci, which are thought to be associated with mammary tumorigenesis. It was found that the majority of spontaneous GRf mammary tumors that were tested have MMTV proviral integrations in either or both of the int-1 and int-2 loci and have transcription of either or both of the int loci. Tumors induced by Mtv-2, therefore, appear to have arisen via a mechanism similar to the activation of the int loci by exogenous (milk-borne) MMTV proviruses.

  5. Genetic polymorphism of six DNA loci in six population groups of India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Shazia; Seshadri, M

    2007-08-01

    The genetic profile based on autosomal markers, four microsatellite DNA markers (D8S315, FES, D8S592, and D2S1328) and two minisatellite DNA markers (TPMT and PDGFA), were analyzed in six endogamous populations to examine the effect of geographic and linguistic affiliation on the genetic affinities among the groups. The six populations are from three different states of India and are linguistically different. Marathas from western India speak Marathi, an Indo-European language. Arayas, Muslims, Ezhavas, and Nairs from Kerala state of South India speak Malayalam, and Iyers from Tamil Nadu state speak Tamil. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of random, normal, healthy individuals. Locus-specific PCR amplification was carried out, followed by electrophoresis of the amplicons and genotyping. All the loci were highly polymorphic and followed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, except for loci D8S315 and PDGFA in Iyers and Marathas, respectively. All six loci had high heterozygosity (average heterozygosity ranged from 0.73 to 0.76) and high polymorphism information content (0.57-0.90). The extent of gene differentiation among the six populations (G(ST) = 0.030) was greater than that for four Kerala populations (G(ST) = 0.011), suggesting proximity between the four Kerala populations. This result conforms with the cultural and linguistic background of the populations. The extent of diversity found among the populations probably resulted from the strict endogamous practices that they follow.

  6. Allelic Variations at Four Major Maturity E Genes and Transcriptional Abundance of the E1 Gene Are Associated with Flowering Time and Maturity of Soybean Cultivars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yueqiang; Chen, Xin; Ren, Haixiang; Yang, Jiayin; Cheng, Wen; Zong, Chunmei; Gu, Heping; Qiu, Hongmei; Wu, Hongyan; Zhang, Xingzheng; Cui, Tingting; Xia, Zhengjun

    2014-01-01

    The time to flowering and maturity are ecologically and agronomically important traits for soybean landrace and cultivar adaptation. As a typical short-day crop, long day conditions in the high-latitude regions require soybean cultivars with photoperiod insensitivity that can mature before frost. Although the molecular basis of four major E loci (E1 to E4) have been deciphered, it is not quite clear whether, or to what degree, genetic variation and the expression level of the four E genes are associated with the time to flowering and maturity of soybean cultivars. In this study, we genotyped 180 cultivars at E1 to E4 genes, meanwhile, the time to flowering and maturity of those cultivars were investigated at six geographic locations in China from 2011 to 2012 and further confirmed in 2013. The percentages of recessive alleles at E1, E2, E3 and E4 loci were 38.34%, 84.45%, 36.33%, and 7.20%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that allelic variations at each of four loci had a significant effect on flowering time as well as maturity. We classified the 180 cultivars into eight genotypic groups based on allelic variations of the four major E loci. The genetic group of e1-nf representing dysfunctional alleles at the E1 locus flowered earliest in all the geographic locations. In contrast, cultivars in the E1E2E3E4 group originated from the southern areas flowered very late or did not flower before frost at high latitude locations. The transcriptional abundance of functional E1 gene was significantly associated with flowering time. However, the ranges of time to flowering and maturity were quite large within some genotypic groups, implying the presence of some other unknown genetic factors that are involved in control of flowering time or maturity. Known genes (e.g. E3 and E4) and other unknown factors may function, at least partially, through regulation of the expression of the E1 gene. PMID:24830458

  7. Genetic variation of common walnut (Juglans regia in Piedmont, Northwestern Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferrazzini D

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The European or common walnut is a large tree prized as a multipurpose species: it provides valuable timber and produces a high-quality edible nut. The diffusion of the species in Italy has been largely influenced by the human activity, mainly through germplasm movement, selection of genotypes most suited for wood or fruit production and adaptation induced on fruit crop reproductive materials. As a consequence, genetic variability has been reduced, so that programs aimed at its preservation appear of the utmost importance. 104 walnut plants growing in Piedmont, northwestern Italy, were investigated through genetic variation scored at RAPD loci, yielded by PCR amplification of 10 decamer primers. Among the 101 studied loci, only 53 were polymorphic, showing a low level of genetic variation within the studied material. Genetic differentiation was estimated both at individual and geographical area level. Only in few cases trees growing in the same area showed to be genetically similar, while the differentiation between areas accounted for about 10% of the total variation, according to AMOVA. No significant correlation was found between genetic and geographic distances. The results of the study showed that also in Piedmont (such as it was already demonstrated in other parts of Italy the distribution of common walnut is a direct consequence of the human activity. The selection of individual trees, to be used as basic materials for seed supply, should therefore be based mainly on phenotypic traits, rather than ecological features of the location: in species characterized by artificial diffusion, the adoption of Region of Provenance has a scarce significance and prominence should be given to the phenotype selection.

  8. Identification of six new susceptibility loci for invasive epithelial ovarian cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuchenbaecker, K.B.; Ramus, S.J.; Tyrer, J.; Lee, A.; Shen, H.C.; Beesley, J.; Lawrenson, K.; McGuffog, L.; Healey, S.; Lee, J.M.; Spindler, T.J.; Lin, Y.G.; Pejovic, T.; Bean, Y.; Li, Q.; Coetzee, S.; Hazelett, D.; Miron, A.; Southey, M.; Terry, M.B.; Goldgar, D.E.; Buys, S.S.; Janavicius, R.; Dorfling, C.M.; Rensburg, E.J. van; Neuhausen, S.L.; Ding, Y.C.; Hansen, T.V.; Jonson, L.; Gerdes, A.M.; Ejlertsen, B.; Barrowdale, D.; Dennis, J.; Benitez, J.; Osorio, A.; Garcia, M.J.; Komenaka, I.; Weitzel, J.N.; Ganschow, P.; Peterlongo, P.; Bernard, L.; Viel, A.; Bonanni, B.; Peissel, B.; Manoukian, S.; Radice, P.; Papi, L.; Ottini, L.; Fostira, F.; Konstantopoulou, I.; Garber, J.; Frost, D.; Perkins, J.; Platte, R.; Ellis, S.; Embrace, .; Godwin, A.K.; Schmutzler, R.K.; Meindl, A.; Engel, C.; Sutter, C.; Sinilnikova, O.M.; Damiola, F.; Mazoyer, S.; Stoppa-Lyonnet, D.; Claes, K.; Leeneer, K. De; Kirk, J.; Rodriguez, G.C.; Piedmonte, M.; O'Malley, D.M.; Hoya, M. de la; Caldes, T.; Aittomaki, K.; Nevanlinna, H.; Collee, J.M.; Rookus, M.A.; Oosterwijk, J.C; Tihomirova, L.; Tung, N.; Hamann, U.; Isaccs, C.; Tischkowitz, M.; Imyanitov, E.N.; Caligo, M.A.; Campbell, I.G.; Hogervorst, F.B.; Olah, E.; Diez, O.; Blanco, I.; Brunet, J.; Lazaro, C.; Pujana, M.A.; Jakubowska, A.; Gronwald, J.; Lubinski, J.; Sukiennicki, G.; Massuger, L.F.A.G.; Altena, A.M. van; Aben, K.K.H.; Kiemeney, B.; Mensenkamp, A.R.; Kets, M.; Hoogerbrugge, N.; Ligtenberg, M.J.L.; et al.,

    2015-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 12 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility alleles. The pattern of association at these loci is consistent in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers who are at high risk of EOC. After imputation to 1000 Genomes Project data, we assessed

  9. Identification of six new susceptibility loci for invasive epithelial ovarian cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K.B. Kuchenbaecker (Karoline); S.J. Ramus (Susan); J.P. Tyrer (Jonathan); A. Lee (Andrew); H.C. Shen (Howard C.); J. Beesley (Jonathan); K. Lawrenson (Kate); L. McGuffog (Lesley); S. Healey (Sue); J.M. Lee (Janet M.); T.J. Spindler (Tassja J.); Y.G. Lin (Yvonne G.); T. Pejovic (Tanja); Y. Bean (Yukie); Q. Li (Qiyuan); S. Coetzee (Simon); D. Hazelett (Dennis); A. Miron (Alexander); M.C. Southey (Melissa); M.B. Terry (Mary Beth); D. Goldgar (David); S.S. Buys (Saundra); R. Janavicius (Ramunas); C.M. Dorfling (Cecilia); E.J. van Rensburg (Elizabeth); S.L. Neuhausen (Susan); Y.C. Ding (Yuan); T.V.O. Hansen (Thomas); L. Jønson (Lars); A.-M. Gerdes (Anne-Marie); B. Ejlertsen (Bent); D. Barrowdale (Daniel); J. Dennis (Joe); J. Benítez (Javier); A. Osorio (Ana); M.J. Garcia (Maria Jose); I. Komenaka (Ian); J.N. Weitzel (Jeffrey); P. Ganschow (Pamela); P. Peterlongo (Paolo); L. Bernard (Loris); A. Viel (Alessandra); B. Bonnani (Bernardo); B. Peissel (Bernard); S. Manoukian (Siranoush); P. Radice (Paolo); L. Papi (Laura); L. Ottini (Laura); F. Fostira (Florentia); I. Konstantopoulou (I.); J. Garber (Judy); D. Frost (Debra); J. Perkins (Jo); R. Platte (Radka); S.D. Ellis (Steve); A.K. Godwin (Andrew K.); R.K. Schmutzler (Rita); A. Meindl (Alfons); C. Engel (Christoph); C. Sutter (Christian); O. Sinilnikova (Olga); F. Damiola (Francesca); S. Mazoyer (Sylvie); D. Stoppa-Lyonnet (Dominique); K.B.M. Claes (Kathleen B.M.); K. De Leeneer (Kim); J. Kirk (Judy); G. Rodriguez (Gustavo); M. Piedmonte (Marion); D.M. O'Malley (David M.); M. de La Hoya (Miguel); T. Caldes (Trinidad); K. Aittomäki (Kristiina); H. Nevanlinna (Heli); J.M. Collée (Margriet); M.A. Rookus (Matti); J.C. Oosterwijk (Jan); L. Tihomirova (Laima); N. Tung (Nadine); U. Hamann (Ute); C. Isaccs (Claudine); M. Tischkowitz (Marc); E.N. Imyanitov (Evgeny); M.A. Caligo (Maria); I. Campbell (Ian); F.B.L. Hogervorst (Frans); E. Olah; O. Díez (Orland); I. Blanco (Ignacio); J. Brunet (Joan); C. Lazaro (Conxi); M.A. Pujana (Miguel); A. Jakubowska (Anna); J. Gronwald (Jacek); J. Lubinski (Jan); G. Sukiennicki (Grzegorz); R.B. Barkardottir (Rosa); M. Plante (Marie); J. Simard (Jacques); P. Soucy (Penny); M. Montagna (Marco); S. Tognazzo (Silvia); P.J. Teixeira; V.S. Pankratz (Shane); X. Wang (Xianshu); N.M. Lindor (Noralane); C. Szabo (Csilla); N. Kauff (Noah); J. Vijai (Joseph); C.A. Aghajanian (Carol A.); G. Pfeiler (Georg); A. Berger (Andreas); C.F. Singer (Christian); M.-K. Tea; C. Phelan (Catherine); M.H. Greene (Mark H.); P.L. Mai (Phuong); G. Rennert (Gad); A.-M. Mulligan (Anna-Marie); S. Tchatchou (Sandrine); I.L. Andrulis (Irene); G. Glendon (Gord); A.E. Toland (Amanda); U.B. Jensen (Uffe Birk); T.A. Kruse (Torben); M. Thomassen (Mads); A. Bojesen (Anders); J. Zidan (Jamal); E. Friedman (Eitan); Y. Laitman (Yael); M. Soller (Maria); A. Liljegren (Annelie); B. Arver (Brita Wasteson); Z. Einbeigi (Zakaria); M. Stenmark-Askmalm (Marie); O.I. Olopade (Olufunmilayo I.); R.L. Nussbaum (Robert L.); T.R. Rebbeck (Timothy R.); K.L. Nathanson (Katherine); S.M. Domchek (Susan); K.H. Lu (Karen); B.Y. Karlan (Beth Y.); C. Walsh (Christine); K.J. Lester (Kathryn); R. Hein (Rebecca); A.B. Ekici (Arif); M.W. Beckmann (Matthias); P.A. Fasching (Peter); D. Lambrechts (Diether); E. Van Nieuwenhuysen (Els); I. Vergote (Ignace); S. Lambrechts (Sandrina); E. Dicks (Ed); J.A. Doherty (Jennifer A.); K.G. Wicklund (Kristine G.); M.A. Rossing (Mary Anne); A. Rudolph (Anja); J. Chang-Claude (Jenny); S. Wang-Gohrke (Shan); U. Eilber (Ursula); K.B. Moysich (Kirsten B.); K. Odunsi (Kunle); L. Sucheston (Lara); S. Lele (Shashi); L. Wilkens (Lynne); M.T. Goodman (Marc); P.J. Thompson (Pamela J.); Y.B. Shvetsov (Yurii B.); I.B. Runnebaum (Ingo); M. Dürst (Matthias); P. Hillemanns (Peter); T. Dörk (Thilo); N.N. Antonenkova (Natalia); N.V. Bogdanova (Natalia); A. Leminen (Arto); L.M. Pelttari (Liisa); R. Butzow (Ralf); F. Modugno (Francesmary); J.L. Kelley (Joseph L.); R. Edwards (Robert); R.B. Ness (Roberta); A. Du Bois (Andreas); P.U. Heitz; I. Schwaab (Ira); P. Harter (Philipp); K. Matsuo (Keitaro); N. Hosono (Naoya); S. Orsulic (Sandra); A. Jensen (Allan); M. Kjaer (Michael); E. Høgdall (Estrid); H.N. Hasmad (Hanis Nazihah); M.A. Noor Azmi (Mat Adenan); S.-H. Teo (Soo-Hwang); Y.L. Woo (Yin Ling); B.L. Fridley (Brooke); E.L. Goode (Ellen); J.M. Cunningham (Julie); R.A. Vierkant (Robert); F. Bruinsma (Fiona); G.G. Giles (Graham G.); D. Liang (Dong); M.A.T. Hildebrandt (Michelle A.T.); X. Wu (Xifeng); D.A. Levine (Douglas); M. Bisogna (Maria); A. Berchuck (Andrew); E. Iversen (Erik); J.M. Schildkraut (Joellen); P. Concannon (Patrick); R.P. Weber (Rachel Palmieri); D.W. Cramer (Daniel); K.L. Terry (Kathryn); E.M. Poole (Elizabeth); S. Tworoger (Shelley); E.V. Bandera (Elisa); I. Orlow (Irene); S.H. Olson (Sara); C. Krakstad (Camilla); H.B. Salvesen (Helga); I.L. Tangen (Ingvild L.); L. Bjorge (Line); A.M. van Altena (Anne); K.K.H. Aben (Katja); L.A.L.M. Kiemeney (Bart); L.F. Massuger (Leon); M. Kellar (Melissa); A. Brooks-Wilson (Angela); L.E. Kelemen (Linda); L.S. Cook (Linda S.); N.D. Le (Nhu D.); C. Cybulski (Cezary); H. Yang (Hannah); J. Lissowska (Jolanta); L.A. Brinton (Louise); N. Wentzensen (N.); C.K. Høgdall (Claus); L. Lundvall (Lene); L. Nedergaard (Lotte); H. Baker (Helen); H. Song (Honglin); D. Eccles (Diana); I. McNeish (Ian); J. Paul (James); K. Carty (Karen); N. Siddiqui (Nadeem); R. Glasspool (Rosalind); A.S. Whittemore (Alice S.); J.H. Rothstein (Joseph H.); W.P. McGuire; W. Sieh (Weiva); B.-T. Ji (Bu-Tian); W. Zheng (Wei); X.-O. Shu (Xiao-Ou); Y. Gao; B. Rosen (Barry); H. Risch (Harvey); J. McLaughlin (John); S.A. Narod (Steven A.); A.N.A. Monteiro (Alvaro N.); A. Chen (Ann); H.-Y. Lin (Hui-Yi); J. Permuth-Wey (Jenny); T.F. Sellers; Y.-Y. Tsai (Ya-Yu); Z. Chen (Zhihua); A. Ziogas (Argyrios); H. Anton-Culver (Hoda); A. Gentry-Maharaj (Aleksandra); U. Menon (Usha); P. harrington (Patricia); A.W. Lee (Alice W.); A.H. Wu (Anna H.); C.L. Pearce (Celeste); G. Coetzee (Gerry); M.C. Pike (Malcolm C.); A. Dansonka-Mieszkowska (Agnieszka); A. Timorek (Agnieszka); I.K. Rzepecka (Iwona); J. Kupryjanczyk (Jolanta); M. Freedman (Matthew); H. Noushmehr (Houtan); D.F. Easton (Douglas F.); K. Offit (Kenneth); F.J. Couch (Fergus); S.A. Gayther (Simon); P.P.D.P. Pharoah (Paul P.D.P.); A.C. Antoniou (Antonis C.); G. Chenevix-Trench (Georgia)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 12 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility alleles. The pattern of association at these loci is consistent in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers who are at high risk of EOC. After imputation to 1000 Genomes Project data, we

  10. Determination of allele frequencies in nine short tandem repeat loci ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    2008-04-17

    Apr 17, 2008 ... out the human genome. These loci are a rich source of highly polymorphic markers that may be detected using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is a mimic of the normal cellular process of replication of DNA molecules. Each STR is distinguished by the number of times a sequence is repeated, ...

  11. Evaluation of European Schizophrenia GWAS Loci in Asian Populations via Comprehensive Meta-Analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Xiao; Luo, Xiong-Jian; Chang, Hong; Liu, Zichao; Li, Ming

    2017-08-01

    Schizophrenia is a severe and highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder. Recent genetic analyses including genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated multiple genome-wide significant variants for schizophrenia among European populations. However, many of these risk variants were not largely validated in other populations of different ancestry such as Asians. To validate whether these European GWAS significant loci are associated with schizophrenia in Asian populations, we conducted a systematic literature search and meta-analyses on 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Asian populations by combining all available case-control and family-based samples, including up to 30,000 individuals. We employed classical fixed (or random) effects inverse variance weighted methods to calculate summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Among the 19 GWAS loci, we replicated the risk associations of nine markers (e.g., SNPs at VRK2, ITIH3/4, NDST3, NOTCH4) surpassing significance level (two-tailed P Asian replication samples and initial European GWAS findings, and the successful replications of these GWAS loci in a different ethnic group provide stronger evidence for their clinical associations with schizophrenia. Further studies, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of these GWAS significant loci, will become increasingly important for understanding of the pathogenesis to schizophrenia.

  12. High-density SNP genotyping of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. reveals patterns of genetic variation due to breeding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Chur Sim

    Full Text Available The effects of selection on genome variation were investigated and visualized in tomato using a high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP array. 7,720 SNPs were genotyped on a collection of 426 tomato accessions (410 inbreds and 16 hybrids and over 97% of the markers were polymorphic in the entire collection. Principal component analysis (PCA and pairwise estimates of F(st supported that the inbred accessions represented seven sub-populations including processing, large-fruited fresh market, large-fruited vintage, cultivated cherry, landrace, wild cherry, and S. pimpinellifolium. Further divisions were found within both the contemporary processing and fresh market sub-populations. These sub-populations showed higher levels of genetic diversity relative to the vintage sub-population. The array provided a large number of polymorphic SNP markers across each sub-population, ranging from 3,159 in the vintage accessions to 6,234 in the cultivated cherry accessions. Visualization of minor allele frequency revealed regions of the genome that distinguished three representative sub-populations of cultivated tomato (processing, fresh market, and vintage, particularly on chromosomes 2, 4, 5, 6, and 11. The PCA loadings and F(st outlier analysis between these three sub-populations identified a large number of candidate loci under positive selection on chromosomes 4, 5, and 11. The extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD was examined within each chromosome for these sub-populations. LD decay varied between chromosomes and sub-populations, with large differences reflective of breeding history. For example, on chromosome 11, decay occurred over 0.8 cM for processing accessions and over 19.7 cM for fresh market accessions. The observed SNP variation and LD decay suggest that different patterns of genetic variation in cultivated tomato are due to introgression from wild species and selection for market specialization.

  13. Interactions of dietary whole-grain intake with fasting glucose- and insulin-related genetic loci in individuals of European descent: a meta-analysis of 14 cohort studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettleton, Jennifer A; McKeown, Nicola M; Kanoni, Stavroula; Lemaitre, Rozenn N; Hivert, Marie-France; Ngwa, Julius; van Rooij, Frank J A; Sonestedt, Emily; Wojczynski, Mary K; Ye, Zheng; Tanaka, Tosh; Garcia, Melissa; Anderson, Jennifer S; Follis, Jack L; Djousse, Luc; Mukamal, Kenneth; Papoutsakis, Constantina; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Zillikens, M Carola; Bandinelli, Stefania; Bennett, Amanda J; Borecki, Ingrid B; Feitosa, Mary F; Ferrucci, Luigi; Forouhi, Nita G; Groves, Christopher J; Hallmans, Goran; Harris, Tamara; Hofman, Albert; Houston, Denise K; Hu, Frank B; Johansson, Ingegerd; Kritchevsky, Stephen B; Langenberg, Claudia; Launer, Lenore; Liu, Yongmei; Loos, Ruth J; Nalls, Michael; Orho-Melander, Marju; Renstrom, Frida; Rice, Kenneth; Riserus, Ulf; Rolandsson, Olov; Rotter, Jerome I; Saylor, Georgia; Sijbrands, Eric J G; Sjogren, Per; Smith, Albert; Steingrímsdóttir, Laufey; Uitterlinden, André G; Wareham, Nicholas J; Prokopenko, Inga; Pankow, James S; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Florez, Jose C; Witteman, Jacqueline C M; Dupuis, Josée; Dedoussis, George V; Ordovas, Jose M; Ingelsson, Erik; Cupples, L Adrienne; Siscovick, David S; Franks, Paul W; Meigs, James B

    2010-12-01

    Whole-grain foods are touted for multiple health benefits, including enhancing insulin sensitivity and reducing type 2 diabetes risk. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with fasting glucose and insulin concentrations in individuals free of diabetes. We tested the hypothesis that whole-grain food intake and genetic variation interact to influence concentrations of fasting glucose and insulin. Via meta-analysis of data from 14 cohorts comprising ∼ 48,000 participants of European descent, we studied interactions of whole-grain intake with loci previously associated in GWAS with fasting glucose (16 loci) and/or insulin (2 loci) concentrations. For tests of interaction, we considered a P value fasting glucose and insulin concentrations independent of demographics, other dietary and lifestyle factors, and BMI (β [95% CI] per 1-serving-greater whole-grain intake: -0.009 mmol/l glucose [-0.013 to -0.005], P fasting insulin (P = 0.006), where greater whole-grain intake was associated with a smaller reduction in fasting insulin concentrations in those with the insulin-raising allele. Our results support the favorable association of whole-grain intake with fasting glucose and insulin and suggest a potential interaction between variation in GCKR and whole-grain intake in influencing fasting insulin concentrations.

  14. Drift, selection, or migration? Processes affecting genetic differentiation and variation along a latitudinal gradient in an amphibian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortázar-Chinarro, Maria; Lattenkamp, Ella Z; Meyer-Lucht, Yvonne; Luquet, Emilien; Laurila, Anssi; Höglund, Jacob

    2017-08-14

    Past events like fluctuations in population size and post-glacial colonization processes may influence the relative importance of genetic drift, migration and selection when determining the present day patterns of genetic variation. We disentangle how drift, selection and migration shape neutral and adaptive genetic variation in 12 moor frog populations along a 1700 km latitudinal gradient. We studied genetic differentiation and variation at a MHC exon II locus and a set of 18 microsatellites. Using outlier analyses, we identified the MHC II exon 2 (corresponding to the β-2 domain) locus and one microsatellite locus (RCO8640) to be subject to diversifying selection, while five microsatellite loci showed signals of stabilizing selection among populations. STRUCTURE and DAPC analyses on the neutral microsatellites assigned populations to a northern and a southern cluster, reflecting two different post-glacial colonization routes found in previous studies. Genetic variation overall was lower in the northern cluster. The signature of selection on MHC exon II was weaker in the northern cluster, possibly as a consequence of smaller and more fragmented populations. Our results show that historical demographic processes combined with selection and drift have led to a complex pattern of differentiation along the gradient where some loci are more divergent among populations than predicted from drift expectations due to diversifying selection, while other loci are more uniform among populations due to stabilizing selection. Importantly, both overall and MHC genetic variation are lower at northern latitudes. Due to lower evolutionary potential, the low genetic variation in northern populations may increase the risk of extinction when confronted with emerging pathogens and climate change.

  15. Admixture mapping of 15,280 African Americans identifies obesity susceptibility loci on chromosomes 5 and X.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Yu Cheng

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of obesity (body mass index (BMI > or =30 kg/m(2 is higher in African Americans than in European Americans, even after adjustment for socioeconomic factors, suggesting that genetic factors may explain some of the difference. To identify genetic loci influencing BMI, we carried out a pooled analysis of genome-wide admixture mapping scans in 15,280 African Americans from 14 epidemiologic studies. Samples were genotyped at a median of 1,411 ancestry-informative markers. After adjusting for age, sex, and study, BMI was analyzed both as a dichotomized (top 20% versus bottom 20% and a continuous trait. We found that a higher percentage of European ancestry was significantly correlated with lower BMI (rho = -0.042, P = 1.6x10(-7. In the dichotomized analysis, we detected two loci on chromosome X as associated with increased African ancestry: the first at Xq25 (locus-specific LOD = 5.94; genome-wide score = 3.22; case-control Z = -3.94; and the second at Xq13.1 (locus-specific LOD = 2.22; case-control Z = -4.62. Quantitative analysis identified a third locus at 5q13.3 where higher BMI was highly significantly associated with greater European ancestry (locus-specific LOD = 6.27; genome-wide score = 3.46. Further mapping studies with dense sets of markers will be necessary to identify the alleles in these regions of chromosomes X and 5 that may be associated with variation in BMI.

  16. Population-based resequencing of experimentally evolved populations reveals the genetic basis of body size variation in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas L Turner

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Body size is a classic quantitative trait with evolutionarily significant variation within many species. Locating the alleles responsible for this variation would help understand the maintenance of variation in body size in particular, as well as quantitative traits in general. However, successful genome-wide association of genotype and phenotype may require very large sample sizes if alleles have low population frequencies or modest effects. As a complementary approach, we propose that population-based resequencing of experimentally evolved populations allows for considerable power to map functional variation. Here, we use this technique to investigate the genetic basis of natural variation in body size in Drosophila melanogaster. Significant differentiation of hundreds of loci in replicate selection populations supports the hypothesis that the genetic basis of body size variation is very polygenic in D. melanogaster. Significantly differentiated variants are limited to single genes at some loci, allowing precise hypotheses to be formed regarding causal polymorphisms, while other significant regions are large and contain many genes. By using significantly associated polymorphisms as a priori candidates in follow-up studies, these data are expected to provide considerable power to determine the genetic basis of natural variation in body size.

  17. Evolutionary dynamics of mating-type loci of Mycosphaerella spp. occurring on banana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arzanlou, Mahdi; Crous, Pedro W; Zwiers, Lute-Harm

    2010-01-01

    The devastating Sigatoka disease complex of banana is primarily caused by three closely related heterothallic fungi belonging to the genus Mycosphaerella: M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae. Previous phylogenetic work showing common ancestry led us to analyze the mating-type loci of these Mycosphaerella species occurring on banana. We reasoned that this might provide better insight into the evolutionary history of these species. PCR and chromosome-walking approaches were used to clone the mating-type loci of M. musicola and M. eumusae. Sequences were compared to the published mating-type loci of M. fijiensis and other Mycosphaerella spp., and a novel organization of the MAT loci was found. The mating-type loci of the examined Mycosphaerella species are expanded, containing two additional Mycosphaerella-specific genes in a unique genomic organization. The proteins encoded by these novel genes show a higher interspecies than intraspecies homology. Moreover, M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae contain two additional mating-type-like loci, containing parts of both MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1. The data indicate that M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae share an ancestor in which a fusion event occurred between MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 sequences and in which additional genes became incorporated into the idiomorph. The new genes incorporated have since then evolved independently in the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 loci. Thus, these data are an example of the evolutionary dynamics of fungal MAT loci in general and show the great flexibility of the MAT loci of Mycosphaerella species in particular.

  18. Seasonal variations of the high-latitude F region for

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sojka, J.J.; Schunk, R.W.; Raitt, W.J.

    1982-01-01

    We combined a plasma convection model with an inosphere-atmospheric composition model in order to study the seasonal variations of the high-latitude F region for strong convection. Our numerical study produced time-dependent, three-dimensional, ion density distributions for the ions NO + , O 2 + , N 2 + , O + , N + , and He + . We covered the high-latitude ionosphere above 42 0 N magnetic latitude and at altitudes between 160 and 800 km for a time period of one complete day. From our study we found the following: (1) For strong convection, the high-altitude ionosphere exhibits a significant UT variation both during winter and summer. (2) In general, the electron density is lower in winter than in summer. However, at certain universal times the electron density in the dayside polar cap is larger in winter than in summer owing to the effect of the mid-latitude 'winter anomaly' in combination with strong antisunward convection. (3) In both summer and winter, the major region of low electron density is associated with the main or mid-latitudde trough. The trough is deeper and its local time extend is much greater in winter than in summer. (4) Typically, the electron density exhibits a much larger variation with altitude in winter than in summer. (5) The ion composition and molecular/atomic ion transition altitude are highly UT dependent in both summer and winter. (6) The ion composition also displays a significant seasonal variation. However, at a given location the seasonal variation can be opposite at different universal times. (7) High-speed convection cells should display a marked seasonal variation, with a much larger concentration of molecular ions near the F region peak in summer than in winter

  19. Unraveling the effects of selection and demography on immune gene variation in free-ranging plains zebra (Equus quagga) populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamath, Pauline L; Getz, Wayne M

    2012-01-01

    Demography, migration and natural selection are predominant processes affecting the distribution of genetic variation among natural populations. Many studies use neutral genetic markers to make inferences about population history. However, the investigation of functional coding loci, which directly reflect fitness, is critical to our understanding of species' ecology and evolution. Immune genes, such as those of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), play an important role in pathogen recognition and provide a potent model system for studying selection. We contrasted diversity patterns of neutral data with MHC loci, ELA-DRA and -DQA, in two southern African plains zebra (Equus quagga) populations: Etosha National Park, Namibia, and Kruger National Park, South Africa. Results from neutrality tests, along with observations of elevated diversity and low differentiation across populations, supported previous genus-level evidence for balancing selection at these loci. Despite being low, MHC divergence across populations was significant and may be attributed to drift effects typical of geographically separated populations experiencing little to no gene flow, or alternatively to shifting allele frequency distributions driven by spatially variable and fluctuating pathogen communities. At the DRA, zebra exhibited geographic differentiation concordant with microsatellites and reduced levels of diversity in Etosha due to highly skewed allele frequencies that could not be explained by demography, suggestive of spatially heterogeneous selection and local adaptation. This study highlights the complexity in which selection affects immune gene diversity and warrants the need for further research on the ecological mechanisms shaping patterns of adaptive variation among natural populations.

  20. Corallite skeletal morphological variation in Hawaiian Porites lobata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tisthammer, Kaho H.; Richmond, Robert H.

    2018-06-01

    Due to their high morphological plasticity and complex evolutionary history, the species boundaries of many reef-building corals are poorly understood. The skeletal structures of corals have traditionally been used for species identification, but these structures can be highly variable, and currently we lack knowledge regarding the extent of morphological variation within species. Porites species are notorious for their taxonomic difficulties, both morphologically and genetically, and currently there are several unresolved species complexes in the Pacific. Despite its ubiquitous presence and broad use in coral research, Porites lobata belongs to one such unresolved species complex. To understand the degree of intraspecific variation in skeletal morphology, 120 corallites from the Hawaiian P. lobata were examined. A subset of samples from two genetically differentiated populations from contrasting high- and low-stress environments in Maunalua Bay, Hawaii, were then quantitatively analyzed using multivariate morphometrics. Our observations revealed high intraspecific variation in corallite morphology, as well as significant morphological differences between the two populations of P. lobata. Additionally, significant correlation was found between the morphological and genetic distances calculated from approximately 18,000 loci generated from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing. The unique morphological characters observed from the genetically differentiated population under environmental stress suggest that these characters may have adaptive values, but how such traits relate to fitness and how much plasticity they can exhibit remain to be determined by future studies. Relatively simple morphometric analyses used in our study can be useful in clarifying the existing ambiguity in skeletal architecture, thus contributing to resolving species issues in corals.

  1. High genetic homogeneity of the moon jelly Aurelia aurita ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The moon jelly Aurelia aurita is one of the most common and widespread species of scyphomedusa in the Mediterranean Sea. In all, 18 allozyme loci were studied to investigate the genetic variation and population structure of 11 A. aurita populations from the Tunisian coast. Polymorphism was detected at 14 loci across the ...

  2. Systems Genetics Reveals the Functional Context of PCOS Loci and Identifies Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Heterogeneity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ning; Cui, Jinrui; Mengesha, Emebet; Chen, Yii-Der I.; Taylor, Kent D.; Azziz, Ricardo; Goodarzi, Mark O.

    2015-01-01

    Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed 11 independent risk loci for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common disorder in young women characterized by androgen excess and oligomenorrhea. To put these risk loci and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) therein into functional context, we measured DNA methylation and gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies to identify PCOS-specific alterations. Two genes from the LHCGR region, STON1-GTF2A1L and LHCGR, were overexpressed in PCOS. In analysis stratified by obesity, LHCGR was overexpressed only in non-obese PCOS women. Although not differentially expressed in the entire PCOS group, INSR was underexpressed in obese PCOS subjects only. Alterations in gene expression in the LHCGR, RAB5B and INSR regions suggest that SNPs in these loci may be functional and could affect gene expression directly or indirectly via epigenetic alterations. We identified reduced methylation in the LHCGR locus and increased methylation in the INSR locus, changes that are concordant with the altered gene expression profiles. Complex patterns of meQTL and eQTL were identified in these loci, suggesting that local genetic variation plays an important role in gene regulation. We propose that non-obese PCOS women possess significant alterations in LH receptor expression, which drives excess androgen secretion from the ovary. Alternatively, obese women with PCOS possess alterations in insulin receptor expression, with underexpression in metabolic tissues and overexpression in the ovary, resulting in peripheral insulin resistance and excess ovarian androgen production. These studies provide a genetic and molecular basis for the reported clinical heterogeneity of PCOS. PMID:26305227

  3. Systems Genetics Reveals the Functional Context of PCOS Loci and Identifies Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Michelle R; Brower, Meredith A; Xu, Ning; Cui, Jinrui; Mengesha, Emebet; Chen, Yii-Der I; Taylor, Kent D; Azziz, Ricardo; Goodarzi, Mark O

    2015-08-01

    Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed 11 independent risk loci for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common disorder in young women characterized by androgen excess and oligomenorrhea. To put these risk loci and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) therein into functional context, we measured DNA methylation and gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies to identify PCOS-specific alterations. Two genes from the LHCGR region, STON1-GTF2A1L and LHCGR, were overexpressed in PCOS. In analysis stratified by obesity, LHCGR was overexpressed only in non-obese PCOS women. Although not differentially expressed in the entire PCOS group, INSR was underexpressed in obese PCOS subjects only. Alterations in gene expression in the LHCGR, RAB5B and INSR regions suggest that SNPs in these loci may be functional and could affect gene expression directly or indirectly via epigenetic alterations. We identified reduced methylation in the LHCGR locus and increased methylation in the INSR locus, changes that are concordant with the altered gene expression profiles. Complex patterns of meQTL and eQTL were identified in these loci, suggesting that local genetic variation plays an important role in gene regulation. We propose that non-obese PCOS women possess significant alterations in LH receptor expression, which drives excess androgen secretion from the ovary. Alternatively, obese women with PCOS possess alterations in insulin receptor expression, with underexpression in metabolic tissues and overexpression in the ovary, resulting in peripheral insulin resistance and excess ovarian androgen production. These studies provide a genetic and molecular basis for the reported clinical heterogeneity of PCOS.

  4. Identification of new susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes and shared etiological pathways with coronary heart disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wei; Rasheed, Asif; Tikkanen, Emmi; Lee, Jung-Jin; Butterworth, Adam S; Howson, Joanna MM; Assimes, Themistocles L; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Orho-Melander, Marju; Damrauer, Scott; Small, Aeron; Asma, Senay; Imamura, Minako; Yamauch, Toshimasa; Chambers, John C; Chen, Peng; Sapkota, Bishwa R; Shah, Nabi; Jabeen, Sehrish; Surendran, Praveen; Lu, Yingchang; Zhang, Weihua; Imran, Atif; Abbas, Shahid; Majeed, Faisal; Trindade, Kevin; Qamar, Nadeem; Mallick, Nadeem Hayyat; Yaqoob, Zia; Saghir, Tahir; Rizvi, Syed Nadeem Hasan; Memon, Anis; Rasheed, Syed Zahed; Memon, Fazal-ur-Rehman; Mehmood, Khalid; Ahmed, Naveeduddin; Qureshi, Irshad Hussain; Tanveer-us-Salam; Iqbal, Wasim; Malik, Uzma; Mehra, Narinder; Kuo, Jane Z; Sheu, Wayne H-H; Guo, Xiuqing; Hsiung, Chao A; Juang, Jyh-Ming J; Taylor, Kent D; Hung, Yi-Jen; Lee, Wen-Jane; Quertermous, Thomas; Lee, I-Te; Hsu, Chih-Cheng; Bottinger, Erwin P.; Ralhan, Sarju; Teo, Yik Ying; Wang, Tzung-Dau; Alam, Dewan S; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Epstein, Steve; Nielsen, Sune F; Nordestgaard, Børge G; Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne; Young, Robin; Benn, Marianne; Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth; Kamstrup, Pia R; Biobank, Michigan; Jukema, J Wouter; Sattar, Naveed; Smit, Roelof; Chung, Ren-Hua; Liang, Kae-Woei; Anand, Sonia; Sanghera, Dharambir K; Ripatti, Samuli; Loos, Ruth J.F.; Kooner, Jaspal S; Tai, E Shyong; Rotter, Jerome I; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Frossard, Philippe; Maeda, Shiro; Kadowaki, Takashi; Reilly, Muredach; Pare, Guillaume; Melander, Olle; Salomaa, Veikko; Rader, Daniel J; Danesh, John; Voight, Benjamin F; Saleheen, Danish

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate the shared genetic etiology of type-2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary heart disease (CHD), we conducted a multi-ethnic study of genetic variation genome-wide for both diseases in up to 265,678 subjects for T2D and 260,365 subjects for CHD. We identify 16 previously unreported loci for T2D and one for CHD, including a novel T2D association at a missense variant in HLA-DRB5 (OR=1.29). We show that genetically mediated increase in T2D risk also confers higher CHD risk. Joint analysis of T2D loci demonstrated that 24% are associated with CHD, highlighting eight variants - two of which are coding - where T2D and CHD associations appear to co-localize, and a novel joint T2D/CHD association which also replicated for T2D. Variants associated with both outcomes implicate several novel pathways including cellular proliferation and cardiovascular development. PMID:28869590

  5. An Updated and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of Association Between Seven Hot Loci Polymorphisms from Eight GWAS and Glioma Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qiang; Peng, Yanyan; Zhao, Xiaotao

    2016-09-01

    Eight genome-wide association studies (GWASs) found that seven loci (rs2736100, rs4295627, rs4977756, rs498872, rs11979158, rs2252586, rs6010620) polymorphisms could elevate the risk of glioma, one of the most common types of primary brain cancer in adults. However, the replication studies about these seven loci obtained inconsistent results. In order to derive a more accurate estimation about the relationship between the selected single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and susceptibility to glioma, we conducted a meta-analysis containing all eligible published case control studies to evaluate the association. An overall literature search was conducted using the database of PubMed, Science Direct, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Embase. Seventeen articles with 25 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Glioma risk (odds ratio, OR; 95 % confidential interval, 95 %CI) was estimated with the random-effect model or the fixed-effects model. STATA 12.0 was applied to analyze all statistical data. Results showed that seven hot loci were all associated with increased risk of glioma (rs2736100, OR = 1.28, 95 %CI = 1.23-1.32; rs4295627, OR = 1.34, 95 %CI = 1.21-1.47; rs4977756, OR = 1.24, 95 %CI = 1.20-1.28; rs498872, OR = 1.24, 95 %CI = 1.15-1.33; rs6010620, OR = 1.29, 95 %CI = 1.24-1.35; rs11979158: OR = 1.18, 95 %CI = 1.10-1.25; rs2252586: OR = 1.18, 95 %CI = 1.10-1.25). Additionally, subgroup analysis by stages of glioma found that variation of rs11979158 had stronger relationship with high-grade (OR = 1.32, 95 %CI = 1.19-1.45) than low-grade glioma (OR = 1.12, 95 % CI = 1.03-1.21). Similarly, stratified analysis of rs2252586 by stages revealed the similar trend, with OR of 1.26 (95 %CI = 1.17-1.35) in high-grade glioma and OR of 1.15 (95 %CI = 1.08-1.22) in low-grade glioma. In summary, the present study showed that mutations of the seven loci could elevate

  6. Identification of four novel susceptibility loci for oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Couch, Fergus J; Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B; Michailidou, Kyriaki

    2016-01-01

    Common variants in 94 loci have been associated with breast cancer including 15 loci with genome-wide significant associations (P<5 × 10(-8)) with oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and BRCA1-associated breast cancer risk. In this study, to identify new ER-negative susceptibility loci...

  7. Identification of four novel susceptibility loci for oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Couch, Fergus J; Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Mendoza-Fandino, Gustavo A; Nord, Silje; Lilyquist, Janna; Olswold, Curtis; Hallberg, Emily; Agata, Simona; Ahsan, Habibul; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Ambrosone, Christine; Andrulis, Irene L; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Arndt, Volker; Arun, Banu K; Arver, Brita; Barile, Monica; Barkardottir, Rosa B; Barrowdale, Daniel; Beckmann, Lars; Beckmann, Matthias W; Benitez, Javier; Blank, Stephanie V; Blomqvist, Carl; Bogdanova, Natalia V; Bojesen, Stig E; Bolla, Manjeet K; Bonanni, Bernardo; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Burwinkel, Barbara; Buys, Saundra S; Caldes, Trinidad; Caligo, Maria A; Canzian, Federico; Carpenter, Jane; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chanock, Stephen J; Chung, Wendy K; Claes, Kathleen B M; Cox, Angela; Cross, Simon S; Cunningham, Julie M; Czene, Kamila; Daly, Mary B; Damiola, Francesca; Darabi, Hatef; de la Hoya, Miguel; Devilee, Peter; Diez, Orland; Ding, Yuan C; Dolcetti, Riccardo; Domchek, Susan M; Dorfling, Cecilia M; Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Dumont, Martine; Dunning, Alison M; Eccles, Diana M; Ehrencrona, Hans; Ekici, Arif B; Eliassen, Heather; Ellis, Steve; Fasching, Peter A; Figueroa, Jonine; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Försti, Asta; Fostira, Florentia; Foulkes, William D; Friebel, Tara; Friedman, Eitan; Frost, Debra; Gabrielson, Marike; Gammon, Marilie D; Ganz, Patricia A; Gapstur, Susan M; Garber, Judy; Gaudet, Mia M; Gayther, Simon A; Gerdes, Anne-Marie; Ghoussaini, Maya; Giles, Graham G; Glendon, Gord; Godwin, Andrew K; Goldberg, Mark S; Goldgar, David E; González-Neira, Anna; Greene, Mark H; Gronwald, Jacek; Guénel, Pascal; Gunter, Marc; Haeberle, Lothar; Haiman, Christopher A; Hamann, Ute; Hansen, Thomas V O; Hart, Steven; Healey, Sue; Heikkinen, Tuomas; Henderson, Brian E; Herzog, Josef; Hogervorst, Frans B L; Hollestelle, Antoinette; Hooning, Maartje J; Hoover, Robert N; Hopper, John L; Humphreys, Keith; Hunter, David J; Huzarski, Tomasz; Imyanitov, Evgeny N; Isaacs, Claudine; Jakubowska, Anna; James, Paul; Janavicius, Ramunas; Jensen, Uffe Birk; John, Esther M; Jones, Michael; Kabisch, Maria; Kar, Siddhartha; Karlan, Beth Y; Khan, Sofia; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kibriya, Muhammad G; Knight, Julia A; Ko, Yon-Dschun; Konstantopoulou, Irene; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Kristensen, Vessela; Kwong, Ava; Laitman, Yael; Lambrechts, Diether; Lazaro, Conxi; Lee, Eunjung; Le Marchand, Loic; Lester, Jenny; Lindblom, Annika; Lindor, Noralane; Lindstrom, Sara; Liu, Jianjun; Long, Jirong; Lubinski, Jan; Mai, Phuong L; Makalic, Enes; Malone, Kathleen E; Mannermaa, Arto; Manoukian, Siranoush; Margolin, Sara; Marme, Frederik; Martens, John W M; McGuffog, Lesley; Meindl, Alfons; Miller, Austin; Milne, Roger L; Miron, Penelope; Montagna, Marco; Mazoyer, Sylvie; Mulligan, Anna M; Muranen, Taru A; Nathanson, Katherine L; Neuhausen, Susan L; Nevanlinna, Heli; Nordestgaard, Børge G; Nussbaum, Robert L; Offit, Kenneth; Olah, Edith; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I; Olson, Janet E; Osorio, Ana; Park, Sue K; Peeters, Petra H; Peissel, Bernard; Peterlongo, Paolo; Peto, Julian; Phelan, Catherine M; Pilarski, Robert; Poppe, Bruce; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Rahman, Nazneen; Rantala, Johanna; Rappaport, Christine; Rennert, Gad; Richardson, Andrea; Robson, Mark; Romieu, Isabelle; Rudolph, Anja; Rutgers, Emiel J; Sanchez, Maria-Jose; Santella, Regina M; Sawyer, Elinor J; Schmidt, Daniel F; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Schmutzler, Rita K; Schumacher, Fredrick; Scott, Rodney; Senter, Leigha; Sharma, Priyanka; Simard, Jacques; Singer, Christian F; Sinilnikova, Olga M; Soucy, Penny; Southey, Melissa; Steinemann, Doris; Stenmark-Askmalm, Marie; Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique; Swerdlow, Anthony; Szabo, Csilla I; Tamimi, Rulla; Tapper, William; Teixeira, Manuel R; Teo, Soo-Hwang; Terry, Mary B; Thomassen, Mads; Thompson, Deborah; Tihomirova, Laima; Toland, Amanda E; Tollenaar, Robert A E M; Tomlinson, Ian; Truong, Thérèse; Tsimiklis, Helen; Teulé, Alex; Tumino, Rosario; Tung, Nadine; Turnbull, Clare; Ursin, Giski; van Deurzen, Carolien H M; van Rensburg, Elizabeth J; Varon-Mateeva, Raymonda; Wang, Zhaoming; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Weiderpass, Elisabete; Weitzel, Jeffrey N; Whittemore, Alice; Wildiers, Hans; Winqvist, Robert; Yang, Xiaohong R; Yannoukakos, Drakoulis; Yao, Song; Zamora, M Pilar; Zheng, Wei; Hall, Per; Kraft, Peter; Vachon, Celine; Slager, Susan; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Pharoah, Paul D P; Monteiro, Alvaro A N; García-Closas, Montserrat; Easton, Douglas F; Antoniou, Antonis C

    2016-01-01

    Common variants in 94 loci have been associated with breast cancer including 15 loci with genome-wide significant associations (P<5 × 10(-8)) with oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and BRCA1-associated breast cancer risk. In this study, to identify new ER-negative susceptibility loci,

  8. A simple genetic architecture underlies morphological variation in dogs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam R Boyko

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Domestic dogs exhibit tremendous phenotypic diversity, including a greater variation in body size than any other terrestrial mammal. Here, we generate a high density map of canine genetic variation by genotyping 915 dogs from 80 domestic dog breeds, 83 wild canids, and 10 outbred African shelter dogs across 60,968 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. Coupling this genomic resource with external measurements from breed standards and individuals as well as skeletal measurements from museum specimens, we identify 51 regions of the dog genome associated with phenotypic variation among breeds in 57 traits. The complex traits include average breed body size and external body dimensions and cranial, dental, and long bone shape and size with and without allometric scaling. In contrast to the results from association mapping of quantitative traits in humans and domesticated plants, we find that across dog breeds, a small number of quantitative trait loci (< or = 3 explain the majority of phenotypic variation for most of the traits we studied. In addition, many genomic regions show signatures of recent selection, with most of the highly differentiated regions being associated with breed-defining traits such as body size, coat characteristics, and ear floppiness. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of mapping multiple traits in the domestic dog using a database of genotyped individuals and highlight the important role human-directed selection has played in altering the genetic architecture of key traits in this important species.

  9. Overlap of disease susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinks, Anne; Eyre, Steve; Ke, Xiayi; Barton, Anne; Martin, Paul; Flynn, Edward; Packham, Jon; Worthington, Jane; Thomson, Wendy

    2010-01-01

    Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been extremely successful in the search for susceptibility risk factors for complex genetic autoimmune diseases. As more studies are published, evidence is emerging of considerable overlap of loci between these diseases. In juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), another complex genetic autoimmune disease, the strategy of using information from autoimmune disease GWAS or candidate gene studies to help in the search for novel JIA susceptibility loci has been successful, with confirmed association with two genes, PTPN22 and IL2RA. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that shares similar clinical and pathological features with JIA and, therefore, recently identified confirmed RA susceptibility loci are also excellent JIA candidate loci. Objective To determine the overlap of disease susceptibility loci for RA and JIA. Methods Fifteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at nine RA-associated loci were genotyped in Caucasian patients with JIA (n=1054) and controls (n=3531) and tested for association with JIA. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between cases and controls using the genetic analysis software, PLINK. Results Two JIA susceptibility loci were identified, one of which was a novel JIA association (STAT4) and the second confirmed previously published associations of the TRAF1/C5 locus with JIA. Weak evidence of association of JIA with three additional loci (Chr6q23, KIF5A and PRKCQ) was also obtained, which warrants further investigation. Conclusion All these loci are good candidates in view of the known pathogenesis of JIA, as genes within these regions (TRAF1, STAT4, TNFAIP3, PRKCQ) are known to be involved in T-cell receptor signalling or activation pathways. PMID:19674979

  10. Genius loci jako estetický problém

    OpenAIRE

    Křížová, Lucie

    2016-01-01

    (in English): Diploma thesis Genius loci as an aesthetic problem is addressed by defining the concept of genius loci and exploring its aesthetic implications and parallels. After clarification of the ontological nature of this phenomenon its commonalities will be monitored with selected concepts of environmental philosophy and aesthetics, especially the aesthetic dimension of the environmental experience. Publications of Christian Norberg-Schulz and David E. Cooper are used as a starting mate...

  11. Development of the 16 X-STR loci typing system and genetic analysis in a Shanghai Han population from China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Kuan; Zhao, Shumin; Tian, Huaizhou; Zhang, Suhua; Li, Chengtao

    2013-11-01

    This study developed a new multiplex PCR system that simultaneously amplifies 16 X-STR loci in the same PCR reaction, and the polymorphism and mutation rates of these 16 X-STR loci were explored in a Shanghai Han population from China. These loci included DXS10134, DXS10159, DXS6789, DXS6795, DXS6800, DXS6803, DXS6807, DXS6810, DXS7132, DXS7424, DXS8378, DXS9902, GATA165B12, GATA172D05, GATA31E08, and HPRTB. Samples from 591 unrelated individuals (293 males and 298 females) and 400 two-generation families were successfully analyzed using this multiplex system. Allele frequencies and mutation rates of the 16 loci were investigated, with the comparison of allele frequency distributions among different populations performed. Polymorphism information contents of these loci were all >0.6440 except the locus DXS6800 (0.4706). Nine cases of mutations were detected in the 16 loci from the investigation of 9232 meioses. Pairwise comparisons of allele frequency distributions showed significant differences for most loci among populations from different countries and ethnic groups but not among the Han population living in other areas of China. These results suggest that the 16 X-STR loci system provides highly informative polymorphic data for paternity testing and forensic identification in the Han population in Shanghai, China, as a complementary tool. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Distinctiveness of the Roma population within CYP2B6 worldwide variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomas, Željka; Kuhanec, Antonija; Škarić-Jurić, Tatjana; Petranović, Matea Zajc; Narančić, Nina Smolej; Janićijević, Branka; Salihović, Marijana Peričić

    2017-11-01

    To determine variation of CYP2B6 gene within the genetically specific Croatian Roma (Gypsy) population originating from India and to examine it in the worldwide perspective. Seven SNP loci (rs12721655, rs2279343, rs28399499, rs34097093, rs3745274, rs7260329 and rs8192709) were genotyped in 439 subjects using Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) method. The Croatian Roma took an outlying position in CYP2B6 variation from the worldwide perspective mainly due to their exceptionally high minor allele frequency (MAF) for rs8192709 (12.8%), and lower for rs2279343 (21.1%) compared with south Asian populations. This study provides the first data of several CYP2B6 polymorphisms in Roma population and indicates the need for systematic investigation of the most important pharmacogenes' variants in this large, transnationally isolated population worldwide.

  13. Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drong, Alexander W; Abbott, James; Wahl, Simone; Tan, Sian-Tsung; Scott, William R; Campanella, Gianluca; Chadeau-Hyam, Marc; Afzal, Uzma; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S; Bonder, Marc Jan; Chen, Peng; Dehghan, Abbas; Edwards, Todd L; Esko, Tõnu; Go, Min Jin; Harris, Sarah E; Hartiala, Jaana; Kasela, Silva; Kasturiratne, Anuradhani; Khor, Chiea-Chuen; Kleber, Marcus E; Li, Huaixing; Yu Mok, Zuan; Nakatochi, Masahiro; Sapari, Nur Sabrina; Saxena, Richa; Stewart, Alexandre F R; Stolk, Lisette; Tabara, Yasuharu; Teh, Ai Ling; Wu, Ying; Wu, Jer-Yuarn; Zhang, Yi; Aits, Imke; Da Silva Couto Alves, Alexessander; Das, Shikta; Dorajoo, Rajkumar; Hopewell, Jemma C; Kim, Yun Kyoung; Koivula, Robert W; Luan, Jian’an; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Nguyen, Quang N; Pereira, Mark A; Postmus, Iris; Raitakari, Olli T; Bryan, Molly Scannell; Scott, Robert A; Sorice, Rossella; Tragante, Vinicius; Traglia, Michela; White, Jon; Yamamoto, Ken; Zhang, Yonghong; Adair, Linda S; Ahmed, Alauddin; Akiyama, Koichi; Asif, Rasheed; Aung, Tin; Barroso, Inês; Bjonnes, Andrew; Braun, Timothy R; Cai, Hui; Chang, Li-Ching; Chen, Chien-Hsiun; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Chong, Yap-Seng; Collins, Rory; Courtney, Regina; Davies, Gail; Delgado, Graciela; Do, Loi D; Doevendans, Pieter A; Gansevoort, Ron T; Gao, Yu-Tang; Grammer, Tanja B; Grarup, Niels; Grewal, Jagvir; Gu, Dongfeng; Wander, Gurpreet S; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hazen, Stanley L; He, Jing; Heng, Chew-Kiat; Hixson, James E; Hofman, Albert; Hsu, Chris; Huang, Wei; Husemoen, Lise L N; Hwang, Joo-Yeon; Ichihara, Sahoko; Igase, Michiya; Isono, Masato; Justesen, Johanne M; Katsuya, Tomohiro; Kibriya, Muhammad G; Kim, Young Jin; Kishimoto, Miyako; Koh, Woon-Puay; Kohara, Katsuhiko; Kumari, Meena; Kwek, Kenneth; Lee, Nanette R; Lee, Jeannette; Liao, Jiemin; Lieb, Wolfgang; Liewald, David C M; Matsubara, Tatsuaki; Matsushita, Yumi; Meitinger, Thomas; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Mills, Rebecca; Mononen, Nina; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Nabika, Toru; Nakashima, Eitaro; Ng, Hong Kiat; Nikus, Kjell; Nutile, Teresa; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Ohnaka, Keizo; Parish, Sarah; Paternoster, Lavinia; Peng, Hao; Peters, Annette; Pham, Son T; Pinidiyapathirage, Mohitha J; Rahman, Mahfuzar; Rakugi, Hiromi; Rolandsson, Olov; Ann Rozario, Michelle; Ruggiero, Daniela; Sala, Cinzia F; Sarju, Ralhan; Shimokawa, Kazuro; Snieder, Harold; Sparsø, Thomas; Spiering, Wilko; Starr, John M; Stott, David J; Stram, Daniel O; Sugiyama, Takao; Szymczak, Silke; Tang, W H Wilson; Tong, Lin; Trompet, Stella; Turjanmaa, Väinö; Ueshima, Hirotsugu; Uitterlinden, André G; Umemura, Satoshi; Vaarasmaki, Marja; van Dam, Rob M; van Gilst, Wiek H; van Veldhuisen, Dirk J; Viikari, Jorma S; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wang, Yiqin; Wang, Aili; Wilson, Rory; Wong, Tien-Yin; Xiang, Yong-Bing; Yamaguchi, Shuhei; Ye, Xingwang; Young, Robin D; Young, Terri L; Yuan, Jian-Min; Zhou, Xueya; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Ciullo, Marina; Clarke, Robert; Deloukas, Panos; Franke, Andre; Franks, Paul W; Franks, Steve; Friedlander, Yechiel; Gross, Myron D; Guo, Zhirong; Hansen, Torben; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jørgensen, Torben; Jukema, J Wouter; kähönen, Mika; Kajio, Hiroshi; Kivimaki, Mika; Lee, Jong-Young; Lehtimäki, Terho; Linneberg, Allan; Miki, Tetsuro; Pedersen, Oluf; Samani, Nilesh J; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Takayanagi, Ryoichi; Toniolo, Daniela; Ahsan, Habibul; Allayee, Hooman; Chen, Yuan-Tsong; Danesh, John; Deary, Ian J; Franco, Oscar H; Franke, Lude; Heijman, Bastiaan T; Holbrook, Joanna D; Isaacs, Aaron; Kim, Bong-Jo; Lin, Xu; Liu, Jianjun; März, Winfried; Metspalu, Andres; Mohlke, Karen L; Sanghera, Dharambir K; Shu, Xiao-Ou; van Meurs, Joyce B J; Vithana, Eranga; Wickremasinghe, Ananda R; Wijmenga, Cisca; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H W; Yokota, Mitsuhiro; Zheng, Wei; Zhu, Dingliang; Vineis, Paolo; Kyrtopoulos, Soterios A; Kleinjans, Jos C S; McCarthy, Mark I; Soong, Richie; Gieger, Christian; Scott, James

    2016-01-01

    We carried out a trans-ancestry genome-wide association and replication study of blood pressure phenotypes among up to 320,251 individuals of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry. We find genetic variants at 12 new loci to be associated with blood pressure (P = 3.9 × 10−11 to 5.0 × 10−21). The sentinel blood pressure SNPs are enriched for association with DNA methylation at multiple nearby CpG sites, suggesting that, at some of the loci identified, DNA methylation may lie on the regulatory pathway linking sequence variation to blood pressure. The sentinel SNPs at the 12 new loci point to genes involved in vascular smooth muscle (IGFBP3, KCNK3, PDE3A and PRDM6) and renal (ARHGAP24, OSR1, SLC22A7 and TBX2) function. The new and known genetic variants predict increased left ventricular mass, circulating levels of NT-proBNP, and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (P = 0.04 to 8.6 × 10−6). Our results provide new evidence for the role of DNA methylation in blood pressure regulation. PMID:26390057

  14. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the Arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramey, A.; Graziano, S.L.; Nielsen, J.L.

    2008-01-01

    Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for the Arctic cisco, Coregonus autumnalis. Loci were evaluated in 21 samples from the Colville River subsistence fishery. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 18. Observed heterozygosity of loci varied from 0.10 to 1.00, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.09 to 0.92. All eight microsatellite markers were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The loci presented here will be useful in describing population structure and exploring populations of origin for Arctic cisco. ?? 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  15. Mapping epistasis and environment × QTX interaction based on four -omics genotypes for the detected QTX loci controlling complex traits in tobacco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyuan Zhou

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Using newly developed methods and software, association mapping was conducted for chromium content and total sugar in tobacco leaf, based on four -omics datasets. Our objective was to collect data on genotype and phenotype for 60 leaf samples at four developmental stages, from three plant architectural positions and for three cultivars that were grown in two locations. Association mapping was conducted to detect genetic variants at quantitative trait SNP (QTS loci, quantitative trait transcript (QTT differences, quantitative trait protein (QTP variability, and quantitative trait metabolite (QTM changes, which can be summarized as QTX locus variation. The total heritabilities of the four -omics loci for both traits tested were 23.60% for epistasis and 15.26% for treatment interaction. Epistasis and environment × treatment interaction had important impacts on complex traits at all -omics levels. For decreasing chromium content and increasing total sugar in tobacco leaf, six methylated loci can be directly used for marker-assisted selection, and expression of ten QTTs, seven QTPs and six QTMs can be modified by selection or cultivation.

  16. Characterization of EST-based SSR loci in the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    B.M.T. Brunet; D. Doucet; B.R. Sturtevant; F.A.H. Sperling

    2013-01-01

    After identifying 114 microsatellite loci from Choristoneura fumiferana expressed sequence tags, 87 loci were assayed in a panel of 11 wild-caught individuals, giving 29 polymorphic loci. Further analysis of 20 of these loci on 31 individuals collected from a single population in northern Minnesota identified 14 in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

  17. Identification of two novel powdery mildew resistance loci, Ren6 and Ren7, from the wild Chinese grape species Vitis piasezkii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pap, Dániel; Riaz, Summaira; Dry, Ian B; Jermakow, Angelica; Tenscher, Alan C; Cantu, Dario; Oláh, Róbert; Walker, M Andrew

    2016-07-29

    Grapevine powdery mildew Erysiphe necator is a major fungal disease in all grape growing countries worldwide. Breeding for resistance to this disease is crucial to avoid extensive fungicide applications that are costly, labor intensive and may have detrimental effects on the environment. In the past decade, Chinese Vitis species have attracted attention from grape breeders because of their strong resistance to powdery mildew and their lack of negative fruit quality attributes that are often present in resistant North American species. In this study, we investigated powdery mildew resistance in multiple accessions of the Chinese species Vitis piasezkii that were collected during the 1980 Sino-American botanical expedition to the western Hubei province of China. A framework genetic map was developed using simple sequence repeat markers in 277 seedlings of an F1 mapping population arising from a cross of the powdery mildew susceptible Vitis vinifera selection F2-35 and a resistant accession of V. piasezkii DVIT2027. Quantitative trait locus analyses identified two major powdery mildew resistance loci on chromosome 9 (Ren6) and chromosome 19 (Ren7) explaining 74.8 % of the cumulative phenotypic variation. The quantitative trait locus analysis for each locus, in the absence of the other, explained 95.4 % phenotypic variation for Ren6, while Ren7 accounted for 71.9 % of the phenotypic variation. Screening of an additional 259 seedlings of the F1 population and 910 seedlings from four pseudo-backcross populations with SSR markers defined regions of 22 kb and 330 kb for Ren6 and Ren7 in the V. vinifera PN40024 (12X) genome sequence, respectively. Both R loci operate post-penetration through the induction of programmed cell death, but vary significantly in the speed of response and degree of resistance; Ren6 confers complete resistance whereas Ren7 confers partial resistance to the disease with reduced colony size. A comparison of the kinetics of induction of powdery

  18. Hyper-Methylated Loci Persisting from Sessile Serrated Polyps to Serrated Cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew, Angeline S; Baron, John A; Butterly, Lynn F; Suriawinata, Arief A; Tsongalis, Gregory J; Robinson, Christina M; Amos, Christopher I

    2017-03-02

    Although serrated polyps were historically considered to pose little risk, it is now understood that progression down the serrated pathway could account for as many as 15%-35% of colorectal cancers. The sessile serrated adenoma/polyp (SSA/P) is the most prevalent pre-invasive serrated lesion. Our objective was to identify the CpG loci that are persistently hyper-methylated during serrated carcinogenesis, from the early SSA/P lesion through the later cancer phases of neoplasia development. We queried the loci hyper-methylated in serrated cancers within our rightsided SSA/Ps from the New Hampshire Colonoscopy Registry, using the Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450 k panel to comprehensively assess the DNA methylation status. We identified CpG loci and regions consistently hyper-methylated throughout the serrated carcinogenesis spectrum, in both our SSA/P specimens and in serrated cancers. Hyper-methylated CpG loci included the known the tumor suppressor gene RET (p = 5.72 x 10-10), as well as loci in differentially methylated regions for GSG1L, MIR4493, NTNG1, MCIDAS, ZNF568, and RERG. The hyper-methylated loci that we identified help characterize the biology of SSA/P development, and could be useful as therapeutic targets, or for future identification of patients who may benefit from shorter surveillance intervals.

  19. Genetic Architecture of Natural Variation in Rice Chlorophyll Content Revealed by a Genome-Wide Association Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Quanxiu; Xie, Weibo; Xing, Hongkun; Yan, Ju; Meng, Xiangzhou; Li, Xinglei; Fu, Xiangkui; Xu, Jiuyue; Lian, Xingming; Yu, Sibin; Xing, Yongzhong; Wang, Gongwei

    2015-06-01

    Chlorophyll content is one of the most important physiological traits as it is closely related to leaf photosynthesis and crop yield potential. So far, few genes have been reported to be involved in natural variation of chlorophyll content in rice (Oryza sativa) and the extent of variations explored is very limited. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a diverse worldwide collection of 529 O. sativa accessions. A total of 46 significant association loci were identified. Three F2 mapping populations with parents selected from the association panel were tested for validation of GWAS signals. We clearly demonstrated that Grain number, plant height, and heading date7 (Ghd7) was a major locus for natural variation of chlorophyll content at the heading stage by combining evidence from near-isogenic lines and transgenic plants. The enhanced expression of Ghd7 decreased the chlorophyll content, mainly through down-regulating the expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll and chloroplast. In addition, Narrow leaf1 (NAL1) corresponded to one significant association region repeatedly detected over two years. We revealed a high degree of polymorphism in the 5' UTR and four non-synonymous SNPs in the coding region of NAL1, and observed diverse effects of the major haplotypes. The loci or candidate genes identified would help to fine-tune and optimize the antenna size of canopies in rice breeding. Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. A genetic risk score combining ten psoriasis risk loci improves disease prediction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haoyan Chen

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated skin disease affecting 2-3% of Caucasians. Recent genetic association studies have identified multiple psoriasis risk loci; however, most of these loci contribute only modestly to disease risk. In this study, we investigated whether a genetic risk score (GRS combining multiple loci could improve psoriasis prediction. Two approaches were used: a simple risk alleles count (cGRS and a weighted (wGRS approach. Ten psoriasis risk SNPs were genotyped in 2815 case-control samples and 858 family samples. We found that the total number of risk alleles in the cases was significantly higher than in controls, mean 13.16 (SD 1.7 versus 12.09 (SD 1.8, p = 4.577×10(-40. The wGRS captured considerably more risk than any SNP considered alone, with a psoriasis OR for high-low wGRS quartiles of 10.55 (95% CI 7.63-14.57, p = 2.010×10(-65. To compare the discriminatory ability of the GRS models, receiver operating characteristic curves were used to calculate the area under the curve (AUC. The AUC for wGRS was significantly greater than for cGRS (72.0% versus 66.5%, p = 2.13×10(-8. Additionally, the AUC for HLA-C alone (rs10484554 was equivalent to the AUC for all nine other risk loci combined (66.2% versus 63.8%, p = 0.18, highlighting the dominance of HLA-C as a risk locus. Logistic regression revealed that the wGRS was significantly associated with two subphenotypes of psoriasis, age of onset (p = 4.91×10(-6 and family history (p = 0.020. Using a liability threshold model, we estimated that the 10 risk loci account for only 11.6% of the genetic variance in psoriasis. In summary, we found that a GRS combining 10 psoriasis risk loci captured significantly more risk than any individual SNP and was associated with early onset of disease and a positive family history. Notably, only a small fraction of psoriasis heritability is captured by the common risk variants identified to date.

  1. Evaluation of Pakistani wheat germplasm for bread quality based on allelic variation in HMW glutenin subunits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tabasum, A; Iqbal, N; Hameed, A; Arshad, R [Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad (Pakistan)

    2011-06-15

    Seventy six Pakistani wheat genotypes including land races were investigated for Bread quality (BQ) based on allelic variation in HMW glutenin subunits at the Glu-1 loci through SDS- polyacrylamide gel electropherosis. Twenty five different allelic combinations were detected with a total of 14 Glu-1 loci. Highest polymorphism was revealed by Glu-B locus and some single/ rare sub units were also screened out. The frequencies of dominant subunits were 50% for 2*, 42.11% for subunit pair 17+18 and 48.68% for 5+10 and 2+12 respectively. The quality scores displayed a range from 4 to 10, however generally good quality score of eight was more frequent (39. 47%). The highest quality scores of 10 and 9 were observed in 22.36% and 19.74% of genotypes respectively. The UPGMA analysis grouped genotypes into three major with two additional sub clusters for each. The cluster 'a' 'b' and 'C' were separated at 73% genetic distance which was further differentiated at a genetic distance of 50% into their sub clusters. Pakistani wheat varieties/land races exhibited large variation in term of HMW-GS. The generated information will lead to the pyrimiding of sub units for high BQ through mission oriented marker assisted breeding programmes for quality improvement of wheat. (author)

  2. Evaluation of Pakistani wheat germplasm for bread quality based on allelic variation in HMW glutenin subunits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabasum, A.; Iqbal, N.; Hameed, A.; Arshad, R.

    2011-01-01

    Seventy six Pakistani wheat genotypes including land races were investigated for Bread quality (BQ) based on allelic variation in HMW glutenin subunits at the Glu-1 loci through SDS- polyacrylamide gel electropherosis. Twenty five different allelic combinations were detected with a total of 14 Glu-1 loci. Highest polymorphism was revealed by Glu-B locus and some single/ rare sub units were also screened out. The frequencies of dominant subunits were 50% for 2*, 42.11% for subunit pair 17+18 and 48.68% for 5+10 and 2+12 respectively. The quality scores displayed a range from 4 to 10, however generally good quality score of eight was more frequent (39. 47%). The highest quality scores of 10 and 9 were observed in 22.36% and 19.74% of genotypes respectively. The UPGMA analysis grouped genotypes into three major with two additional sub clusters for each. The cluster 'a' 'b' and 'C' were separated at 73% genetic distance which was further differentiated at a genetic distance of 50% into their sub clusters. Pakistani wheat varieties/land races exhibited large variation in term of HMW-GS. The generated information will lead to the pyrimiding of sub units for high BQ through mission oriented marker assisted breeding programmes for quality improvement of wheat. (author)

  3. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new susceptibility loci for migraine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anttila, Verneri; Winsvold, Bendik S; Gormley, Padhraig; Kurth, Tobias; Bettella, Francesco; McMahon, George; Kallela, Mikko; Malik, Rainer; de Vries, Boukje; Terwindt, Gisela; Medland, Sarah E; Todt, Unda; McArdle, Wendy L; Quaye, Lydia; Koiranen, Markku; Ikram, M Arfan; Lehtimäki, Terho; Stam, Anine H; Ligthart, Lannie; Wedenoja, Juho; Dunham, Ian; Neale, Benjamin M; Palta, Priit; Hamalainen, Eija; Schürks, Markus; Rose, Lynda M; Buring, Julie E; Ridker, Paul M; Steinberg, Stacy; Stefansson, Hreinn; Jakobsson, Finnbogi; Lawlor, Debbie A; Evans, David M; Ring, Susan M; Färkkilä, Markus; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari A; Freilinger, Tobias; Schoenen, Jean; Frants, Rune R; Pelzer, Nadine; Weller, Claudia M; Zielman, Ronald; Heath, Andrew C; Madden, Pamela A F; Montgomery, Grant W; Martin, Nicholas G; Borck, Guntram; Göbel, Hartmut; Heinze, Axel; Heinze-Kuhn, Katja; Williams, Frances M K; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Pouta, Anneli; van den Ende, Joyce; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hofman, Albert; Amin, Najaf; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Vink, Jacqueline M; Heikkilä, Kauko; Alexander, Michael; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Meitinger, Thomas; Wichmann, Heinz Erich; Aromaa, Arpo; Eriksson, Johan G; Traynor, Bryan; Trabzuni, Daniah; Rossin, Elizabeth; Lage, Kasper; Jacobs, Suzanne B R; Gibbs, J Raphael; Birney, Ewan; Kaprio, Jaakko; Penninx, Brenda W; Boomsma, Dorret I; van Duijn, Cornelia; Raitakari, Olli; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Zwart, John-Anker; Cherkas, Lynn; Strachan, David P; Kubisch, Christian; Ferrari, Michel D; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Dichgans, Martin; Wessman, Maija; Smith, George Davey; Stefansson, Kari; Daly, Mark J; Nyholt, Dale R; Chasman, Daniel; Palotie, Aarno

    2013-08-01

    Migraine is the most common brain disorder, affecting approximately 14% of the adult population, but its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. We report the results of a meta-analysis across 29 genome-wide association studies, including a total of 23,285 individuals with migraine (cases) and 95,425 population-matched controls. We identified 12 loci associated with migraine susceptibility (P<5×10(-8)). Five loci are new: near AJAP1 at 1p36, near TSPAN2 at 1p13, within FHL5 at 6q16, within C7orf10 at 7p14 and near MMP16 at 8q21. Three of these loci were identified in disease subgroup analyses. Brain tissue expression quantitative trait locus analysis suggests potential functional candidate genes at four loci: APOA1BP, TBC1D7, FUT9, STAT6 and ATP5B.

  4. Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; de Vlaming, Ronald; Vaez, Ahmad; Mandemakers, Jornt J.; Tropf, Felix C.; Shen, Xia; Wilson, James F.; Chasman, Daniel I.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Tragante, Vinicius; van der Laan, Sander W.; Perry, John R. B.; Kong, Augustine; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer; Albrecht, Eva; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura; Atzmon, Gil; Auro, Kirsi; Ayers, Kristin; Bakshi, Andrew; Ben-Avraham, Danny; Berger, Klaus; Bergman, Aviv; Bertram, Lars; Bielak, Lawrence F.; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Bonder, Marc Jan; Broer, Linda; Bui, Minh; Barbieri, Caterina; Cavadino, Alana; Chavarro, Jorge E; Turman, Constance; Concas, Maria Pina; Cordell, Heather J.; Davies, Gail; Eibich, Peter; Eriksson, Nicholas; Esko, Tõnu; Eriksson, Joel; Falahi, Fahimeh; Felix, Janine F.; Fontana, Mark Alan; Franke, Lude; Gandin, Ilaria; Gaskins, Audrey J.; Gieger, Christian; Gunderson, Erica P.; Guo, Xiuqing; Hayward, Caroline; He, Chunyan; Hofer, Edith; Huang, Hongyan; Joshi, Peter K.; Kanoni, Stavroula; Karlsson, Robert; Kiechl, Stefan; Kifley, Annette; Kluttig, Alexander; Kraft, Peter; Lagou, Vasiliki; Lecoeur, Cecile; Lahti, Jari; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lind, Penelope A.; Liu, Tian; Makalic, Enes; Mamasoula, Crysovalanto; Matteson, Lindsay; Mbarek, Hamdi; McArdle, Patrick F.; McMahon, George; Meddens, S. Fleur W.; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Mike; Missmer, Stacey A.; Monnereau, Claire; van der Most, Peter J.; Myhre, Ronny; Nalls, Mike A.; Nutile, Teresa; Panagiota, Kalafati Ioanna; Porcu, Eleonora; Prokopenko, Inga; Rajan, Kumar B.; Rich-Edwards, Janet; Rietveld, Cornelius A.; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M.; Rueedi, Rico; Ryan, Kathy; Saba, Yasaman; Schmidt, Daniel; Smith, Jennifer A.; Stolk, Lisette; Streeten, Elizabeth; Tonjes, Anke; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Ulivi, Sheila; Wedenoja, Juho; Wellmann, Juergen; Willeit, Peter; Yao, Jie; Yengo, Loic; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhernakova, Daria V.; Amin, Najaf; Andrews, Howard; Balkau, Beverley; Barzilai, Nir; Bergmann, Sven; Biino, Ginevra; Bisgaard, Hans; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Buring, Julie E.; Campbell, Harry; Cappellani, Stefania; Ciullo, Marina; Cox, Simon R.; Cucca, Francesco; Daniela, Toniolo; Davey-Smith, George; Deary, Ian J.; Dedoussis, George; Deloukas, Panos; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; de Geus, Eco JC.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Evans, Denis A.; Faul, Jessica D.; Felicita, Sala Cinzia; Froguel, Philippe; Gasparini, Paolo; Girotto, Giorgia; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Greiser, Karin Halina; Groenen, Patrick J.F.; de Haan, Hugoline G.; Haerting, Johannes; Harris, Tamara B.; Heath, Andrew C.; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Holliday, Elizabeth G; Hopper, John; Hypponen, Elina; Jacobsson, Bo; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Johannesson, Magnus; Jugessur, Astanand; Kähönen, Mika; Kajantie, Eero; Kardia, Sharon L.R.; Keavney, Bernard; Kolcic, Ivana; Koponen, Päivikki; Kovacs, Peter; Kronenberg, Florian; Kutalik, Zoltan; La Bianca, Martina; Lachance, Genevieve; Iacono, William; Lai, Sandra; Lehtimäki, Terho; Liewald, David C; Lindgren, Cecilia; Liu, Yongmei; Luben, Robert; Lucht, Michael; Luoto, Riitta; Magnus, Per; Magnusson, Patrik K.E.; Martin, Nicholas G.; McGue, Matt; McQuillan, Ruth; Medland, Sarah E.; Meisinger, Christa; Mellström, Dan; Metspalu, Andres; Michela, Traglia; Milani, Lili; Mitchell, Paul; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis; de Mutsert, Renée; Nohr, Ellen A; Ohlsson, Claes; Olsen, Jørn; Ong, Ken K.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pattie, Alison; Penninx, Brenda WJH; Perola, Markus; Peyser, Patricia A.; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Power, Chris; Kaprio, Jaakko; Raffel, Leslie J.; Räikkönen, Katri; Raitakari, Olli; Ridker, Paul M.; Ring, Susan M.; Roll, Kathryn; Rudan, Igor; Ruggiero, Daniela; Rujescu, Dan; Salomaa, Veikko; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Helena; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schupf, Nicole; Smit, Johannes; Sorice, Rossella; Spector, Tim D.; Starr, John M.; Stöckl, Doris; Strauch, Konstantin; Stumvoll, Michael; Swertz, Morris A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thurik, A. Roy; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tönjes, Anke; Tung, Joyce Y.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Vaccargiu, Simona; Viikari, Jorma; Vitart, Veronique; Völzke, Henry; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuckovic, Dragana; Waage, Johannes; Wagner, Gert G.; Wang, Jie Jin; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Weir, David R.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Willeit, Johann; Wright, Alan F.; Zondervan, Krina T.; Stefansson, Kari; Krueger, Robert F.; Lee, James J.; Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; Koellinger, Philipp D.; den Hoed, Marcel; Snieder, Harold; Mills, Melinda C.

    2017-01-01

    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior – age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB) – has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report the largest genome-wide association study to date of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study, and four additional loci in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to play a role – either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression – in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing our understanding of these complex traits. PMID:27798627

  5. Incorporation of a Chemical Equilibrium Equation of State into LOCI-Chem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Carey F.

    2005-01-01

    Renewed interest in development of advanced high-speed transport, reentry vehicles and propulsion systems has led to a resurgence of research into high speed aerodynamics. As this flow regime is typically dominated by hot reacting gaseous flow, efficient models for the characteristic chemical activity are necessary for accurate and cost effective analysis and design of aerodynamic vehicles that transit this regime. The LOCI-Chem code recently developed by Ed Luke at Mississippi State University for NASA/MSFC and used by NASA/MSFC and SSC represents an important step in providing an accurate, efficient computational tool for the simulation of reacting flows through the use of finite-rate kinetics [3]. Finite rate chemistry however, requires the solution of an additional N-1 species mass conservation equations with source terms involving reaction kinetics that are not fully understood. In the equilibrium limit, where the reaction rates approach infinity, these equations become very stiff. Through the use of the assumption of local chemical equilibrium the set of governing equations is reduced back to the usual gas dynamic equations, and thus requires less computation, while still allowing for the inclusion of reacting flow phenomenology. The incorporation of a chemical equilibrium equation of state module into the LOCI-Chem code was the primary objective of the current research. The major goals of the project were: (1) the development of a chemical equilibrium composition solver, and (2) the incorporation of chemical equilibrium solver into LOCI-Chem. Due to time and resource constraints, code optimization was not considered unless it was important to the proper functioning of the code.

  6. Variation in Recombination Rate and Its Genetic Determinism in Sheep Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Morgane; Astruc, Jean-Michel; Sarry, Julien; Drouilhet, Laurence; Fabre, Stéphane; Moreno, Carole R; Servin, Bertrand

    2017-10-01

    Recombination is a complex biological process that results from a cascade of multiple events during meiosis. Understanding the genetic determinism of recombination can help to understand if and how these events are interacting. To tackle this question, we studied the patterns of recombination in sheep, using multiple approaches and data sets. We constructed male recombination maps in a dairy breed from the south of France (the Lacaune breed) at a fine scale by combining meiotic recombination rates from a large pedigree genotyped with a 50K SNP array and historical recombination rates from a sample of unrelated individuals genotyped with a 600K SNP array. This analysis revealed recombination patterns in sheep similar to other mammals but also genome regions that have likely been affected by directional and diversifying selection. We estimated the average recombination rate of Lacaune sheep at 1.5 cM/Mb, identified ∼50,000 crossover hotspots on the genome, and found a high correlation between historical and meiotic recombination rate estimates. A genome-wide association study revealed two major loci affecting interindividual variation in recombination rate in Lacaune, including the RNF212 and HEI10 genes and possibly two other loci of smaller effects including the KCNJ15 and FSHR genes. The comparison of these new results to those obtained previously in a distantly related population of domestic sheep (the Soay) revealed that Soay and Lacaune males have a very similar distribution of recombination along the genome. The two data sets were thus combined to create more precise male meiotic recombination maps in Sheep. However, despite their similar recombination maps, Soay and Lacaune males were found to exhibit different heritabilities and QTL effects for interindividual variation in genome-wide recombination rates. This highlights the robustness of recombination patterns to underlying variation in their genetic determinism. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society

  7. High throughput sequencing of small RNA component of leaves and inflorescence revealed conserved and novel miRNAs as well as phasiRNA loci in chickpea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Sangeeta; Zheng, Yun; Kudapa, Himabindu; Jagadeeswaran, Guru; Hivrale, Vandana; Varshney, Rajeev K; Sunkar, Ramanjulu

    2015-06-01

    Among legumes, chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most important crop after soybean. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles by regulating target gene expression important for plant development and tolerance to stress conditions. Additionally, recently discovered phased siRNAs (phasiRNAs), a new class of small RNAs, are abundantly produced in legumes. Nevertheless, little is known about these regulatory molecules in chickpea. The small RNA population was sequenced from leaves and flowers of chickpea to identify conserved and novel miRNAs as well as phasiRNAs/phasiRNA loci. Bioinformatics analysis revealed 157 miRNA loci for the 96 highly conserved and known miRNA homologs belonging to 38 miRNA families in chickpea. Furthermore, 20 novel miRNAs belonging to 17 miRNA families were identified. Sequence analysis revealed approximately 60 phasiRNA loci. Potential target genes likely to be regulated by these miRNAs were predicted and some were confirmed by modified 5' RACE assay. Predicted targets are mostly transcription factors that might be important for developmental processes, and others include superoxide dismutases, plantacyanin, laccases and F-box proteins that could participate in stress responses and protein degradation. Overall, this study provides an inventory of miRNA-target gene interactions for chickpea, useful for the comparative analysis of small RNAs among legumes. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Combining high-throughput phenotyping and genome-wide association studies to reveal natural genetic variation in rice

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Wanneng; Guo, Zilong; Huang, Chenglong; Duan, Lingfeng; Chen, Guoxing; Jiang, Ni; Fang, Wei; Feng, Hui; Xie, Weibo; Lian, Xingming; Wang, Gongwei; Luo, Qingming; Zhang, Qifa; Liu, Qian; Xiong, Lizhong

    2014-01-01

    Even as the study of plant genomics rapidly develops through the use of high-throughput sequencing techniques, traditional plant phenotyping lags far behind. Here we develop a high-throughput rice phenotyping facility (HRPF) to monitor 13 traditional agronomic traits and 2 newly defined traits during the rice growth period. Using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the 15 traits, we identify 141 associated loci, 25 of which contain known genes such as the Green Revolution semi-dwarf gen...

  9. Nine Loci for Ocular Axial Length Identified through Genome-wide Association Studies, Including Shared Loci with Refractive Error

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ching-Yu; Schache, Maria; Ikram, M. Kamran; Young, Terri L.; Guggenheim, Jeremy A.; Vitart, Veronique; MacGregor, Stuart; Verhoeven, Virginie J.M.; Barathi, Veluchamy A.; Liao, Jiemin; Hysi, Pirro G.; Bailey-Wilson, Joan E.; St. Pourcain, Beate; Kemp, John P.; McMahon, George; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Evans, David M.; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mishra, Aniket; Wang, Ya Xing; Wang, Jie Jin; Rochtchina, Elena; Polasek, Ozren; Wright, Alan F.; Amin, Najaf; van Leeuwen, Elisabeth M.; Wilson, James F.; Pennell, Craig E.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; de Jong, Paulus T.V.M.; Vingerling, Johannes R.; Zhou, Xin; Chen, Peng; Li, Ruoying; Tay, Wan-Ting; Zheng, Yingfeng; Chew, Merwyn; Rahi, Jugnoo S.; Hysi, Pirro G.; Yoshimura, Nagahisa; Yamashiro, Kenji; Miyake, Masahiro; Delcourt, Cécile; Maubaret, Cecilia; Williams, Cathy; Guggenheim, Jeremy A.; Northstone, Kate; Ring, Susan M.; Davey-Smith, George; Craig, Jamie E.; Burdon, Kathryn P.; Fogarty, Rhys D.; Iyengar, Sudha K.; Igo, Robert P.; Chew, Emily; Janmahasathian, Sarayut; Iyengar, Sudha K.; Igo, Robert P.; Chew, Emily; Janmahasathian, Sarayut; Stambolian, Dwight; Wilson, Joan E. Bailey; MacGregor, Stuart; Lu, Yi; Jonas, Jost B.; Xu, Liang; Saw, Seang-Mei; Baird, Paul N.; Rochtchina, Elena; Mitchell, Paul; Wang, Jie Jin; Jonas, Jost B.; Nangia, Vinay; Hayward, Caroline; Wright, Alan F.; Vitart, Veronique; Polasek, Ozren; Campbell, Harry; Vitart, Veronique; Rudan, Igor; Vatavuk, Zoran; Vitart, Veronique; Paterson, Andrew D.; Hosseini, S. Mohsen; Iyengar, Sudha K.; Igo, Robert P.; Fondran, Jeremy R.; Young, Terri L.; Feng, Sheng; Verhoeven, Virginie J.M.; Klaver, Caroline C.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Metspalu, Andres; Haller, Toomas; Mihailov, Evelin; Pärssinen, Olavi; Wedenoja, Juho; Wilson, Joan E. Bailey; Wojciechowski, Robert; Baird, Paul N.; Schache, Maria; Pfeiffer, Norbert; Höhn, René; Pang, Chi Pui; Chen, Peng; Meitinger, Thomas; Oexle, Konrad; Wegner, Aharon; Yoshimura, Nagahisa; Yamashiro, Kenji; Miyake, Masahiro; Pärssinen, Olavi; Yip, Shea Ping; Ho, Daniel W.H.; Pirastu, Mario; Murgia, Federico; Portas, Laura; Biino, Genevra; Wilson, James F.; Fleck, Brian; Vitart, Veronique; Stambolian, Dwight; Wilson, Joan E. Bailey; Hewitt, Alex W.; Ang, Wei; Verhoeven, Virginie J.M.; Klaver, Caroline C.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Saw, Seang-Mei; Wong, Tien-Yin; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Saw, Seang-Mei; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Saw, Seang-Mei; Wong, Tien-Yin; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Saw, Seang-Mei; Wong, Tien-Yin; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Saw, Seang-Mei; Tai, E-Shyong; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Saw, Seang-Mei; Teo, Yik-Ying; Fan, Qiao; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Zhou, Xin; Ikram, M. Kamran; Mackey, David A.; MacGregor, Stuart; Hammond, Christopher J.; Hysi, Pirro G.; Deangelis, Margaret M.; Morrison, Margaux; Zhou, Xiangtian; Chen, Wei; Paterson, Andrew D.; Hosseini, S. Mohsen; Mizuki, Nobuhisa; Meguro, Akira; Lehtimäki, Terho; Mäkelä, Kari-Matti; Raitakari, Olli; Kähönen, Mika; Burdon, Kathryn P.; Craig, Jamie E.; Iyengar, Sudha K.; Igo, Robert P.; Lass, Jonathan H.; Reinhart, William; Belin, Michael W.; Schultze, Robert L.; Morason, Todd; Sugar, Alan; Mian, Shahzad; Soong, Hunson Kaz; Colby, Kathryn; Jurkunas, Ula; Yee, Richard; Vital, Mark; Alfonso, Eduardo; Karp, Carol; Lee, Yunhee; Yoo, Sonia; Hammersmith, Kristin; Cohen, Elisabeth; Laibson, Peter; Rapuano, Christopher; Ayres, Brandon; Croasdale, Christopher; Caudill, James; Patel, Sanjay; Baratz, Keith; Bourne, William; Maguire, Leo; Sugar, Joel; Tu, Elmer; Djalilian, Ali; Mootha, Vinod; McCulley, James; Bowman, Wayne; Cavanaugh, H. Dwight; Verity, Steven; Verdier, David; Renucci, Ann; Oliva, Matt; Rotkis, Walter; Hardten, David R.; Fahmy, Ahmad; Brown, Marlene; Reeves, Sherman; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Lindstrom, Richard; Hauswirth, Scott; Hamilton, Stephen; Lee, W. Barry; Price, Francis; Price, Marianne; Kelly, Kathleen; Peters, Faye; Shaughnessy, Michael; Steinemann, Thomas; Dupps, B.J.; Meisler, David M.; Mifflin, Mark; Olson, Randal; Aldave, Anthony; Holland, Gary; Mondino, Bartly J.; Rosenwasser, George; Gorovoy, Mark; Dunn, Steven P.; Heidemann, David G.; Terry, Mark; Shamie, Neda; Rosenfeld, Steven I.; Suedekum, Brandon; Hwang, David; Stone, Donald; Chodosh, James; Galentine, Paul G.; Bardenstein, David; Goddard, Katrina; Chin, Hemin; Mannis, Mark; Varma, Rohit; Borecki, Ingrid; Chew, Emily Y.; Haller, Toomas; Mihailov, Evelin; Metspalu, Andres; Wedenoja, Juho; Simpson, Claire L.; Wojciechowski, Robert; Höhn, René; Mirshahi, Alireza; Zeller, Tanja; Pfeiffer, Norbert; Lackner, Karl J.; Donnelly, Peter; Barroso, Ines; Blackwell, Jenefer M.; Bramon, Elvira; Brown, Matthew A.; Casas, Juan P.; Corvin, Aiden; Deloukas, Panos; Duncanson, Audrey; Jankowski, Janusz; Markus, Hugh S.; Mathew, Christopher G.; Palmer, Colin N.A.; Plomin, Robert; Rautanen, Anna; Sawcer, Stephen J.; Trembath, Richard C.; Viswanathan, Ananth C.; Wood, Nicholas W.; Spencer, Chris C.A.; Band, Gavin; Bellenguez, Céline; Freeman, Colin; Hellenthal, Garrett; Giannoulatou, Eleni; Pirinen, Matti; Pearson, Richard; Strange, Amy; Su, Zhan; Vukcevic, Damjan; Donnelly, Peter; Langford, Cordelia; Hunt, Sarah E.; Edkins, Sarah; Gwilliam, Rhian; Blackburn, Hannah; Bumpstead, Suzannah J.; Dronov, Serge; Gillman, Matthew; Gray, Emma; Hammond, Naomi; Jayakumar, Alagurevathi; McCann, Owen T.; Liddle, Jennifer; Potter, Simon C.; Ravindrarajah, Radhi; Ricketts, Michelle; Waller, Matthew; Weston, Paul; Widaa, Sara; Whittaker, Pamela; Barroso, Ines; Deloukas, Panos; Mathew, Christopher G.; Blackwell, Jenefer M.; Brown, Matthew A.; Corvin, Aiden; Spencer, Chris C.A.; Bettecken, Thomas; Meitinger, Thomas; Oexle, Konrad; Pirastu, Mario; Portas, Laura; Nag, Abhishek; Williams, Katie M.; Yonova-Doing, Ekaterina; Klein, Ronald; Klein, Barbara E.; Hosseini, S. Mohsen; Paterson, Andrew D.; Genuth, S.; Nathan, D.M.; Zinman, B.; Crofford, O.; Crandall, J.; Reid, M.; Brown-Friday, J.; Engel, S.; Sheindlin, J.; Martinez, H.; Shamoon, H.; Engel, H.; Phillips, M.; Gubitosi-Klug, R.; Mayer, L.; Pendegast, S.; Zegarra, H.; Miller, D.; Singerman, L.; Smith-Brewer, S.; Novak, M.; Quin, J.; Dahms, W.; Genuth, Saul; Palmert, M.; Brillon, D.; Lackaye, M.E.; Kiss, S.; Chan, R.; Reppucci, V.; Lee, T.; Heinemann, M.; Whitehouse, F.; Kruger, D.; Jones, J.K.; McLellan, M.; Carey, J.D.; Angus, E.; Thomas, A.; Galprin, A.; Bergenstal, R.; Johnson, M.; Spencer, M.; Morgan, K.; Etzwiler, D.; Kendall, D.; Aiello, Lloyd Paul; Golden, E.; Jacobson, A.; Beaser, R.; Ganda, O.; Hamdy, O.; Wolpert, H.; Sharuk, G.; Arrigg, P.; Schlossman, D.; Rosenzwieg, J.; Rand, L.; Nathan, D.M.; Larkin, M.; Ong, M.; Godine, J.; Cagliero, E.; Lou, P.; Folino, K.; Fritz, S.; Crowell, S.; Hansen, K.; Gauthier-Kelly, C.; Service, J.; Ziegler, G.; Luttrell, L.; Caulder, S.; Lopes-Virella, M.; Colwell, J.; Soule, J.; Fernandes, J.; Hermayer, K.; Kwon, S.; Brabham, M.; Blevins, A.; Parker, J.; Lee, D.; Patel, N.; Pittman, C.; Lindsey, P.; Bracey, M.; Lee, K.; Nutaitis, M.; Farr, A.; Elsing, S.; Thompson, T.; Selby, J.; Lyons, T.; Yacoub-Wasef, S.; Szpiech, M.; Wood, D.; Mayfield, R.; Molitch, M.; Schaefer, B.; Jampol, L.; Lyon, A.; Gill, M.; Strugula, Z.; Kaminski, L.; Mirza, R.; Simjanoski, E.; Ryan, D.; Kolterman, O.; Lorenzi, G.; Goldbaum, M.; Sivitz, W.; Bayless, M.; Counts, D.; Johnsonbaugh, S.; Hebdon, M.; Salemi, P.; Liss, R.; Donner, T.; Gordon, J.; Hemady, R.; Kowarski, A.; Ostrowski, D.; Steidl, S.; Jones, B.; Herman, W.H.; Martin, C.L.; Pop-Busui, R.; Sarma, A.; Albers, J.; Feldman, E.; Kim, K.; Elner, S.; Comer, G.; Gardner, T.; Hackel, R.; Prusak, R.; Goings, L.; Smith, A.; Gothrup, J.; Titus, P.; Lee, J.; Brandle, M.; Prosser, L.; Greene, D.A.; Stevens, M.J.; Vine, A.K.; Bantle, J.; Wimmergren, N.; Cochrane, A.; Olsen, T.; Steuer, E.; Rath, P.; Rogness, B.; Hainsworth, D.; Goldstein, D.; Hitt, S.; Giangiacomo, J.; Schade, D.S.; Canady, J.L.; Chapin, J.E.; Ketai, L.H.; Braunstein, C.S.; Bourne, P.A.; Schwartz, S.; Brucker, A.; Maschak-Carey, B.J.; Baker, L.; Orchard, T.; Silvers, N.; Ryan, C.; Songer, T.; Doft, B.; Olson, S.; Bergren, R.L.; Lobes, L.; Rath, P. Paczan; Becker, D.; Rubinstein, D.; Conrad, P.W.; Yalamanchi, S.; Drash, A.; Morrison, A.; Bernal, M.L.; Vaccaro-Kish, J.; Malone, J.; Pavan, P.R.; Grove, N.; Iyer, M.N.; Burrows, A.F.; Tanaka, E.A.; Gstalder, R.; Dagogo-Jack, S.; Wigley, C.; Ricks, H.; Kitabchi, A.; Murphy, M.B.; Moser, S.; Meyer, D.; Iannacone, A.; Chaum, E.; Yoser, S.; Bryer-Ash, M.; Schussler, S.; Lambeth, H.; Raskin, P.; Strowig, S.; Zinman, B.; Barnie, A.; Devenyi, R.; Mandelcorn, M.; Brent, M.; Rogers, S.; Gordon, A.; Palmer, J.; Catton, S.; Brunzell, J.; Wessells, H.; de Boer, I.H.; Hokanson, J.; Purnell, J.; Ginsberg, J.; Kinyoun, J.; Deeb, S.; Weiss, M.; Meekins, G.; Distad, J.; Van Ottingham, L.; Dupre, J.; Harth, J.; Nicolle, D.; Driscoll, M.; Mahon, J.; Canny, C.; May, M.; Lipps, J.; Agarwal, A.; Adkins, T.; Survant, L.; Pate, R.L.; Munn, G.E.; Lorenz, R.; Feman, S.; White, N.; Levandoski, L.; Boniuk, I.; Grand, G.; Thomas, M.; Joseph, D.D.; Blinder, K.; Shah, G.; Boniuk; Burgess; Santiago, J.; Tamborlane, W.; Gatcomb, P.; Stoessel, K.; Taylor, K.; Goldstein, J.; Novella, S.; Mojibian, H.; Cornfeld, D.; Lima, J.; Bluemke, D.; Turkbey, E.; van der Geest, R.J.; Liu, C.; Malayeri, A.; Jain, A.; Miao, C.; Chahal, H.; Jarboe, R.; Maynard, J.; Gubitosi-Klug, R.; Quin, J.; Gaston, P.; Palmert, M.; Trail, R.; Dahms, W.; Lachin, J.; Cleary, P.; Backlund, J.; Sun, W.; Braffett, B.; Klumpp, K.; Chan, K.; Diminick, L.; Rosenberg, D.; Petty, B.; Determan, A.; Kenny, D.; Rutledge, B.; Younes, Naji; Dews, L.; Hawkins, M.; Cowie, C.; Fradkin, J.; Siebert, C.; Eastman, R.; Danis, R.; Gangaputra, S.; Neill, S.; Davis, M.; Hubbard, L.; Wabers, H.; Burger, M.; Dingledine, J.; Gama, V.; Sussman, R.; Steffes, M.; Bucksa, J.; Nowicki, M.; Chavers, B.; O’Leary, D.; Polak, J.; Harrington, A.; Funk, L.; Crow, R.; Gloeb, B.; Thomas, S.; O’Donnell, C.; Soliman, E.; Zhang, Z.M.; Prineas, R.; Campbell, C.; Ryan, C.; Sandstrom, D.; Williams, T.; Geckle, M.; Cupelli, E.; Thoma, F.; Burzuk, B.; Woodfill, T.; Low, P.; Sommer, C.; Nickander, K.; Budoff, M.; Detrano, R.; Wong, N.; Fox, M.; Kim, L.; Oudiz, R.; Weir, G.; Espeland, M.; Manolio, T.; Rand, L.; Singer, D.; Stern, M.; Boulton, A.E.; Clark, C.; D’Agostino, R.; Lopes-Virella, M.; Garvey, W.T.; Lyons, T.J.; Jenkins, A.; Virella, G.; Jaffa, A.; Carter, Rickey; Lackland, D.; Brabham, M.; McGee, D.; Zheng, D.; Mayfield, R.K.; Boright, A.; Bull, S.; Sun, L.; Scherer, S.; Zinman, B.; Natarajan, R.; Miao, F.; Zhang, L.; Chen;, Z.; Nathan, D.M.; Makela, Kari-Matti; Lehtimaki, Terho; Kahonen, Mika; Raitakari, Olli; Yoshimura, Nagahisa; Matsuda, Fumihiko; Chen, Li Jia; Pang, Chi Pui; Yip, Shea Ping; Yap, Maurice K.H.; Meguro, Akira; Mizuki, Nobuhisa; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Foster, Paul J.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Vithana, Eranga; Tai, E-Shyong; Fan, Qiao; Xu, Liang; Campbell, Harry; Fleck, Brian; Rudan, Igor; Aung, Tin; Hofman, Albert; Uitterlinden, André G.; Bencic, Goran; Khor, Chiea-Chuen; Forward, Hannah; Pärssinen, Olavi; Mitchell, Paul; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Hewitt, Alex W.; Williams, Cathy; Oostra, Ben A.; Teo, Yik-Ying; Hammond, Christopher J.; Stambolian, Dwight; Mackey, David A.; Klaver, Caroline C.W.; Wong, Tien-Yin; Saw, Seang-Mei; Baird, Paul N.

    2013-01-01

    Refractive errors are common eye disorders of public health importance worldwide. Ocular axial length (AL) is the major determinant of refraction and thus of myopia and hyperopia. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for AL, combining 12,531 Europeans and 8,216 Asians. We identified eight genome-wide significant loci for AL (RSPO1, C3orf26, LAMA2, GJD2, ZNRF3, CD55, MIP, and ALPPL2) and confirmed one previously reported AL locus (ZC3H11B). Of the nine loci, five (LAMA2, GJD2, CD55, ALPPL2, and ZC3H11B) were associated with refraction in 18 independent cohorts (n = 23,591). Differential gene expression was observed for these loci in minus-lens-induced myopia mouse experiments and human ocular tissues. Two of the AL genes, RSPO1 and ZNRF3, are involved in Wnt signaling, a pathway playing a major role in the regulation of eyeball size. This study provides evidence of shared genes between AL and refraction, but importantly also suggests that these traits may have unique pathways. PMID:24144296

  10. CNV Workshop: an integrated platform for high-throughput copy number variation discovery and clinical diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gai, Xiaowu; Perin, Juan C; Murphy, Kevin; O'Hara, Ryan; D'arcy, Monica; Wenocur, Adam; Xie, Hongbo M; Rappaport, Eric F; Shaikh, Tamim H; White, Peter S

    2010-02-04

    Recent studies have shown that copy number variations (CNVs) are frequent in higher eukaryotes and associated with a substantial portion of inherited and acquired risk for various human diseases. The increasing availability of high-resolution genome surveillance platforms provides opportunity for rapidly assessing research and clinical samples for CNV content, as well as for determining the potential pathogenicity of identified variants. However, few informatics tools for accurate and efficient CNV detection and assessment currently exist. We developed a suite of software tools and resources (CNV Workshop) for automated, genome-wide CNV detection from a variety of SNP array platforms. CNV Workshop includes three major components: detection, annotation, and presentation of structural variants from genome array data. CNV detection utilizes a robust and genotype-specific extension of the Circular Binary Segmentation algorithm, and the use of additional detection algorithms is supported. Predicted CNVs are captured in a MySQL database that supports cohort-based projects and incorporates a secure user authentication layer and user/admin roles. To assist with determination of pathogenicity, detected CNVs are also annotated automatically for gene content, known disease loci, and gene-based literature references. Results are easily queried, sorted, filtered, and visualized via a web-based presentation layer that includes a GBrowse-based graphical representation of CNV content and relevant public data, integration with the UCSC Genome Browser, and tabular displays of genomic attributes for each CNV. To our knowledge, CNV Workshop represents the first cohesive and convenient platform for detection, annotation, and assessment of the biological and clinical significance of structural variants. CNV Workshop has been successfully utilized for assessment of genomic variation in healthy individuals and disease cohorts and is an ideal platform for coordinating multiple associated

  11. CNV Workshop: an integrated platform for high-throughput copy number variation discovery and clinical diagnostics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rappaport Eric F

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies have shown that copy number variations (CNVs are frequent in higher eukaryotes and associated with a substantial portion of inherited and acquired risk for various human diseases. The increasing availability of high-resolution genome surveillance platforms provides opportunity for rapidly assessing research and clinical samples for CNV content, as well as for determining the potential pathogenicity of identified variants. However, few informatics tools for accurate and efficient CNV detection and assessment currently exist. Results We developed a suite of software tools and resources (CNV Workshop for automated, genome-wide CNV detection from a variety of SNP array platforms. CNV Workshop includes three major components: detection, annotation, and presentation of structural variants from genome array data. CNV detection utilizes a robust and genotype-specific extension of the Circular Binary Segmentation algorithm, and the use of additional detection algorithms is supported. Predicted CNVs are captured in a MySQL database that supports cohort-based projects and incorporates a secure user authentication layer and user/admin roles. To assist with determination of pathogenicity, detected CNVs are also annotated automatically for gene content, known disease loci, and gene-based literature references. Results are easily queried, sorted, filtered, and visualized via a web-based presentation layer that includes a GBrowse-based graphical representation of CNV content and relevant public data, integration with the UCSC Genome Browser, and tabular displays of genomic attributes for each CNV. Conclusions To our knowledge, CNV Workshop represents the first cohesive and convenient platform for detection, annotation, and assessment of the biological and clinical significance of structural variants. CNV Workshop has been successfully utilized for assessment of genomic variation in healthy individuals and disease cohorts and

  12. Genetic component of flammability variation in a Mediterranean shrub.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira, B; Castellanos, M C; Pausas, J G

    2014-03-01

    Recurrent fires impose a strong selection pressure in many ecosystems worldwide. In such ecosystems, plant flammability is of paramount importance because it enhances population persistence, particularly in non-resprouting species. Indeed, there is evidence of phenotypic divergence of flammability under different fire regimes. Our general hypothesis is that flammability-enhancing traits are adaptive; here, we test whether they have a genetic component. To test this hypothesis, we used the postfire obligate seeder Ulex parviflorus from sites historically exposed to different fire recurrence. We associated molecular variation in potentially adaptive loci detected with a genomic scan (using AFLP markers) with individual phenotypic variability in flammability across fire regimes. We found that at least 42% of the phenotypic variation in flammability was explained by the genetic divergence in a subset of AFLP loci. In spite of generalized gene flow, the genetic variability was structured by differences in fire recurrence. Our results provide the first field evidence supporting that traits enhancing plant flammability have a genetic component and thus can be responding to natural selection driven by fire. These results highlight the importance of flammability as an adaptive trait in fire-prone ecosystems. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Cross-amplification and characterization of microsatellite loci for the Neotropical orchid genus Epidendrum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Pinheiro

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study we tested the cross-amplification of 33 microsatellite loci previously developed for two closely related Neotropical orchid genera (Epidendrum and Laelia. A set of ten loci were polymorphic across five examined species (20 individuals each with 2 to 15 alleles per locus. The mean expected and observed heterozygosity (average across species ranged from 0.34 to 0.82 and from 0.27 to 0.85, respectively. In addition we tested all loci in 35 species representative of the genus Epidendrum. Of these, 26 loci showed successful amplification. Cross-application of these loci represent a potential source of co-dominant markers for evolutionary, ecological and conservation studies in this important orchid genus.

  14. High polymorphism in Est-SSR loci for cellulose synthase and β-amylase of sugarcane varieties (Saccharum spp.) used by the industrial sector for ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augusto, Raphael; Maranho, Rone Charles; Mangolin, Claudete Aparecida; Pires da Silva Machado, Maria de Fátima

    2015-01-01

    High and low polymorphisms in simple sequence repeats of expressed sequence tag (EST-SSR) for specific proteins and enzymes, such as β-amylase, cellulose synthase, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, were used to illustrate the genetic divergence within and between varieties of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and to guide the technological paths to optimize ethanol production from lignocellulose biomass. The varieties RB72454, RB867515, RB92579, and SP813250 on the second stage of cutting, all grown in the state of Paraná (PR), and the varieties RB92579 and SP813250 cultured in the PR state and in Northeastern Brazil, state of Pernambuco (PE), were analyzed using five EST-SSR primers for EstC66, EstC67, EstC68, EstC69, and EstC91 loci. Genetic divergence was evident in the EstC67 and EstC69 loci for β-amylase and cellulose synthase, respectively, among the four sugarcane varieties. An extremely high level of genetic differentiation was also detected in the EstC67 locus from the RB82579 and SP813250 varieties cultured in the PR and PE states. High polymorphism in SSR of the cellulose synthase locus may explain the high variability of substrates used in pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, which has been an obstacle to effective industrial adaptations.

  15. Epigenetic Variation May Compensate for Decreased Genetic Variation with Introductions: A Case Study Using House Sparrows (Passer domesticus on Two Continents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron W. Schrey

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Epigenetic mechanisms impact several phenotypic traits and may be important for ecology and evolution. The introduced house sparrow (Passer domesticus exhibits extensive phenotypic variation among and within populations. We screened methylation in populations from Kenya and Florida to determine if methylation varied among populations, varied with introduction history (Kenyan invasion <50 years old, Florida invasion ~150 years old, and could potentially compensate for decrease genetic variation with introductions. While recent literature has speculated on the importance of epigenetic effects for biological invasions, this is the first such study among wild vertebrates. Methylation was more frequent in Nairobi, and outlier loci suggest that populations may be differentiated. Methylation diversity was similar between populations, in spite of known lower genetic diversity in Nairobi, which suggests that epigenetic variation may compensate for decreased genetic diversity as a source of phenotypic variation during introduction. Our results suggest that methylation differences may be common among house sparrows, but research is needed to discern whether methylation impacts phenotypic variation.

  16. The MC1R and ASIP Coat Color Loci May Impact Behavior in the Horse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Lauren N.; Staiger, Elizabeth A.; Albright, Julia D.

    2016-01-01

    Shared signaling pathways utilized by melanocytes and neurons result in pleiotropic traits of coat color and behavior in many mammalian species. For example, in humans polymorphisms at MC1R cause red hair, increased heat sensitivity, and lower pain tolerance. In deer mice, rats, and foxes, ASIP polymorphisms causing black coat color lead to more docile demeanors and reduced activity. Horse (Equus caballus) base coat color is primarily determined by polymorphisms at the Melanocortin-1 Receptor (MC1R) and Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP) loci, creating a black, bay, or chestnut coat. Our goal was to investigate correlations between genetic loci for coat color and temperament traits in the horse. We genotyped a total of 215 North American Tennessee Walking Horses for the 2 most common alleles at the MC1R (E/e) and ASIP (A/a) loci using previously published PCR and RFLP methods. The horses had a mean age of 10.5 years and comprised 83 geldings, 25 stallions, and 107 mares. To assess behavior, we adapted a previously published survey for handlers to score horses from 1 to 9 on 20 questions related to specific aspects of temperament. We utilized principle component analysis to combine the individual survey scores into 4 factors of variation in temperament phenotype. A factor component detailing self-reliance correlated with genotypes at the ASIP locus; black mares (aa) were more independent than bay mares (A_) (P = 0.0063). These findings illuminate a promising and novel animal model for future study of neuroendocrine mechanisms in complex behavioral phenotypes. PMID:26884605

  17. Analysis of natural allelic variation at seed dormancy loci of Arabidopsis thaliana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alonso-Blanco, C.; Bentsink, L.; Hanhart, C.J.; Vries, de M.H.C.; Koornneef, M.

    2003-01-01

    Arabidopsis accessions differ largely in their seed dormancy behavior. To understand the genetic basis of this intraspecific variation we analyzed two accessions: the laboratory strain Landsberg erecta (Ler) with low dormancy and the strong-dormancy accession Cape Verde Islands (Cvi). We used a

  18. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the Australasian sea snake, Aipysurus laevis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lukoschek, Vimoksalehi; Waycott, Michelle; Dunshea, Glenn

    2005-01-01

    We developed 13 microsatellite loci for the olive sea snake, Aipysurus laevis, using both enriched and unenriched genomic DNA libraries. Eleven codominant loci, that reliably amplified, were used to screen 32 individuals across the geographic range of A. laevis. Four loci had four or more alleles...... (maximum 12), whereas the other seven had either two or three. All but one locus was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These loci will provide useful markers to investigate population genetic structure for the olive sea snake....

  19. Systems Genetics Reveals the Functional Context of PCOS Loci and Identifies Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Heterogeneity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle R Jones

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Genome wide association studies (GWAS have revealed 11 independent risk loci for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, a common disorder in young women characterized by androgen excess and oligomenorrhea. To put these risk loci and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs therein into functional context, we measured DNA methylation and gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies to identify PCOS-specific alterations. Two genes from the LHCGR region, STON1-GTF2A1L and LHCGR, were overexpressed in PCOS. In analysis stratified by obesity, LHCGR was overexpressed only in non-obese PCOS women. Although not differentially expressed in the entire PCOS group, INSR was underexpressed in obese PCOS subjects only. Alterations in gene expression in the LHCGR, RAB5B and INSR regions suggest that SNPs in these loci may be functional and could affect gene expression directly or indirectly via epigenetic alterations. We identified reduced methylation in the LHCGR locus and increased methylation in the INSR locus, changes that are concordant with the altered gene expression profiles. Complex patterns of meQTL and eQTL were identified in these loci, suggesting that local genetic variation plays an important role in gene regulation. We propose that non-obese PCOS women possess significant alterations in LH receptor expression, which drives excess androgen secretion from the ovary. Alternatively, obese women with PCOS possess alterations in insulin receptor expression, with underexpression in metabolic tissues and overexpression in the ovary, resulting in peripheral insulin resistance and excess ovarian androgen production. These studies provide a genetic and molecular basis for the reported clinical heterogeneity of PCOS.

  20. Isolation and characterization of eight novel microsatellite loci in the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Dacey; Haig, Susan; Mullins, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    We describe the isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci from the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). Genetic variability was assessed using 60 individuals from three populations. All loci were variable with the number of alleles ranging from two to 17 per locus, and observed heterozygosity varying from 0.05 to 0.89. No loci showed signs of linkage disequilibrium and all loci conformed to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium frequencies. Further, all loci amplified and were polymorphic in two related Phalacrocorax species. These loci should prove useful for population genetic studies of the double-crested cormorant and other pelecaniform species.

  1. Characterization of ten microsatellite loci in the Broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Talley-Farnham, Tiffany; Engelman, Tena; Engelman, Fred

    2011-01-01

    The Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selaphorus platycercus) breeds at higher elevations in the central and southern Rockies, eastern California, and Mexico and has been studied for 8 years in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Questions regarding the relatedness of Broad-tailed Hummingbirds banded together and then recaptured in close time proximity in later years led us to isolate and develop primers for 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci. In a screen of 25 individuals from a population in Rocky Mountain National Park, the 10 loci were found to have levels of variability ranging from two to 16 alleles. No loci were found to depart from linkage disequilibrium, although two loci revealed significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These 10 microsatellite loci will be applicable for population genetic analyses, investigation of mating systems and relatedness, and may help gain insight into the migration timing and routes for this species.

  2. Characterization of ten microsatellite loci in midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus concolor)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Parker, Joshua M.

    2010-01-01

    Primers for 10 microsatellite loci were developed for midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus concolor), a small bodied subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake, which is found in the Colorado Plateau of eastern Utah, western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming. In a screen of 23 individuals from the most northern portion of the subspecies range in southwestern Wyoming, the 10 loci were found to have levels of variability ranging from 4 to 11 alleles. No loci were found to be linked, although one locus revealed significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These microsatellite loci will be applicable for population genetic analyses, which will ultimately aid in management efforts for this rare subspecies of rattlesnake.

  3. FISH mapping of microsatellite loci from Drosophila subobscura and its comparison to related species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Josiane; Serra, Lluis; Solé, Elisabet; Pascual, Marta

    2010-02-01

    Microsatellites are highly polymorphic markers that are distributed through all the genome being more abundant in non-coding regions. Whether they are neutral or under selection, these markers if localized can be used as co-dominant molecular markers to explore the dynamics of the evolutionary processes. Their cytological localization can allow identifying genes under selection, inferring recombination from a genomic point of view, or screening for the genomic reorganizations occurring during the evolution of a lineage, among others. In this paper, we report for the first time the localization of microsatellite loci by fluorescent in situ hybridization on Drosophila polytene chromosomes. In Drosophila subobscura, 72 dinucleotide microsatellite loci were localized by fluorescent in situ hybridization yielding unique hybridization signals. In the sex chromosome, microsatellite distribution was not uniform and its density was higher than in autosomes. We identified homologous segments to the sequence flanking the microsatellite loci by browsing the genome sequence of Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila melanogaster. Their localization supports the conservation of Muller's chromosomal elements among Drosophila species and the existence of multiple intrachromosomal rearrangements within each evolutionary lineage. Finally, the lack of microsatellite repeats in the homologous D. melanogaster sequences suggests convergent evolution for high microsatellite density in the distal part of the X chromosome.

  4. Evolutionary Dynamics of Mating-Type Loci of Mycosphaerella spp. Occurring on Banana▿ †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arzanlou, Mahdi; Crous, Pedro W.; Zwiers, Lute-Harm

    2010-01-01

    The devastating Sigatoka disease complex of banana is primarily caused by three closely related heterothallic fungi belonging to the genus Mycosphaerella: M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae. Previous phylogenetic work showing common ancestry led us to analyze the mating-type loci of these Mycosphaerella species occurring on banana. We reasoned that this might provide better insight into the evolutionary history of these species. PCR and chromosome-walking approaches were used to clone the mating-type loci of M. musicola and M. eumusae. Sequences were compared to the published mating-type loci of M. fijiensis and other Mycosphaerella spp., and a novel organization of the MAT loci was found. The mating-type loci of the examined Mycosphaerella species are expanded, containing two additional Mycosphaerella-specific genes in a unique genomic organization. The proteins encoded by these novel genes show a higher interspecies than intraspecies homology. Moreover, M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae contain two additional mating-type-like loci, containing parts of both MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1. The data indicate that M. fijiensis, M. musicola, and M. eumusae share an ancestor in which a fusion event occurred between MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 sequences and in which additional genes became incorporated into the idiomorph. The new genes incorporated have since then evolved independently in the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 loci. Thus, these data are an example of the evolutionary dynamics of fungal MAT loci in general and show the great flexibility of the MAT loci of Mycosphaerella species in particular. PMID:19915079

  5. Distinct high resolution genome profiles of early onset and late onset colorectal cancer integrated with gene expression data identify candidate susceptibility loci

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    Merok Marianne A

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Estimates suggest that up to 30% of colorectal cancers (CRC may develop due to an increased genetic risk. The mean age at diagnosis for CRC is about 70 years. Time of disease onset 20 years younger than the mean age is assumed to be indicative of genetic susceptibility. We have compared high resolution tumor genome copy number variation (CNV (Roche NimbleGen, 385 000 oligo CGH array in microsatellite stable (MSS tumors from two age groups, including 23 young at onset patients without known hereditary syndromes and with a median age of 44 years (range: 28-53 and 17 elderly patients with median age 79 years (range: 69-87. Our aim was to identify differences in the tumor genomes between these groups and pinpoint potential susceptibility loci. Integration analysis of CNV and genome wide mRNA expression data, available for the same tumors, was performed to identify a restricted candidate gene list. Results The total fraction of the genome with aberrant copy number, the overall genomic profile and the TP53 mutation spectrum were similar between the two age groups. However, both the number of chromosomal aberrations and the number of breakpoints differed significantly between the groups. Gains of 2q35, 10q21.3-22.1, 10q22.3 and 19q13.2-13.31 and losses from 1p31.3, 1q21.1, 2q21.2, 4p16.1-q28.3, 10p11.1 and 19p12, positions that in total contain more than 500 genes, were found significantly more often in the early onset group as compared to the late onset group. Integration analysis revealed a covariation of DNA copy number at these sites and mRNA expression for 107 of the genes. Seven of these genes, CLC, EIF4E, LTBP4, PLA2G12A, PPAT, RG9MTD2, and ZNF574, had significantly different mRNA expression comparing median expression levels across the transcriptome between the two groups. Conclusions Ten genomic loci, containing more than 500 protein coding genes, are identified as more often altered in tumors from early onset versus late

  6. A combination of PhP typing and β-d-glucuronidase gene sequence variation analysis for differentiation of Escherichia coli from humans and animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masters, N; Christie, M; Katouli, M; Stratton, H

    2015-06-01

    We investigated the usefulness of the β-d-glucuronidase gene variance in Escherichia coli as a microbial source tracking tool using a novel algorithm for comparison of sequences from a prescreened set of host-specific isolates using a high-resolution PhP typing method. A total of 65 common biochemical phenotypes belonging to 318 E. coli strains isolated from humans and domestic and wild animals were analysed for nucleotide variations at 10 loci along a 518 bp fragment of the 1812 bp β-d-glucuronidase gene. Neighbour-joining analysis of loci variations revealed 86 (76.8%) human isolates and 91.2% of animal isolates were correctly identified. Pairwise hierarchical clustering improved assignment; where 92 (82.1%) human and 204 (99%) animal strains were assigned to their respective cluster. Our data show that initial typing of isolates and selection of common types from different hosts prior to analysis of the β-d-glucuronidase gene sequence improves source identification. We also concluded that numerical profiling of the nucleotide variations can be used as a valuable approach to differentiate human from animal E. coli. This study signifies the usefulness of the β-d-glucuronidase gene as a marker for differentiating human faecal pollution from animal sources.

  7. Unraveling the effects of selection and demography on immune gene variation in free-ranging plains zebra (Equus quagga populations.

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    Pauline L Kamath

    Full Text Available Demography, migration and natural selection are predominant processes affecting the distribution of genetic variation among natural populations. Many studies use neutral genetic markers to make inferences about population history. However, the investigation of functional coding loci, which directly reflect fitness, is critical to our understanding of species' ecology and evolution. Immune genes, such as those of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC, play an important role in pathogen recognition and provide a potent model system for studying selection. We contrasted diversity patterns of neutral data with MHC loci, ELA-DRA and -DQA, in two southern African plains zebra (Equus quagga populations: Etosha National Park, Namibia, and Kruger National Park, South Africa. Results from neutrality tests, along with observations of elevated diversity and low differentiation across populations, supported previous genus-level evidence for balancing selection at these loci. Despite being low, MHC divergence across populations was significant and may be attributed to drift effects typical of geographically separated populations experiencing little to no gene flow, or alternatively to shifting allele frequency distributions driven by spatially variable and fluctuating pathogen communities. At the DRA, zebra exhibited geographic differentiation concordant with microsatellites and reduced levels of diversity in Etosha due to highly skewed allele frequencies that could not be explained by demography, suggestive of spatially heterogeneous selection and local adaptation. This study highlights the complexity in which selection affects immune gene diversity and warrants the need for further research on the ecological mechanisms shaping patterns of adaptive variation among natural populations.

  8. PHOTOGRAPHY AS A MEANS OF DEPICTING GENIUS LOCI?

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    Iulia DOROFTEI

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to explore the concept of genius loci (spirit of a place starting from Christian Norberg-Schulz’s notable work “Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture” and to reflect on the possibility of capturing the spirit of a place through photography. The problem arises in the context of a predominantly visual culture, where photography has become an accesible and omnipresent means of experiencing the world and, therefore, considered a convenient tool for gaining (a type of knowledge. A photographic method of exploring the spirirt of the place could serve in understanding local characteristics, in identifying the elements that make a place unique and recognizible. Norberg-Schulz’s position and other views on the concept of genius loci have been analysed. A photo-essay was employed in order to explore the spirit of the old town of Chefchaouen in Morocco and the ambiguity and dual nature of the concept. A critical reflection was conducted with respect to the results.

  9. Genetic polymorphisms of nine X-STR loci in four population groups from Inner Mongolia, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Qiao-Fang; Yu, Bin; Li, Sheng-Bin

    2007-02-01

    Nine short tandem repeat (STR) markers on the X chromosome (DXS101, DXS6789, DXS6799, DXS6804, DXS7132, DXS7133, DXS7423, DXS8378, and HPRTB) were analyzed in four population groups (Mongol, Ewenki, Oroqen, and Daur) from Inner Mongolia, China, in order to learn about the genetic diversity, forensic suitability, and possible genetic affinities of the populations. Frequency estimates, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and other parameters of forensic interest were computed. The results revealed that the nine markers have a moderate degree of variability in the population groups. Most heterozygosity values for the nine loci range from 0.480 to 0.891, and there are evident differences of genetic variability among the populations. A UPGMA tree constructed on the basis of the generated data shows very low genetic distance between Mongol and Han (Xi'an) populations. Our results based on genetic distance analysis are consistent with the results of earlier studies based on linguistics and the immigration history and origin of these populations. The minisatellite loci on the X chromosome studied here are not only useful in showing significant genetic variation between the populations, but also are suitable for human identity testing among Inner Mongolian populations.

  10. Four novel Loci (19q13, 6q24, 12q24, and 5q14 influence the microcirculation in vivo.

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    M Kamran Ikram

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing evidence that the microcirculation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Changes in retinal vascular caliber reflect early microvascular disease and predict incident cardiovascular events. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with retinal vascular caliber. We analyzed data from four population-based discovery cohorts with 15,358 unrelated Caucasian individuals, who are members of the Cohort for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE consortium, and replicated findings in four independent Caucasian cohorts (n  =  6,652. All participants had retinal photography and retinal arteriolar and venular caliber measured from computer software. In the discovery cohorts, 179 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP spread across five loci were significantly associated (p<5.0×10(-8 with retinal venular caliber, but none showed association with arteriolar caliber. Collectively, these five loci explain 1.0%-3.2% of the variation in retinal venular caliber. Four out of these five loci were confirmed in independent replication samples. In the combined analyses, the top SNPs at each locus were: rs2287921 (19q13; p  =  1.61×10(-25, within the RASIP1 locus, rs225717 (6q24; p = 1.25×10(-16, adjacent to the VTA1 and NMBR loci, rs10774625 (12q24; p  =  2.15×10(-13, in the region of ATXN2,SH2B3 and PTPN11 loci, and rs17421627 (5q14; p = 7.32×10(-16, adjacent to the MEF2C locus. In two independent samples, locus 12q24 was also associated with coronary heart disease and hypertension. Our population-based genome-wide association study demonstrates four novel loci associated with retinal venular caliber, an endophenotype of the microcirculation associated with clinical cardiovascular disease. These data provide further insights into the contribution and biological mechanisms of microcirculatory changes that underlie cardiovascular

  11. Variation of autosomes and X chromosome STR in breast cancer and gynecological cancer tissues

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    Hou Youxiang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study analyses 1000 cases of patients with breast cancer and 2000 cases of patients with gynecological cancer (1000 cases of malignant tumor, 1000 cases of benign tumors, where breast cancer and malignant tumor patients comprise the observation group, while patients with benign tumors comprise the control group. Through DNA extraction, STR genotyping and variation verification, microdissection, individual STR mutation rate and loci STR mutation rate of the two groups of patients were calculated. Results show that there are no significant (P > 0.05 differences in the STR variation of autosomes and X chromosome between patients in the observation group and those in the reference group. However, significant (P < 0.05 intergroup differences were found for STR variation typing between patients with malignant and benign tumors. Using STR genotyping for autosomes and X chromosomes, gynecological cancer patients were found to be more likely to mutate, with a clear relationship between STR variation and tumor differentiation degrees. The study on the variation analysis of autosomes and X chromosome STR in breast and gynecological cancer tissues is expected to have a high application value when applied to medical research and identification processes.

  12. Phylogenomics Reveals Three Sources of Adaptive Variation during a Rapid Radiation.

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    James B Pease

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Speciation events often occur in rapid bursts of diversification, but the ecological and genetic factors that promote these radiations are still much debated. Using whole transcriptomes from all 13 species in the ecologically and reproductively diverse wild tomato clade (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon, we infer the species phylogeny and patterns of genetic diversity in this group. Despite widespread phylogenetic discordance due to the sorting of ancestral variation, we date the origin of this radiation to approximately 2.5 million years ago and find evidence for at least three sources of adaptive genetic variation that fuel diversification. First, we detect introgression both historically between early-branching lineages and recently between individual populations, at specific loci whose functions indicate likely adaptive benefits. Second, we find evidence of lineage-specific de novo evolution for many genes, including loci involved in the production of red fruit color. Finally, using a "PhyloGWAS" approach, we detect environment-specific sorting of ancestral variation among populations that come from different species but share common environmental conditions. Estimated across the whole clade, small but substantial and approximately equal fractions of the euchromatic portion of the genome are inferred to contribute to each of these three sources of adaptive genetic variation. These results indicate that multiple genetic sources can promote rapid diversification and speciation in response to new ecological opportunity, in agreement with our emerging phylogenomic understanding of the complexity of both ancient and recent species radiations.

  13. Live visualization of genomic loci with BiFC-TALE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Huan; Zhang, Hongmin; Wang, Sheng; Ding, Miao; An, Hui; Hou, Yingping; Yang, Xiaojing; Wei, Wensheng; Sun, Yujie; Tang, Chao

    2017-01-11

    Tracking the dynamics of genomic loci is important for understanding the mechanisms of fundamental intracellular processes. However, fluorescent labeling and imaging of such loci in live cells have been challenging. One of the major reasons is the low signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of images mainly caused by the background fluorescence from diffuse full-length fluorescent proteins (FPs) in the living nucleus, hampering the application of live cell genomic labeling methods. Here, combining bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and transcription activator-like effector (TALE) technologies, we developed a novel method for labeling genomic loci (BiFC-TALE), which largely reduces the background fluorescence level. Using BiFC-TALE, we demonstrated a significantly improved SBR by imaging telomeres and centromeres in living cells in comparison with the methods using full-length FP.

  14. Biallelic and Genome Wide Association Mapping of Germanium Tolerant Loci in Rice (Oryza sativa L..

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    Partha Talukdar

    Full Text Available Rice plants accumulate high concentrations of silicon. Silicon has been shown to be involved in plant growth, high yield, and mitigating biotic and abiotic stresses. However, it has been demonstrated that inorganic arsenic is taken up by rice through silicon transporters under anaerobic conditions, thus the ability to efficiently take up silicon may be considered either a positive or a negative trait in rice. Germanium is an analogue of silicon that produces brown lesions in shoots and leaves, and germanium toxicity has been used to identify mutants in silicon and arsenic transport. In this study, two different genetic mapping methods were performed to determine the loci involved in germanium sensitivity in rice. Genetic mapping in the biparental cross of Bala × Azucena (an F6 population and a genome wide association (GWA study with 350 accessions from the Rice Diversity Panel 1 were conducted using 15 μM of germanic acid. This identified a number of germanium sensitive loci: some co-localised with previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL for tissue silicon or arsenic concentration, none co-localised with Lsi1 or Lsi6, while one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP was detected within 200 kb of Lsi2 (these are genes known to transport silicon, whose identity was discovered using germanium toxicity. However, examining candidate genes that are within the genomic region of the loci detected above reveals genes homologous to both Lsi1 and Lsi2, as well as a number of other candidate genes, which are discussed.

  15. Meta-analysis of 375,000 individuals identifies 38 susceptibility loci for migraine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gormley, Padhraig; Anttila, Verneri; Winsvold, Bendik S; Palta, Priit; Esko, Tonu; Pers, Tune H; Farh, Kai-How; Cuenca-Leon, Ester; Muona, Mikko; Furlotte, Nicholas A; Kurth, Tobias; Ingason, Andres; McMahon, George; Ligthart, Lannie; Terwindt, Gisela M; Kallela, Mikko; Freilinger, Tobias M; Ran, Caroline; Gordon, Scott G; Stam, Anine H; Steinberg, Stacy; Borck, Guntram; Koiranen, Markku; Quaye, Lydia; Adams, Hieab H H; Lehtimäki, Terho; Sarin, Antti-Pekka; Wedenoja, Juho; Hinds, David A; Buring, Julie E; Schürks, Markus; Ridker, Paul M; Hrafnsdottir, Maria Gudlaug; Stefansson, Hreinn; Ring, Susan M; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Färkkilä, Markus; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari; Vepsäläinen, Salli; Malik, Rainer; Heath, Andrew C; Madden, Pamela A F; Martin, Nicholas G; Montgomery, Grant W; Kurki, Mitja I; Kals, Mart; Mägi, Reedik; Pärn, Kalle; Hämäläinen, Eija; Huang, Hailiang; Byrnes, Andrea E; Franke, Lude; Huang, Jie; Stergiakouli, Evie; Lee, Phil H; Sandor, Cynthia; Webber, Caleb; Cader, Zameel; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Meitinger, Thomas; Eriksson, Johan G; Salomaa, Veikko; Heikkilä, Kauko; Loehrer, Elizabeth; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hofman, Albert; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Cherkas, Lynn; Pedersen, Linda M; Stubhaug, Audun; Nielsen, Christopher S; Männikkö, Minna; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Göbel, Hartmut; Esserlind, Ann-Louise; Christensen, Anne Francke; Hansen, Thomas Folkmann; Werge, Thomas; Kaprio, Jaakko; Aromaa, Arpo J; Raitakari, Olli; Ikram, M Arfan; Spector, Tim; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Metspalu, Andres; Kubisch, Christian; Strachan, David P; Ferrari, Michel D; Belin, Andrea C; Dichgans, Martin; Wessman, Maija; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Zwart, John-Anker; Boomsma, Dorret I; Smith, George Davey; Stefansson, Kari; Eriksson, Nicholas; Daly, Mark J; Neale, Benjamin M; Olesen, Jes; Chasman, Daniel I; Nyholt, Dale R; Palotie, Aarno

    2016-08-01

    Migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder affecting around one in seven people worldwide, but its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. There is some debate about whether migraine is a disease of vascular dysfunction or a result of neuronal dysfunction with secondary vascular changes. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have thus far identified 13 independent loci associated with migraine. To identify new susceptibility loci, we carried out a genetic study of migraine on 59,674 affected subjects and 316,078 controls from 22 GWA studies. We identified 44 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with migraine risk (P < 5 × 10(-8)) that mapped to 38 distinct genomic loci, including 28 loci not previously reported and a locus that to our knowledge is the first to be identified on chromosome X. In subsequent computational analyses, the identified loci showed enrichment for genes expressed in vascular and smooth muscle tissues, consistent with a predominant theory of migraine that highlights vascular etiologies.

  16. Allele frequency distribution for 15 autosomal STR loci in Afridi Pathan population of Uttar Pradesh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noor, Sabahat; Ali, Shahnaz; Eaaswarkhanth, Muthukrishnan; Haque, Ikramul

    2009-11-01

    Allele frequencies of the 15 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D3S1358, THO1, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D5S818 and FGA were determined in Afridi Pathan population of Uttar Pradesh, India. All the 15 STR loci studied were found to be highly polymorphic with respect to observed heterozygosity values. Adherence to the expectations of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was confirmed for all the loci with an exception of TPOX and FGA. The allele 12 in CSF1PO was found to be most frequent. The power of discrimination was found to be high ranging from a minimum of 0.858 for the locus CSFIPO to maximum of 0.962 for the locus FGA, thereby facilitating the validation and efficiency of these STR markers in human identification. Population differentiation test between the studied and neighboring populations revealed significant differences at several loci suggesting the endogamous nature of the studied population. To the best of our knowledge, Afridi Pathan population has not been explored genetically for generating forensic data on STR markers. Therefore, STR allele frequency data of this unique population is a valuable contribution to the existing DNA database on Indian populations.

  17. Combining quantitative trait loci analysis with physiological models to predict genotype-specific transpiration rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuning, Gretchen A; Bauerle, William L; Mullen, Jack L; McKay, John K

    2015-04-01

    Transpiration is controlled by evaporative demand and stomatal conductance (gs ), and there can be substantial genetic variation in gs . A key parameter in empirical models of transpiration is minimum stomatal conductance (g0 ), a trait that can be measured and has a large effect on gs and transpiration. In Arabidopsis thaliana, g0 exhibits both environmental and genetic variation, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been mapped. We used this information to create a genetically parameterized empirical model to predict transpiration of genotypes. For the parental lines, this worked well. However, in a recombinant inbred population, the predictions proved less accurate. When based only upon their genotype at a single g0 QTL, genotypes were less distinct than our model predicted. Follow-up experiments indicated that both genotype by environment interaction and a polygenic inheritance complicate the application of genetic effects into physiological models. The use of ecophysiological or 'crop' models for predicting transpiration of novel genetic lines will benefit from incorporating further knowledge of the genetic control and degree of independence of core traits/parameters underlying gs variation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Molecular variation at the HLA-A, B, C, DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 loci in full heritage American Indians in Arizona: private haplotypes and their evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, R; Chen, Y-F; Endres, R; Middleton, D; Trucco, M; Williams, J Dunn; Knowler, W

    2009-12-01

    A sample of 492 full heritage, unrelated residents of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) of Arizona were characterized for their high-resolution DNA alleles at the HLA-A, B, C, DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 loci. Only five allelic categories are found at HLA-A, 10 at HLA-B, 8 at HLA-C and HLA-DR, and 4 at DQA1 and DQB1. There is little evidence for population structure at the 6 loci. Two 'private' alleles, B*5102 and B*4005, which are found nearly exclusively in American Indian populations in the desert southwest and northern Mexico, are likely new mutations after the first inhabitation of the area, the evolution of which are reflected in the contemporary distribution of their respective haplotypes. DRB1*1402 has the highest reported frequency of any specificity at the DRB1 locus, 0.7461, and serves as a sensitive probe for locating related east Asian populations. The haplotypes in this population also exhibit a highly restricted distribution and strong genetic disequilibria, which has important implications for matching solid organ and bone marrow allografts. It is shown that, when one considers HLA-A-B-DRB1 homozygotes as allograft donors for all full heritage members of the GRIC, 50% of the community would find a non-mismatched organ within the homozygotes for the six most common haplotypes. This raises questions about transplantation policy and whether, in the presence of high-frequency private alleles and a restricted number of haplotypes, the full heritage American Indian community of the desert southwest should act as its own pool of donors for its affected members.

  19. The capture of heritable variation for genetic quality through social competition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Jason B; Harris, W Edwin; Royle, Nick J

    2008-09-01

    In theory, females of many species choose mates based on traits that are indicators of male genetic quality. A fundamental question in evolutionary biology is why genetic variation for such indicator traits persists despite strong persistent selection imposed by female preference, which is known as the lek paradox. One potential solution to the lek paradox suggests that the traits that are targets of mate choice should evolve condition-dependent expression and that condition should have a large genetic variance. Condition is expected to exhibit high genetic variance because it is affected by a large number of physiological processes and hence, condition-dependent traits should 'capture' variation contributed by a large number of loci. We suggest that a potentially important cause of variation in condition is competition for limited resources. Here, we discuss a pair of models to analyze the evolutionary genetics of traits affected by success in social competition for resources. We show that competition can contribute to genetic variation of 'competition-dependent' traits that have fundamentally different evolutionary properties than other sources of variation. Competition dependence can make traits honest indicators of genetic quality by revealing the relative competitive ability of males, can provide a component of heritable variation that does not contribute to trait evolution, and can help maintain heritable variation under directional selection. Here we provide a general introduction to the concept of competition dependence and briefly introduce two models to demonstrate the potential evolutionary consequences of competition-dependent trait expression.

  20. Meta-analysis of loci associated with age at natural menopause in African-American women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Christina T.L.; Liu, Ching-Ti; Chen, Gary K.; Andrews, Jeanette S.; Arnold, Alice M.; Dreyfus, Jill; Franceschini, Nora; Garcia, Melissa E.; Kerr, Kathleen F.; Li, Guo; Lohman, Kurt K.; Musani, Solomon K.; Nalls, Michael A.; Raffel, Leslie J.; Smith, Jennifer; Ambrosone, Christine B.; Bandera, Elisa V.; Bernstein, Leslie; Britton, Angela; Brzyski, Robert G.; Cappola, Anne; Carlson, Christopher S.; Couper, David; Deming, Sandra L.; Goodarzi, Mark O.; Heiss, Gerardo; John, Esther M.; Lu, Xiaoning; Le Marchand, Loic; Marciante, Kristin; Mcknight, Barbara; Millikan, Robert; Nock, Nora L.; Olshan, Andrew F.; Press, Michael F.; Vaiyda, Dhananjay; Woods, Nancy F.; Taylor, Herman A.; Zhao, Wei; Zheng, Wei; Evans, Michele K.; Harris, Tamara B.; Henderson, Brian E.; Kardia, Sharon L.R.; Kooperberg, Charles; Liu, Yongmei; Mosley, Thomas H.; Psaty, Bruce; Wellons, Melissa; Windham, Beverly G.; Zonderman, Alan B.; Cupples, L. Adrienne; Demerath, Ellen W.; Haiman, Christopher; Murabito, Joanne M.; Rajkovic, Aleksandar

    2014-01-01

    Age at menopause marks the end of a woman's reproductive life and its timing associates with risks for cancer, cardiovascular and bone disorders. GWAS and candidate gene studies conducted in women of European ancestry have identified 27 loci associated with age at menopause. The relevance of these loci to women of African ancestry has not been previously studied. We therefore sought to uncover additional menopause loci and investigate the relevance of European menopause loci by performing a GWAS meta-analysis in 6510 women with African ancestry derived from 11 studies across the USA. We did not identify any additional loci significantly associated with age at menopause in African Americans. We replicated the associations between six loci and age at menopause (P-value < 0.05): AMHR2, RHBLD2, PRIM1, HK3/UMC1, BRSK1/TMEM150B and MCM8. In addition, associations of 14 loci are directionally consistent with previous reports. We provide evidence that genetic variants influencing reproductive traits identified in European populations are also important in women of African ancestry residing in USA. PMID:24493794

  1. Genetic variation among agamid lizards of the trapelus agiliscomplex in the caspian-aral basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Macey, J. Robert; Ananjeva, Natalia B.

    2004-05-19

    Allozyme variation is examined in eight populations of Trapelus from the Caspian-Aral Basin of the former USSR. Thirty-one loci (15 variable) exhibit remarkably low levels of genetic variation with only a Nei's genetic distance of 0.117 across 2500 km. An isolated population on the European side of the Caspian Sea is found to phenetically cluster inside the Asian populations examined, suggesting that it should not be considered taxonomically distinct.

  2. Substructure of a Tunisian Berber population as inferred from 15 autosomal short tandem repeat loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodjet-El-Khil, Houssein; Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Gusmão, Leonor; Alves, Cíntia; Benammar-Elgaaied, Amel; Amorim, Antonio

    2008-08-01

    Currently, language and cultural practices are the only criteria to distinguish between Berber autochthonous Tunisian populations. To evaluate these populations' possible genetic structure and differentiation, we have analyzed 15 autosomal short tandem repeat loci (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, FGA, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D2S1338, and D19S433) in three southern Tunisian Berber groups: Sened, Matmata, and Chenini-Douiret. The exact test of population differentiation based on allele frequencies at the 15 loci shows significant P values at 7 loci between Chenini-Douiret and both Sened and Matmata, whereas just 5 loci show significant P values between Sened and Matmata. Comparative analyses between the three Berber groups based on genetic distances show that P values for F(ST) distances are significant between the three Berber groups. Population analysis performed using Structure shows a clear differentiation between these Berber groups, with strong genetic isolation of Chenini-Douiret. These results confirm at the autosomal level the high degree of heterogeneity of Tunisian Berber populations that had been previously reported for uniparental markers.

  3. Genetic susceptibility loci, pesticide exposure and prostate cancer risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stella Koutros

    Full Text Available Uncovering SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms-environment interactions can generate new hypotheses about the function of poorly characterized genetic variants and environmental factors, like pesticides. We evaluated SNP-environment interactions between 30 confirmed prostate cancer susceptibility loci and 45 pesticides and prostate cancer risk in 776 cases and 1,444 controls in the Agricultural Health Study. We used unconditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs. Multiplicative SNP-pesticide interactions were calculated using a likelihood ratio test. After correction for multiple tests using the False Discovery Rate method, two interactions remained noteworthy. Among men carrying two T alleles at rs2710647 in EH domain binding protein 1 (EHBP1 SNP, the risk of prostate cancer in those with high malathion use was 3.43 times those with no use (95% CI: 1.44-8.15 (P-interaction= 0.003. Among men carrying two A alleles at rs7679673 in TET2, the risk of prostate cancer associated with high aldrin use was 3.67 times those with no use (95% CI: 1.43, 9.41 (P-interaction= 0.006. In contrast, associations were null for other genotypes. Although additional studies are needed and the exact mechanisms are unknown, this study suggests known genetic susceptibility loci may modify the risk between pesticide use and prostate cancer.

  4. Application of novel polymorphic microsatellite loci identified in the Korean Pacific Abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta (Haliotidae)) in the genetic characterization of wild and released populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Hye Suck; Lee, Jang Wook; Hong, Seong Wan

    2012-01-01

    The small abalone, Haliotis diversicolor supertexta, of the family Haliotidae, is one of the most important species of marine shellfish in eastern Asia. Over the past few decades, this species has drastically declined in Korea. Thus, hatchery-bred seeds have been released into natural coastal areas to compensate for the reduced fishery resources. However, information on the genetic background of the small abalone is scarce. In this study, 20 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were identified using next-generation sequencing techniques and used to compare allelic variation between wild and released abalone populations in Korea. Using high-throughput genomic sequencing, a total of 1516 (2.26%; average length of 385 bp) reads containing simple sequence repeats were obtained from 86,011 raw reads. Among the 99 loci screened, 28 amplified successfully, and 20 were polymorphic. When comparing allelic variation between wild and released abalone populations, a total of 243 different alleles were observed, with 18.7 alleles per locus. High genetic diversity (mean heterozygosity = 0.81; mean allelic number = 15.5) was observed in both populations. A statistical analysis of the fixation index (F(ST)) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated limited genetic differences between the two populations (F(ST) = 0.002, p > 0.05). Although no significant reductions in the genetic diversity were found in the released population compared with the wild population (p > 0.05), the genetic diversity parameters revealed that the seeds released for stock abundance had a different genetic composition. These differences are likely a result of hatchery selection and inbreeding. Additionally, all the primer pair sets were effectively amplified in another congeneric species, H. diversicolor diversicolor, indicating that these primers are useful for both abalone species. These microsatellite loci may be valuable for future aquaculture and population genetic studies aimed at

  5. Genome-wide mapping in a house mouse hybrid zone reveals hybrid sterility loci and Dobzhansky-Muller interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Leslie M; Harr, Bettina

    2014-12-09

    Mapping hybrid defects in contact zones between incipient species can identify genomic regions contributing to reproductive isolation and reveal genetic mechanisms of speciation. The house mouse features a rare combination of sophisticated genetic tools and natural hybrid zones between subspecies. Male hybrids often show reduced fertility, a common reproductive barrier between incipient species. Laboratory crosses have identified sterility loci, but each encompasses hundreds of genes. We map genetic determinants of testis weight and testis gene expression using offspring of mice captured in a hybrid zone between M. musculus musculus and M. m. domesticus. Many generations of admixture enables high-resolution mapping of loci contributing to these sterility-related phenotypes. We identify complex interactions among sterility loci, suggesting multiple, non-independent genetic incompatibilities contribute to barriers to gene flow in the hybrid zone.

  6. Colonization and diversification of aquatic insects on three Macaronesian archipelagos using 59 nuclear loci derived from a draft genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutschmann, Sereina; Detering, Harald; Simon, Sabrina; Funk, David H; Gattolliat, Jean-Luc; Hughes, Samantha J; Raposeiro, Pedro M; DeSalle, Rob; Sartori, Michel; Monaghan, Michael T

    2017-02-01

    The study of processes driving diversification requires a fully sampled and well resolved phylogeny, although a lack of phylogenetic markers remains a limitation for many non-model groups. Multilocus approaches to the study of recent diversification provide a powerful means to study the evolutionary process, but their application remains restricted because multiple unlinked loci with suitable variation for phylogenetic or coalescent analysis are not available for most non-model taxa. Here we identify novel, putative single-copy nuclear DNA (nDNA) phylogenetic markers to study the colonization and diversification of an aquatic insect species complex, Cloeon dipterum L. 1761 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae), in Macaronesia. Whole-genome sequencing data from one member of the species complex were used to identify 59 nDNA loci (32,213 base pairs), followed by Sanger sequencing of 29 individuals sampled from 13 islands of three Macaronesian archipelagos. Multispecies coalescent analyses established six putative species. Three island species formed a monophyletic clade, with one species occurring on the Azores, Europe and North America. Ancestral state reconstruction indicated at least two colonization events from the mainland (to the Canaries, respectively Azores) and one within the archipelago (between Madeira and the Canaries). Random subsets of the 59 loci showed a positive linear relationship between number of loci and node support. In contrast, node support in the multispecies coalescent tree was negatively correlated with mean number of phylogenetically informative sites per locus, suggesting a complex relationship between tree resolution and marker variability. Our approach highlights the value of combining genomics, coalescent-based phylogeography, species delimitation, and phylogenetic reconstruction to resolve recent diversification events in an archipelago species complex. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Development of microsatellite loci in Artocarpus altilis (Moraceae) and cross-amplification in congeneric species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witherup, Colby; Ragone, Diane; Wiesner-Hanks, Tyr; Irish, Brian; Scheffler, Brian; Simpson, Sheron; Zee, Francis; Zuberi, M Iqbal; Zerega, Nyree J C

    2013-07-01

    Microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from enriched genomic libraries of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) and tested in four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. The microsatellite markers provide new tools for further studies in Artocarpus. • A total of 25 microsatellite loci were evaluated across four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. Twenty-one microsatellite loci were evaluated on A. altilis (241), A. camansi (34), A. mariannensis (15), and A. altilis × mariannensis (64) samples. Nine of those loci plus four additional loci were evaluated on A. heterophyllus (jackfruit, 426) samples. All loci are polymorphic for at least one species. The average number of alleles ranges from two to nine within taxa. • These microsatellite primers will facilitate further studies on the genetic structure and evolutionary and domestication history of Artocarpus species. They will aid in cultivar identification and establishing germplasm conservation strategies for breadfruit and jackfruit.

  8. Development and characterization of microsatellite loci in the endangered species Taxus wallichiana (Taxaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajurel, Jyoti Prasad; Cornejo, Carolina; Werth, Silke; Shrestha, Krishna Kumar; Scheidegger, Christoph

    2013-03-01

    Microsatellite primers were developed in the endangered tree species Taxus wallichiana from Nepal to investigate regional genetic differentiation, local genetic diversity, and gene flow for the conservation of this species under climate- and land-use change scenarios in mountain regions of Nepal. • We developed 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers from 454 DNA sequencing. Characterization of the new microsatellite loci was done in 99 individuals collected from three valleys with different climatic regimes. The number of alleles per locus varied from four to 12. Observed heterozygosity of populations, averaged across loci, ranged from 0.30 to 0.59. • The new markers provided by this study will substantially increase the resolution for detailed studies in phylogeography, population genetics, and parentage analysis.

  9. A genome-wide screen in human embryonic stem cells reveals novel sites of allele-specific histone modification associated with known disease loci

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Prendergast, James G D

    2012-05-19

    AbstractBackgroundChromatin structure at a given site can differ between chromosome copies in a cell, and such imbalances in chromatin structure have been shown to be important in understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling several disease loci. Human genetic variation, DNA methylation, and disease have been intensely studied, uncovering many sites of allele-specific DNA methylation (ASM). However, little is known about the genome-wide occurrence of sites of allele-specific histone modification (ASHM) and their relationship to human disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent and characteristics of sites of ASHM in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).ResultsUsing a statistically rigorous protocol, we investigated the genomic distribution of ASHM in hESCs, and their relationship to sites of allele-specific expression (ASE) and DNA methylation. We found that, although they were rare, sites of ASHM were substantially enriched at loci displaying ASE. Many were also found at known imprinted regions, hence sites of ASHM are likely to be better markers of imprinted regions than sites of ASM. We also found that sites of ASHM and ASE in hESCs colocalize at risk loci for developmental syndromes mediated by deletions, providing insights into the etiology of these disorders.ConclusionThese results demonstrate the potential importance of ASHM patterns in the interpretation of disease loci, and the protocol described provides a basis for similar studies of ASHM in other cell types to further our understanding of human disease susceptibility.

  10. Eleven loci with new reproducible genetic associations with allergic disease risk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferreira, Manuel A.R.; Vonk, Judith M; Baurecht, Hansjörg; Marenholz, Ingo; Tian, Chao; Hoffman, Joshua D; Helmer, Quinta; Tillander, Annika; Ullemar, Vilhelmina; Lu, Yi; Rüschendorf, Franz; Hinds, David A; Hübner, Norbert; Weidinger, Stephan; Magnusson, Patrik Ke; Jorgenson, Eric; Lee, Young-Ae; Boomsma, Dorret I; Karlsson, Robert; Almqvist, Catarina; Koppelman, Gerard H; Paternoster, Lavinia

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 99 loci that contain genetic risk variants shared between asthma, hay fever and eczema. Many more risk loci shared between these common allergic diseases remain to be discovered, which could point to new therapeutic opportunities.

  11. Exploring alternative models for sex-linked quantitative trait loci in outbred populations: application to an iberian x landrace pig intercross.

    OpenAIRE

    Pérez-Enciso, Miguel; Clop, Alex; Folch, Josep M; Sánchez, Armand; Oliver, Maria A; Ovilo, Cristina; Barragán, C; Varona, Luis; Noguera, José L

    2002-01-01

    We present a very flexible method that allows us to analyze X-linked quantitative trait loci (QTL) in crosses between outbred lines. The dosage compensation phenomenon is modeled explicitly in an identity-by-descent approach. A variety of models can be fitted, ranging from considering alternative fixed alleles within the founder breeds to a model where the only genetic variation is within breeds, as well as mixed models. Different genetic variances within each founder breed can be estimated. ...

  12. Characterizing restriction enzyme-associated loci in historic ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) voucher specimens using custom-designed RNA probes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sanchez Barreiro, Fatima; Garrett Vieira, Filipe Jorge; Martin, Michael David

    2017-01-01

    Population genetic studies of non-model organisms frequently employ reduced representation library (RRL) methodologies, many of which rely on protocols in which genomic DNA is digested by one or more restriction enzymes. However, because high molecular weight DNA is recommended for these protocols......, samples with degraded DNA are generally unsuitable for RRL methods. Given that ancient and historic specimens can provide key temporal perspectives to evolutionary questions, we explored how custom-designed RNA probes could enrich for RRL loci (Restriction Enzyme-Associated Loci baits, or REALbaits...

  13. Development of Microsatellite Loci in Artocarpus altilis (Moraceae and Cross-Amplification in Congeneric Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colby Witherup

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from enriched genomic libraries of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit and tested in four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. The microsatellite markers provide new tools for further studies in Artocarpus. Methods and Results: A total of 25 microsatellite loci were evaluated across four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. Twenty-one microsatellite loci were evaluated on A. altilis (241, A. camansi (34, A. mariannensis (15, and A. altilis × mariannensis (64 samples. Nine of those loci plus four additional loci were evaluated on A. heterophyllus (jackfruit, 426 samples. All loci are polymorphic for at least one species. The average number of alleles ranges from two to nine within taxa. Conclusions: These microsatellite primers will facilitate further studies on the genetic structure and evolutionary and domestication history of Artocarpus species. They will aid in cultivar identification and establishing germplasm conservation strategies for breadfruit and jackfruit.

  14. Quantitative Trait Loci in Inbred Lines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, R.C.

    2001-01-01

    Quantitative traits result from the influence of multiple genes (quantitative trait loci) and environmental factors. Detecting and mapping the individual genes underlying such 'complex' traits is a difficult task. Fortunately, populations obtained from crosses between inbred lines are relatively

  15. Identification of New Resistance Loci to African Stem Rust Race TTKSK in Tetraploid Wheats Based on Linkage and Genome-Wide Association Mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidò, Giovanni; Panio, Giosuè; Marone, Daniela; Russo, Maria A; Ficco, Donatella B M; Giovanniello, Valentina; Cattivelli, Luigi; Steffenson, Brian; de Vita, Pasquale; Mastrangelo, Anna M

    2015-01-01

    Stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis Pers. f. sp. tritici Eriks. and E. Henn. (Pgt), is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat. Races of the pathogen in the "Ug99 lineage" are of international concern due to their virulence for widely used stem rust resistance genes and their spread throughout Africa. Disease resistant cultivars provide one of the best means for controlling stem rust. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring resistance to African stem rust race TTKSK at the seedling stage, we evaluated an association mapping (AM) panel consisting of 230 tetraploid wheat accessions under greenhouse conditions. A high level of phenotypic variation was observed in response to race TTKSK in the AM panel, allowing for genome-wide association mapping of resistance QTL in wild, landrace, and cultivated tetraploid wheats. Thirty-five resistance QTL were identified on all chromosomes, and seventeen are of particular interest as identified by multiple associations. Many of the identified resistance loci were coincident with previously identified rust resistance genes; however, nine on chromosomes 1AL, 2AL, 4AL, 5BL, and 7BS may be novel. To validate AM results, a biparental population of 146 recombinant inbred lines was also considered, which derived from a cross between the resistant cultivar "Cirillo" and susceptible "Neodur." The stem rust resistance of Cirillo was conferred by a single gene on the distal region of chromosome arm 6AL in an interval map coincident with the resistance gene Sr13, and confirmed one of the resistance loci identified by AM. A search for candidate resistance genes was carried out in the regions where QTL were identified, and many of them corresponded to NBS-LRR genes and protein kinases with LRR domains. The results obtained in the present study are of great interest as a high level of genetic variability for resistance to race TTKSK was described in a germplasm panel comprising most of the tetraploid wheat sub-species.

  16. Genetic structure of seven Mexican indigenous populations based on five polymarker loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buentello-Malo, Leonora; Peñaloza-Espinosa, Rosenda I; Loeza, Francisco; Salamanca-Gomez, Fabio; Cerda-Flores, Ricardo M

    2003-01-01

    This descriptive study investigates the genetic structure of seven Mexican indigenous populations (Mixteca Alta, Mixteca Baja, Otomies, Purepecha, Nahuas-Guerrero, Nahuas-Xochimilco, and Tzeltales) on the basis of five PCR-based polymorphic DNA loci: LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, and GC. Genetic distance and diversity analyses indicate that these Mexican indigenous are similar and that more than 96% of the total gene diversity (H(T)) can be attributed to individual variation within populations. Mixteca-Alta, Mixteca-Baja, and Nahuas-Xochimilco show indications of higher admixture with European-derived persons. The demonstration of a relative genetic homogeneity of Mexican Indians for the markers studied suggests that this population is suitable for studying disease-marker associations in the search for candidate genes of complex diseases. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  17. GWAS meta-analysis and replication identifies three new susceptibility loci for ovarian cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pharoah, Paul D. P.; Tsai, Ya-Yu; Ramus, Susan J.; Phelan, Catherine M.; Goode, Ellen L.; Lawrenson, Kate; Price, Melissa; Fridley, Brooke L.; Tyrer, Jonathan P.; Shen, Howard; Weber, Rachel; Karevan, Rod; Larson, Melissa C.; Song, Honglin; Tessier, Daniel C.; Bacot, François; Vincent, Daniel; Cunningham, Julie M.; Dennis, Joe; Dicks, Ed; Aben, Katja K.; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Antonenkova, Natalia; Armasu, Sebastian M.; Baglietto, Laura; Bandera, Elisa V.; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Birrer, Michael J.; Bloom, Greg; Bogdanova, Natalia; Brenton, James D.; Brinton, Louise A.; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Brown, Robert; Butzow, Ralf; Campbell, Ian; Carney, Michael E; Carvalho, Renato S.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chen, Y. Anne; Chen, Zhihua; Chow, Wong-Ho; Cicek, Mine S.; Coetzee, Gerhard; Cook, Linda S.; Cramer, Daniel W.; Cybulski, Cezary; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Despierre, Evelyn; Doherty, Jennifer A; Dörk, Thilo; du Bois, Andreas; Dürst, Matthias; Eccles, Diana; Edwards, Robert; Ekici, Arif B.; Fasching, Peter A.; Fenstermacher, David; Flanagan, James; Gao, Yu-Tang; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Giles, Graham; Gjyshi, Anxhela; Gore, Martin; Gronwald, Jacek; Guo, Qi; Halle, Mari K; Harter, Philipp; Hein, Alexander; Heitz, Florian; Hillemanns, Peter; Hoatlin, Maureen; Høgdall, Estrid; Høgdall, Claus K.; Hosono, Satoyo; Jakubowska, Anna; Jensen, Allan; Kalli, Kimberly R.; Karlan, Beth Y.; Kelemen, Linda E.; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Kjaer, Susanne Krüger; Konecny, Gottfried E.; Krakstad, Camilla; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Lambrechts, Diether; Lambrechts, Sandrina; Le, Nhu D.; Lee, Nathan; Lee, Janet; Leminen, Arto; Lim, Boon Kiong; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lubiński, Jan; Lundvall, Lene; Lurie, Galina; Massuger, Leon F.A.G.; Matsuo, Keitaro; McGuire, Valerie; McLaughlin, John R; Menon, Usha; Modugno, Francesmary; Moysich, Kirsten B.; Nakanishi, Toru; Narod, Steven A.; Ness, Roberta B.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Nickels, Stefan; Noushmehr, Houtan; Odunsi, Kunle; Olson, Sara; Orlow, Irene; Paul, James; Pejovic, Tanja; Pelttari, Liisa M; Permuth-Wey, Jenny; Pike, Malcolm C; Poole, Elizabeth M; Qu, Xiaotao; Risch, Harvey A.; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Lorna; Rossing, Mary Anne; Rudolph, Anja; Runnebaum, Ingo; Rzepecka, Iwona K; Salvesen, Helga B.; Schwaab, Ira; Severi, Gianluca; Shen, Hui; Shridhar, Vijayalakshmi; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Sieh, Weiva; Southey, Melissa C.; Spellman, Paul; Tajima, Kazuo; Teo, Soo-Hwang; Terry, Kathryn L.; Thompson, Pamela J; Timorek, Agnieszka; Tworoger, Shelley S.; van Altena, Anne M.; Berg, David Van Den; Vergote, Ignace; Vierkant, Robert A.; Vitonis, Allison F.; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Whittemore, Alice S.; Wik, Elisabeth; Winterhoff, Boris; Woo, Yin Ling; Wu, Anna H; Yang, Hannah P.; Zheng, Wei; Ziogas, Argyrios; Zulkifli, Famida; Goodman, Marc T.; Hall, Per; Easton, Douglas F; Pearce, Celeste L; Berchuck, Andrew; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Iversen, Edwin; Monteiro, Alvaro N.A.; Gayther, Simon A.; Schildkraut, Joellen M.; Sellers, Thomas A.

    2013-01-01

    Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified four susceptibility loci for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) with another two loci being close to genome-wide significance. We pooled data from a GWAS conducted in North America with another GWAS from the United Kingdom. We selected the top 24,551 SNPs for inclusion on the iCOGS custom genotyping array. Follow-up genotyping was carried out in 18,174 cases and 26,134 controls from 43 studies from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. We validated the two loci at 3q25 and 17q21 previously near genome-wide significance and identified three novel loci associated with risk; two loci associated with all EOC subtypes, at 8q21 (rs11782652, P=5.5×10-9) and 10p12 (rs1243180; P=1.8×10-8), and another locus specific to the serous subtype at 17q12 (rs757210; P=8.1×10-10). An integrated molecular analysis of genes and regulatory regions at these loci provided evidence for functional mechanisms underlying susceptibility that implicates CHMP4C in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. PMID:23535730

  18. Multiply to conquer: Copy number variations at Ppd-B1 and Vrn-A1 facilitate global adaptation in wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Würschum, Tobias; Boeven, Philipp H G; Langer, Simon M; Longin, C Friedrich H; Leiser, Willmar L

    2015-07-29

    Copy number variation was found to be a frequent type of DNA polymorphism in the human genome often associated with diseases but its importance in crops and the effects on agronomic traits are still largely unknown. Here, we employed a large worldwide panel of 1110 winter wheat varieties to assess the frequency and the geographic distribution of copy number variants at the Photoperiod-B1 (Ppd-B1) and the Vernalization-A1 (Vrn-A1) loci as well as their effects on flowering time under field conditions. We identified a novel four copy variant of Vrn-A1 and based on the phylogenetic relationships among the lines show that the higher copy variants at both loci are likely to have arisen independently multiple times. In addition, we found that the frequency of the different copy number variants at both loci reflects the environmental conditions in the varieties' region of origin and based on multi-location field trials show that Ppd-B1 copy number has a substantial effect on the fine-tuning of flowering time. In conclusion, our results show the importance of copy number variation at Ppd-B1 and Vrn-A1 for the global adaptation of wheat making it a key factor for wheat success in a broad range of environments and in a wider context substantiate the significant role of copy number variation in crops.

  19. Nuclear positioning rather than contraction controls ordered rearrangements of immunoglobulin loci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.B. Rother (Magdalena); R.-J.T.S. Palstra (Robert-Jan); S. Jhunjhunwala (Suchit); K.A.M. Van Kester (Kevin A. M.); W.F.J. van IJcken (Wilfred); R.W. Hendriks (Rudi); J.J.M. van Dongen (Jacques); C. Murre (Cornelis); M.C. van Zelm (Menno)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractProgenitor-B cells recombine their immunoglobulin (Ig) loci to create unique antigen receptors. Despite a common recombination machinery, the Ig heavy and Ig light chain loci rearrange in a stepwise manner. We studied pre-pro-B cells and Rag-/- progenitor-B cells to determine whether Ig

  20. Proactive control of proactive interference using the method of loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bass, Willa S; Oswald, Karl M

    2014-01-01

    Proactive interferencebuilds up with exposure to multiple lists of similar items with a resulting reduction in recall. This study examined the effectiveness of using a proactive strategy of the method of loci to reduce proactive interference in a list recall paradigm of categorically similar words. While all participants reported using some form of strategy to recall list words, this study demonstrated that young adults were able to proactively use the method of loci after 25 min of instruction to reduce proactive interference as compared with other personal spontaneous strategies. The implications of this study are that top-down proactive strategies such as the method of loci can significantly reduce proactive interference, and that the use of image and sequence or location are especially useful in this regard.

  1. Isolation of human simple repeat loci by hybridization selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, J A; Neumann, R; Gobert, S; Jeffreys, A J

    1994-04-01

    We have isolated short tandem repeat arrays from the human genome, using a rapid method involving filter hybridization to enrich for tri- or tetranucleotide tandem repeats. About 30% of clones from the enriched library cross-hybridize with probes containing trimeric or tetrameric tandem arrays, facilitating the rapid isolation of large numbers of clones. In an initial analysis of 54 clones, 46 different tandem arrays were identified. Analysis of these tandem repeat loci by PCR showed that 24 were polymorphic in length; substantially higher levels of polymorphism were displayed by the tetrameric repeat loci isolated than by the trimeric repeats. Primary mapping of these loci by linkage analysis showed that they derive from 17 chromosomes, including the X chromosome. We anticipate the use of this strategy for the efficient isolation of tandem repeats from other sources of genomic DNA, including DNA from flow-sorted chromosomes, and from other species.

  2. Small RNA-directed epigenetic natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jixian Zhai

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Progress in epigenetics has revealed mechanisms that can heritably regulate gene function independent of genetic alterations. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of epigenetics in evolution. This is due in part to scant data on epigenetic variation among natural populations. In plants, small interfering RNA (siRNA is involved in both the initiation and maintenance of gene silencing by directing DNA methylation and/or histone methylation. Here, we report that, in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a cluster of approximately 24 nt siRNAs found at high levels in the ecotype Landsberg erecta (Ler could direct DNA methylation and heterochromatinization at a hAT element adjacent to the promoter of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC, a major repressor of flowering, whereas the same hAT element in ecotype Columbia (Col with almost identical DNA sequence, generates a set of low abundance siRNAs that do not direct these activities. We have called this hAT element MPF for Methylated region near Promoter of FLC, although de novo methylation triggered by an inverted repeat transgene at this region in Col does not alter its FLC expression. DNA methylation of the Ler allele MPF is dependent on genes in known silencing pathways, and such methylation is transmissible to Col by genetic crosses, although with varying degrees of penetrance. A genome-wide comparison of Ler and Col small RNAs identified at least 68 loci matched by a significant level of approximately 24 nt siRNAs present specifically in Ler but not Col, where nearly half of the loci are related to repeat or TE sequences. Methylation analysis revealed that 88% of the examined loci (37 out of 42 were specifically methylated in Ler but not Col, suggesting that small RNA can direct epigenetic differences between two closely related Arabidopsis ecotypes.

  3. Characterization of molecular diversity and genome-wide mapping of loci associated with resistance to stripe rust and stem rust in Ethiopian bread wheat accessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muleta, Kebede T; Rouse, Matthew N; Rynearson, Sheri; Chen, Xianming; Buta, Bedada G; Pumphrey, Michael O

    2017-08-04

    The narrow genetic basis of resistance in modern wheat cultivars and the strong selection response of pathogen populations have been responsible for periodic and devastating epidemics of the wheat rust diseases. Characterizing new sources of resistance and incorporating multiple genes into elite cultivars is the most widely accepted current mechanism to achieve durable varietal performance against changes in pathogen virulence. Here, we report a high-density molecular characterization and genome-wide association study (GWAS) of stripe rust and stem rust resistance in 190 Ethiopian bread wheat lines based on phenotypic data from multi-environment field trials and seedling resistance screening experiments. A total of 24,281 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers filtered from the wheat 90 K iSelect genotyping assay was used to survey Ethiopian germplasm for population structure, genetic diversity and marker-trait associations. Upon screening for field resistance to stripe rust in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Ethiopia over multiple growing seasons, and against multiple races of stripe rust and stem rust at seedling stage, eight accessions displayed resistance to all tested races of stem rust and field resistance to stripe rust in all environments. Our GWAS results show 15 loci were significantly associated with seedling and adult plant resistance to stripe rust at false discovery rate (FDR)-adjusted probability (P) rust in the Ethiopian wheat accessions. Many of the identified resistance loci were mapped close to previously identified rust resistance genes; however, three loci on the short arms of chromosomes 5A and 7B for stripe rust resistance and two on chromosomes 3B and 7B for stem rust resistance may be novel. Our results demonstrate that considerable genetic variation resides within the landrace accessions that can be utilized to broaden the genetic base of rust resistance in wheat breeding germplasm. The molecular markers identified in

  4. Genome-wide quantitative trait loci mapping of the human cerebrospinal fluid proteome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasayama, Daimei; Hattori, Kotaro; Ogawa, Shintaro; Yokota, Yuuki; Matsumura, Ryo; Teraishi, Toshiya; Hori, Hiroaki; Ota, Miho; Yoshida, Sumiko; Kunugi, Hiroshi

    2017-01-01

    Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is virtually the only one accessible source of proteins derived from the central nervous system (CNS) of living humans and possibly reflects the pathophysiology of a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of variation in protein levels of human CSF. We examined CSF levels of 1,126 proteins in 133 subjects and performed a genome-wide association analysis of 514,227 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to detect protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs). To be conservative, Spearman's correlation was used to identify an association between genotypes of SNPs and protein levels. A total of 421 cis and 25 trans SNP-protein pairs were significantly correlated at a false discovery rate (FDR) of less than 0.01 (nominal P genome-wide association studies. The present findings suggest that genetic variations play an important role in the regulation of protein expression in the CNS. The obtained database may serve as a valuable resource to understand the genetic bases for CNS protein expression pattern in humans. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Genome-wide association study identifies multiple risk loci for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

    OpenAIRE

    Berndt, S.I.; Skibola, C.F.; Joseph, V.; Camp, N.J.; Nieters, A.; Wang, Z.; Cozen, W.; Monnereau, A.; Wang, S.S.; Kelly, R.S.; Lan, Q.; Teras, L.R.; Chatterjee, N.; Chung, C.C.; Yeager, M.

    2013-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have previously identified 13 loci associated with risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL). To identify additional CLL susceptibility loci, we conducted the largest meta-analysis for CLL thus far, including four GWAS with a total of 3,100 individuals with CLL (cases) and 7,667 controls. In the meta-analysis, we identified ten independent associated SNPs in nine new loci at 10q23.31 (ACTA2 or FAS (ACTA2/FAS), P = 1.22 × 10...

  6. High-throughput sequencing of core STR loci for forensic genetic investigations using the Roche Genome Sequencer FLX platform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fordyce, Sarah Louise; Avila Arcos, Maria del Carmen; Rockenbauer, Eszter

    2011-01-01

    repeat units. These methods do not allow for the full resolution of STR base composition that sequencing approaches could provide. Here we present an STR profiling method based on the use of the Roche Genome Sequencer (GS) FLX to simultaneously sequence multiple core STR loci. Using this method...

  7. Microsatellite Loci for Orthophytum ophiuroides (Bromelioideae, Bromeliaceae Species Adapted to Neotropical Rock Outcrops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Aoki-Gonçalves

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for Orthophytum ophiuroides, a rupicolous bromeliad species endemic to neotropical rocky fields. These microsatellite loci will be used to investigate population differentiation and species cohesion in such fragmented environments. The loci were tested for cross-amplification in related bromeliad species. Methods and Results: Eleven polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from an enriched library of O. ophiuroides. The loci were tested on 42 individuals from two populations of this species. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to nine and the expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.167 to 0.870 and from 0.369 to 0.958, respectively. Seven loci successfully amplified in other related bromeliad species. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the microsatellite loci developed here will be useful to assess genetic diversity and gene flow in O. ophiuroides for the investigation of population differentiation and species cohesion in neotropical mountainous habitats.

  8. Identification of genetic loci shared between schizophrenia and the Big Five personality traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smeland, Olav B; Wang, Yunpeng; Lo, Min-Tzu; Li, Wen; Frei, Oleksandr; Witoelar, Aree; Tesli, Martin; Hinds, David A; Tung, Joyce Y; Djurovic, Srdjan; Chen, Chi-Hua; Dale, Anders M; Andreassen, Ole A

    2017-05-22

    Schizophrenia is associated with differences in personality traits, and recent studies suggest that personality traits and schizophrenia share a genetic basis. Here we aimed to identify specific genetic loci shared between schizophrenia and the Big Five personality traits using a Bayesian statistical framework. Using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on personality traits in the 23andMe cohort (n = 59,225) and schizophrenia in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium cohort (n = 82,315), we evaluated overlap in common genetic variants. The Big Five personality traits neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness were measured using a web implementation of the Big Five Inventory. Applying the conditional false discovery rate approach, we increased discovery of genetic loci and identified two loci shared between neuroticism and schizophrenia and six loci shared between openness and schizophrenia. The study provides new insights into the relationship between personality traits and schizophrenia by highlighting genetic loci involved in their common genetic etiology.

  9. The power of gene-based rare variant methods to detect disease-associated variation and test hypotheses about complex disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loukas Moutsianas

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Genome and exome sequencing in large cohorts enables characterization of the role of rare variation in complex diseases. Success in this endeavor, however, requires investigators to test a diverse array of genetic hypotheses which differ in the number, frequency and effect sizes of underlying causal variants. In this study, we evaluated the power of gene-based association methods to interrogate such hypotheses, and examined the implications for study design. We developed a flexible simulation approach, using 1000 Genomes data, to (a generate sequence variation at human genes in up to 10K case-control samples, and (b quantify the statistical power of a panel of widely used gene-based association tests under a variety of allelic architectures, locus effect sizes, and significance thresholds. For loci explaining ~1% of phenotypic variance underlying a common dichotomous trait, we find that all methods have low absolute power to achieve exome-wide significance (~5-20% power at α = 2.5 × 10(-6 in 3K individuals; even in 10K samples, power is modest (~60%. The combined application of multiple methods increases sensitivity, but does so at the expense of a higher false positive rate. MiST, SKAT-O, and KBAC have the highest individual mean power across simulated datasets, but we observe wide architecture-dependent variability in the individual loci detected by each test, suggesting that inferences about disease architecture from analysis of sequencing studies can differ depending on which methods are used. Our results imply that tens of thousands of individuals, extensive functional annotation, or highly targeted hypothesis testing will be required to confidently detect or exclude rare variant signals at complex disease loci.

  10. Radiation-induced mutation at minisatellite loci

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubrova, Y.E.; Nesterov, V.N.; Krouchinsky, N.G.

    1997-01-01

    We are studying the radiation-induced increase of mutation rate in minisatellite loci in mice and humans. Minisatellite mutations were scored by multilocus DNA fingerprint analysis in the progeny of γ-irradiated and non-irradiated mice. The frequency of mutation in offspring of irradiated males was 1.7 higher that in the control group. Germline mutation at human minisatellite loci was studied among children born in heavily polluted areas of the Mogilev district of Belarus after the Chernobyl accident and in a control population. The frequency of mutation assayed both by DNA fingerprinting and by eight single locus probes was found to be two times higher in the exposed families than in the control group. Furthermore, mutation rate was correlated with the parental radiation dose for chronic exposure 137 Cs, consistent with radiation-induction of germline mutation. The potential use of minisatellites in monitoring germline mutation in humans will be discussed

  11. Development and Characterization of Microsatellite Loci in the Endangered Species Taxus wallichiana (Taxaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jyoti Prasad Gajurel

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed in the endangered tree species Taxus wallichiana from Nepal to investigate regional genetic differentiation, local genetic diversity, and gene flow for the conservation of this species under climate- and land-use change scenarios in mountain regions of Nepal. Methods and Results: We developed 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers from 454 DNA sequencing. Characterization of the new microsatellite loci was done in 99 individuals collected from three valleys with different climatic regimes. The number of alleles per locus varied from four to 12. Observed heterozygosity of populations, averaged across loci, ranged from 0.30 to 0.59. Conclusions: The new markers provided by this study will substantially increase the resolution for detailed studies in phylogeography, population genetics, and parentage analysis.

  12. Model of chromosomal loci dynamics in bacteria as fractional diffusion with intermittent transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gherardi, Marco; Calabrese, Ludovico; Tamm, Mikhail; Cosentino Lagomarsino, Marco

    2017-10-01

    The short-time dynamics of bacterial chromosomal loci is a mixture of subdiffusive and active motion, in the form of rapid relocations with near-ballistic dynamics. While previous work has shown that such rapid motions are ubiquitous, we still have little grasp on their physical nature, and no positive model is available that describes them. Here, we propose a minimal theoretical model for loci movements as a fractional Brownian motion subject to a constant but intermittent driving force, and compare simulations and analytical calculations to data from high-resolution dynamic tracking in E. coli. This analysis yields the characteristic time scales for intermittency. Finally, we discuss the possible shortcomings of this model, and show that an increase in the effective local noise felt by the chromosome associates to the active relocations.

  13. Trans-ethnic fine-mapping of lipid loci identifies population-specific signals and allelic heterogeneity that increases the trait variance explained.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Wu

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have identified ~100 loci associated with blood lipid levels, but much of the trait heritability remains unexplained, and at most loci the identities of the trait-influencing variants remain unknown. We conducted a trans-ethnic fine-mapping study at 18, 22, and 18 GWAS loci on the Metabochip for their association with triglycerides (TG, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, respectively, in individuals of African American (n = 6,832, East Asian (n = 9,449, and European (n = 10,829 ancestry. We aimed to identify the variants with strongest association at each locus, identify additional and population-specific signals, refine association signals, and assess the relative significance of previously described functional variants. Among the 58 loci, 33 exhibited evidence of association at P<1 × 10(-4 in at least one ancestry group. Sequential conditional analyses revealed that ten, nine, and four loci in African Americans, Europeans, and East Asians, respectively, exhibited two or more signals. At these loci, accounting for all signals led to a 1.3- to 1.8-fold increase in the explained phenotypic variance compared to the strongest signals. Distinct signals across ancestry groups were identified at PCSK9 and APOA5. Trans-ethnic analyses narrowed the signals to smaller sets of variants at GCKR, PPP1R3B, ABO, LCAT, and ABCA1. Of 27 variants reported previously to have functional effects, 74% exhibited the strongest association at the respective signal. In conclusion, trans-ethnic high-density genotyping and analysis confirm the presence of allelic heterogeneity, allow the identification of population-specific variants, and limit the number of candidate SNPs for functional studies.

  14. Identification and characterization of microsatellite loci in two socially complex old world tropical babblers (Family Timaliidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Sara A; Danner, J E; Bergner, Laura; Fleischer, Robert C

    2015-11-24

    Although the highest diversity of birds occurs in tropical regions, little is known about the genetic mating systems of most tropical species. We describe microsatellite markers isolated in the chestnut-crested yuhina (Staphida everetti), endemic to the island of Borneo, and the grey-throated babbler (Stachyris nigriceps), widely distributed across Southeast Asia. Both species belong to the avian family Timaliidae and are highly social, putatively cooperatively breeding birds in which helpers attend the nests of members of their social group. We obtained DNA from individuals in social groups breeding in Kinabalu Park, Malaysian Borneo. We used a shotgun sequencing approach and 454-technology to identify 36 microsatellite loci in the yuhina and 40 in the babbler. We tested 13 primer pairs in yuhinas and 20 in babblers and characterized eight polymorphic loci in 20 unrelated female yuhinas and 21 unrelated female babblers. Polymorphism at the yuhina loci ranged from 3 to 9 alleles, observed heterozygosities from 0.58 to 1.00, and expected heterozygosities from 0.64 to 0.81. Polymorphism at the babbler loci ranged from 3 to 12 alleles, observed heterozygosities from 0.14 to 0.90 and expected heterozygosities from 0.14 to 0.87. One locus in the yuhina deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We detected nonrandom allele associations between two pairs of microsatellite loci in each species. Microsatellite markers will be used to describe the genetic mating system of these socially complex species and to measure genetic parentage and relatedness within social groups.

  15. Cryptic Genetic Variation in Evolutionary Developmental Genetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annalise B. Paaby

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Evolutionary developmental genetics has traditionally been conducted by two groups: Molecular evolutionists who emphasize divergence between species or higher taxa, and quantitative geneticists who study variation within species. Neither approach really comes to grips with the complexities of evolutionary transitions, particularly in light of the realization from genome-wide association studies that most complex traits fit an infinitesimal architecture, being influenced by thousands of loci. This paper discusses robustness, plasticity and lability, phenomena that we argue potentiate major evolutionary changes and provide a bridge between the conceptual treatments of macro- and micro-evolution. We offer cryptic genetic variation and conditional neutrality as mechanisms by which standing genetic variation can lead to developmental system drift and, sheltered within canalized processes, may facilitate developmental transitions and the evolution of novelty. Synthesis of the two dominant perspectives will require recognition that adaptation, divergence, drift and stability all depend on similar underlying quantitative genetic processes—processes that cannot be fully observed in continuously varying visible traits.

  16. Characterization of Insertional Variation of Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses in Six Different Pig Breeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Y. Jung

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Pigs may need to be exploited as xenotransplantation donors due to the shortage of human organs, tissues and cells. Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs are a significant obstacle to xenotransplantation because they can infect human cells in vitro and have the potential for transmission of unexpected pathogens to humans. In this research, 101 pigs, including four commercial breeds (23 Berkshire, 13 Duroc, 22 Landrace and 14 Yorkshire pigs, one native breed (19 Korean native pigs and one miniature breed (10 NIH miniature pigs were used to investigate insertional variations for 11 PERV loci (three PERV-A, six PERV-B and two PERV-C. Over 60% of the pigs harbored one PERV-A (907F8 integration and five PERV-B (B3-3G, B3-7G, 742H1, 1155D9 and 465D1 integrations. However, two PERV-A loci (A1-6C and 1347C1 and one PERV-B locus (B3-7F were absent in Duroc pigs. Moreover, two PERV-C loci (C2-6C and C4-2G only existed in Korean native pigs and NIH miniature pigs. The results suggest that PERV insertional variations differ among pig breeds as well as among individuals within a breed. Also, the results presented here can be used for the selection of animals that do not have specific PERV integration for xenotransplantation research.

  17. Novel multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci implicated in epigenetic regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andlauer, Till F. M.; Buck, Dorothea; Antony, Gisela; Bayas, Antonios; Bechmann, Lukas; Berthele, Achim; Chan, Andrew; Gasperi, Christiane; Gold, Ralf; Graetz, Christiane; Haas, Jürgen; Hecker, Michael; Infante-Duarte, Carmen; Knop, Matthias; Kümpfel, Tania; Limmroth, Volker; Linker, Ralf A.; Loleit, Verena; Luessi, Felix; Meuth, Sven G.; Mühlau, Mark; Nischwitz, Sandra; Paul, Friedemann; Pütz, Michael; Ruck, Tobias; Salmen, Anke; Stangel, Martin; Stellmann, Jan-Patrick; Stürner, Klarissa H.; Tackenberg, Björn; Then Bergh, Florian; Tumani, Hayrettin; Warnke, Clemens; Weber, Frank; Wiendl, Heinz; Wildemann, Brigitte; Zettl, Uwe K.; Ziemann, Ulf; Zipp, Frauke; Arloth, Janine; Weber, Peter; Radivojkov-Blagojevic, Milena; Scheinhardt, Markus O.; Dankowski, Theresa; Bettecken, Thomas; Lichtner, Peter; Czamara, Darina; Carrillo-Roa, Tania; Binder, Elisabeth B.; Berger, Klaus; Bertram, Lars; Franke, Andre; Gieger, Christian; Herms, Stefan; Homuth, Georg; Ising, Marcus; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Kacprowski, Tim; Kloiber, Stefan; Laudes, Matthias; Lieb, Wolfgang; Lill, Christina M.; Lucae, Susanne; Meitinger, Thomas; Moebus, Susanne; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Nöthen, Markus M.; Petersmann, Astrid; Rawal, Rajesh; Schminke, Ulf; Strauch, Konstantin; Völzke, Henry; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wellmann, Jürgen; Porcu, Eleonora; Mulas, Antonella; Pitzalis, Maristella; Sidore, Carlo; Zara, Ilenia; Cucca, Francesco; Zoledziewska, Magdalena; Ziegler, Andreas; Hemmer, Bernhard; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram

    2016-01-01

    We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility in German cohorts with 4888 cases and 10,395 controls. In addition to associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, 15 non-MHC loci reached genome-wide significance. Four of these loci are novel MS susceptibility loci. They map to the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, ERG, and SHMT1. The lead variant at SHMT1 was replicated in an independent Sardinian cohort. Products of the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, and ERG play important roles in immune cell regulation. SHMT1 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of a carbon unit to the folate cycle. This reaction is required for regulation of methylation homeostasis, which is important for establishment and maintenance of epigenetic signatures. Our GWAS approach in a defined population with limited genetic substructure detected associations not found in larger, more heterogeneous cohorts, thus providing new clues regarding MS pathogenesis. PMID:27386562

  18. Novel multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci implicated in epigenetic regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andlauer, Till F M; Buck, Dorothea; Antony, Gisela; Bayas, Antonios; Bechmann, Lukas; Berthele, Achim; Chan, Andrew; Gasperi, Christiane; Gold, Ralf; Graetz, Christiane; Haas, Jürgen; Hecker, Michael; Infante-Duarte, Carmen; Knop, Matthias; Kümpfel, Tania; Limmroth, Volker; Linker, Ralf A; Loleit, Verena; Luessi, Felix; Meuth, Sven G; Mühlau, Mark; Nischwitz, Sandra; Paul, Friedemann; Pütz, Michael; Ruck, Tobias; Salmen, Anke; Stangel, Martin; Stellmann, Jan-Patrick; Stürner, Klarissa H; Tackenberg, Björn; Then Bergh, Florian; Tumani, Hayrettin; Warnke, Clemens; Weber, Frank; Wiendl, Heinz; Wildemann, Brigitte; Zettl, Uwe K; Ziemann, Ulf; Zipp, Frauke; Arloth, Janine; Weber, Peter; Radivojkov-Blagojevic, Milena; Scheinhardt, Markus O; Dankowski, Theresa; Bettecken, Thomas; Lichtner, Peter; Czamara, Darina; Carrillo-Roa, Tania; Binder, Elisabeth B; Berger, Klaus; Bertram, Lars; Franke, Andre; Gieger, Christian; Herms, Stefan; Homuth, Georg; Ising, Marcus; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Kacprowski, Tim; Kloiber, Stefan; Laudes, Matthias; Lieb, Wolfgang; Lill, Christina M; Lucae, Susanne; Meitinger, Thomas; Moebus, Susanne; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Nöthen, Markus M; Petersmann, Astrid; Rawal, Rajesh; Schminke, Ulf; Strauch, Konstantin; Völzke, Henry; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wellmann, Jürgen; Porcu, Eleonora; Mulas, Antonella; Pitzalis, Maristella; Sidore, Carlo; Zara, Ilenia; Cucca, Francesco; Zoledziewska, Magdalena; Ziegler, Andreas; Hemmer, Bernhard; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram

    2016-06-01

    We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility in German cohorts with 4888 cases and 10,395 controls. In addition to associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, 15 non-MHC loci reached genome-wide significance. Four of these loci are novel MS susceptibility loci. They map to the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, ERG, and SHMT1. The lead variant at SHMT1 was replicated in an independent Sardinian cohort. Products of the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, and ERG play important roles in immune cell regulation. SHMT1 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of a carbon unit to the folate cycle. This reaction is required for regulation of methylation homeostasis, which is important for establishment and maintenance of epigenetic signatures. Our GWAS approach in a defined population with limited genetic substructure detected associations not found in larger, more heterogeneous cohorts, thus providing new clues regarding MS pathogenesis.

  19. [Polymorphism analysis of 20 autosomal short-tandem repeat loci in southern Chinese Han population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ling; Lu, Hui-Jie; DU, Wei-An; Qiu, Ping-Ming; Liu, Chao

    2016-02-20

    To evaluate the value of PowerPlex ® 21 System (Promega) and study the genetic polymorphism of its 20 short-tandem repeat (STR) loci in southern Chinese Han population. We conducted genotyping experiments using PowerPlex ® 21 System on 20 autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, D1S1656, D6S1043, D13S317, Penta E, D16S539, D18S51, D2S1338, CSF1PO, Penta D, TH01, vWA, D21S11, D7S820, D5S818, TPOX, D8S1179, D12S391, D19S433 and FGA) in 2367 unrelated Chinese Han individuals living in South China. The allele frequencies and parameters commonly used in forensic science were statistically analyzed in these individuals and compared with the reported data of other populations. The PowerPlex ® 21 System had a power of discrimination (PD) ranging from 0.7839 to 0.9852 and a power of exclusion (PE) ranging from 0.2974 to 0.8099 for the 20 loci. No significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations was found for all the loci except for D5S818. This southern Chinese Han population had significant differences in the allele frequencies from 8 ethnic groups reported in China, and showed significant differences at 8 to 20 STR foci from 5 foreign populations. The allele frequency at the locus D1S1656 in this southern Chinese Han population differed significantly from those in the 5 foreign populations and from 3 reported Han populations in Beijing, Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province of China. The neighbor-joining phylogenetictree showed clustering of all the Asian populations in one branch, while the northern Italian and Argentina populations clustered in a separate branch. This southern Chinese Han population had the nearest affinity with the Yi ethnic population in Yunnan Province of China. The 20 STR loci are highly polymorphic in this southern Chinese Han population, suggesting the value of this set of STR loci in forensic personal identification, paternity testing and anthropological study.

  20. Signatures of selection in loci governing major colour patterns in Heliconius butterflies and related species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joron Mathieu

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein-coding change is one possible genetic mechanism underlying the evolution of adaptive wing colour pattern variation in Heliconius butterflies. Here we determine whether 38 putative genes within two major Heliconius patterning loci, HmYb and HmB, show evidence of positive selection. Ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide changes (ω were used to test for selection, as a means of identifying candidate genes within each locus that control wing pattern. Results Preliminary analyses using 454 transcriptome and Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC sequences from three Heliconius species highlighted a cluster of genes within each region showing relatively higher rates of sequence evolution. Other genes within the region appear to be highly constrained, and no ω estimates exceeded one. Three genes from each locus with the highest average pairwise ω values were amplified from additional Heliconius species and races. Two selected genes, fizzy-like (HmYb and DALR (HmB, were too divergent for amplification across species and were excluded from further analysis. Amongst the remaining genes, HM00021 and Kinesin possessed the highest background ω values within the HmYb and HmB loci, respectively. After accounting for recombination, these two genes both showed evidence of having codons with a signature of selection, although statistical support for this signal was not strong in any case. Conclusions Tests of selection reveal a cluster of candidate genes in each locus, suggesting that weak directional selection may be occurring within a small region of each locus, but coding changes alone are unlikely to explain the full range of wing pattern diversity. These analyses pinpoint many of the same genes believed to be involved in the control of colour patterning in Heliconius that have been identified through other studies implementing different research methods.

  1. PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, E L; Bogdanowicz, S M; Agrawal, A A; Johnson, M T J; Harrison, R G

    2008-03-01

    We developed nine polymorphic microsatellite loci for evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). These loci have two to 18 alleles per locus and observed heterozygosities ranging from 0 to 0.879 in a sample of 34 individuals. In a pattern consistent with the functionally asexual reproductive system of this species, 17/36 pairs of loci revealed significant linkage disequilibrium and three loci showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The loci will be informative in identifying genotypes in multigenerational field studies to assess changes in genotype frequencies. © 2007 The Authors.

  2. Oral infection of Aedes aegypti with yellow fever virus: geographic variation and genetic considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, W J; Wallis, G P; Aitken, T H; Miller, B R; Amato, G D; Lorenz, L; Powell, J R; Beaty, B J

    1985-11-01

    Twenty-eight populations representing a worldwide distribution of Aedes aegypti were tested for their ability to become orally infected with yellow fever virus (YFV). Populations had been analyzed for genetic variations at 11 isozyme loci and assigned to one of 8 genetic geographic groups of Ae. aegypti. Infection rates suggest that populations showing isozyme genetic relatedness also demonstrate similarity to oral infection rates with YFV. The findings support the hypothesis that genetic variation exists for oral susceptibility to YFV in Ae. aegypti.

  3. Intragenomic polymorphisms among high-copy loci: a genus-wide study of nuclear ribosomal DNA in Asclepias (Apocynaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weitemier, Kevin; Straub, Shannon C K; Fishbein, Mark; Liston, Aaron

    2015-01-01

    Despite knowledge that concerted evolution of high-copy loci is often imperfect, studies that investigate the extent of intragenomic polymorphisms and comparisons across a large number of species are rarely made. We present a bioinformatic pipeline for characterizing polymorphisms within an individual among copies of a high-copy locus. Results are presented for nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) across the milkweed genus, Asclepias. The 18S-26S portion of the nrDNA cistron of Asclepias syriaca served as a reference for assembly of the region from 124 samples representing 90 species of Asclepias. Reads were mapped back to each individual's consensus and at each position reads differing from the consensus were tallied using a custom perl script. Low frequency polymorphisms existed in all individuals (mean = 5.8%). Most nrDNA positions (91%) were polymorphic in at least one individual, with polymorphic sites being less frequent in subunit regions and loops. Highly polymorphic sites existed in each individual, with highest abundance in the "noncoding" ITS regions. Phylogenetic signal was present in the distribution of intragenomic polymorphisms across the genus. Intragenomic polymorphisms in nrDNA are common in Asclepias, being found at higher frequency than any other study to date. The high and variable frequency of polymorphisms across species highlights concerns that phylogenetic applications of nrDNA may be error-prone. The new analytical approach provided here is applicable to other taxa and other high-copy regions characterized by low coverage genome sequencing (genome skimming).

  4. Phenotypic and molecular variation in the green and black poison-dart frog Dendrobates auratus (Anura: Dendrobatidae from Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa D Patrick

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The green and black poison-dart frog Dendrobates auratus exhibits high intraspecific variation in hue color and pattern throughout its range, making it a very popular species in the pet trade. We analyzed the correspondence between color variation and molecular variation of D. auratus from Costa Rica using RAPD analysis. Twenty-six random primers were analyzed for variation in 99 individuals from seven populations. Color pattern was scored from digital images of the dorsal and ventral views. In general, frogs from the Caribbean coast had significantly more light coloration than black color but cannot be grouped by population based only on hue pattern. Only 3 RAPD primers were found to be polymorphic, representing a total of 16 loci. Most of the molecular variation encountered here occurs within populations, thus making unclear the degree of population structure and differentiation. Further examination of COI mtDNA sequences from our samples also supports these results. Partial Mantel correlations suggested that the pattern of molecular variation is not congruent with the variation in color pattern in this species, an outcome that is discussed in terms of phenotypic evolution. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (Suppl. 1: 313-321. Epub 2009 November 30.

  5. Strategie di spazializzazione dei contenuti nel GeniusLoci Digitale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Gasperi

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available GeniusLoci Digitale is a software architecture of virtual tour that integrates various multimedia technologies (3D computer graphics, panoramas, dynamic maps, movies, pictures to represent the identity of places. The designer is interested in reproducing virtually complex aspects that define a context, which means the effect of meaning that distinguishes one place. GeniusLoci Digitale is in fact an architecture that evolves in search of a reproductive and communicative function which is recognizable to extend its development to the Open Source community.

  6. Characterization of new microsatellite loci for population genetic studies in the Smooth Cauliflower Coral (Stylophora sp.)

    KAUST Repository

    Banguera-Hinestroza, E.

    2013-01-09

    A total of one hundred microsatellites loci were selected from the draft genome of Stylophora pistillata and evaluated in previously characterized samples of Stylophora cf pistillata from the Red Sea. 17 loci were amplified successfully and tested in 24 individuals from samples belonging to a single population from the central region of the Red Sea. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 15 alleles per locus, while observed heterozygosity ranged from 0. 292 to 0. 95. Six of these loci showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) expectations, and 4/136 paired loci comparisons suggested linkage disequilibrium after Bonferroni corrections. After excluding loci with significant HWE deviation and evidence of null alleles, average genetic diversity over loci in the population studied (N = 24, Nloci = 11) was 0. 701 ± 0. 380. This indicates that these loci can be used effectively to evaluate genetic diversity and undertake population genetics studies in Stylophora sp. populations. 2013 The Author(s).

  7. Intrapopulational genic variation of the giant African Snail (Achatina fulica in the Valle del Cauca

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angie Patiño-Montoya

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To evaluate the intrapopulation genetic variation of A. fulica in the Valle del Cauca. Materials and methods. Ten microsatellite loci from specimens collected at eight municipalities in the Valle del Cauca Department were amplified. Allelic frequencies and descriptors of intrapopulation genetic diversity were estimated. Bayesian analysis was used to estimate the number of groups present in the study area. Results. Two groups were identified in the Valle del Cauca (p > 50%: one group comprised individuals from the north and center of the department, and one group comprised individuals from the south and west of the department. These groups were genetically different from each other (FST 0.16; p<0.05. Isolation by distance was confirmed (Mantel p 0.01; R2 0.06, and a high level of endogamy was detected through a deficit of heterozygotes in the evaluated loci (FIS 0.45. Conclusions. We suggest that the A. fulica population present in the Valle del Cauca could have been introduced at more than one location, or that there could have been more than one wave of invasion. The high level of endogamy is probably the result of control activities that eliminated adult individuals in the population, which has led to an enhanced founder effect.

  8. Epigenetic variation in mangrove plants occurring in contrasting natural environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catarina Fonseca Lira-Medeiros

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Epigenetic modifications, such as cytosine methylation, are inherited in plant species and may occur in response to biotic or abiotic stress, affecting gene expression without changing genome sequence. Laguncularia racemosa, a mangrove species, occurs in naturally contrasting habitats where it is subjected daily to salinity and nutrient variations leading to morphological differences. This work aims at unraveling how CpG-methylation variation is distributed among individuals from two nearby habitats, at a riverside (RS or near a salt marsh (SM, with different environmental pressures and how this variation is correlated with the observed morphological variation.Significant differences were observed in morphological traits such as tree height, tree diameter, leaf width and leaf area between plants from RS and SM locations, resulting in smaller plants and smaller leaf size in SM plants. Methyl-Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP was used to assess genetic and epigenetic (CpG-methylation variation in L. racemosa genomes from these populations. SM plants were hypomethylated (14.6% of loci had methylated samples in comparison to RS (32.1% of loci had methylated samples. Within-population diversity was significantly greater for epigenetic than genetic data in both locations, but SM also had less epigenetic diversity than RS. Frequency-based (G(ST and multivariate (beta(ST methods that estimate population structure showed significantly greater differentiation among locations for epigenetic than genetic data. Co-Inertia analysis, exploring jointly the genetic and epigenetic data, showed that individuals with similar genetic profiles presented divergent epigenetic profiles that were characteristic of the population in a particular environment, suggesting that CpG-methylation changes may be associated with environmental heterogeneity.In spite of significant morphological dissimilarities, individuals of L. racemosa from salt marsh and riverside presented

  9. Loci of points in the Euclidean plane are deter- mined from ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Loci of points in the Euclidean plane are deter- mined from prescribed relations of the points with given points, and/or, lines. The depen- dence of these relations on parameters lead to the differential equations representing the fam- ily of loci under concern. Incidentally most of the differential equations thus obtained are non ...

  10. Identification and characterization of pleiotropic and co-located resistance loci to leaf rust and stripe rust in bread wheat cultivar Sujata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Caixia; Zhang, Yelun; Herrera-Foessel, Sybil A; Basnet, Bhoja R; Huerta-Espino, Julio; Lagudah, Evans S; Singh, Ravi P

    2015-03-01

    Two new co-located resistance loci, QLr.cim - 1AS/QYr.cim - 1AS and QLr.cim - 7BL/YrSuj , in combination with Lr46 / Yr29 and Lr67/Yr46 , and a new leaf rust resistance quantitative trait loci, conferred high resistance to rusts in adult plant stage. The tall Indian bread wheat cultivar Sujata displays high and low infection types to leaf rust and stripe rust, respectively, at the seedling stage in greenhouse tests. It was also highly resistant to both rusts at adult plant stage in field trials in Mexico. The genetic basis of this resistance was investigated in a population of 148 F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross Avocet × Sujata. The parents and RIL population were characterized in field trials for resistance to leaf rust during 2011 at El Batán, and 2012 and 2013 at Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, and for stripe rust during 2011 and 2012 at Toluca, Mexico; they were also characterized three times for stripe rust at seedling stage in the greenhouse. The RILs were genotyped with diversity arrays technology and simple sequence repeat markers. The final genetic map was constructed with 673 polymorphic markers. Inclusive composite interval mapping analysis detected two new significant co-located resistance loci, QLr.cim-1AS/QYr.cim-1AS and QLr.cim-7BL/YrSuj, on chromosomes 1AS and 7BL, respectively. The chromosomal position of QLr.cim-7BL overlapped with the seedling stripe rust resistance gene, temporarily designated as YrSuj. Two previously reported pleiotropic adult plant resistance genes, Lr46/Yr29 and Lr67/Yr46, and a new leaf rust resistance quantitative trait loci derived from Avocet were also mapped in the population. The two new co-located resistance loci are expected to contribute to breeding durable rust resistance in wheat. Closely linked molecular markers can be used to transfer all four resistance loci simultaneously to modern wheat varieties.

  11. Ecological significance of microsatellite variation in western North American populations of Bromus tectorum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alisa P. Ramakrishnan; Susan Meyer; Daniel J. Fairbanks; Craig E. Coleman

    2006-01-01

    Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass or downy brome) is an exotic annual weed that is abundant in western USA. We examined variation in six microsatellite loci for 17 populations representing a range of habitats in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Colorado (USA) and then intensively sampled four representative populations, for a total sample size of approximately 1000 individuals. All...

  12. Development of microsatellite loci in Artocarpus altilis (Moraceae) and cross-amplification in congeneric species1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witherup, Colby; Ragone, Diane; Wiesner-Hanks, Tyr; Irish, Brian; Scheffler, Brian; Simpson, Sheron; Zee, Francis; Zuberi, M. Iqbal; Zerega, Nyree J. C.

    2013-01-01

    • Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from enriched genomic libraries of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) and tested in four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. The microsatellite markers provide new tools for further studies in Artocarpus. • Methods and Results: A total of 25 microsatellite loci were evaluated across four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. Twenty-one microsatellite loci were evaluated on A. altilis (241), A. camansi (34), A. mariannensis (15), and A. altilis × mariannensis (64) samples. Nine of those loci plus four additional loci were evaluated on A. heterophyllus (jackfruit, 426) samples. All loci are polymorphic for at least one species. The average number of alleles ranges from two to nine within taxa. • Conclusions: These microsatellite primers will facilitate further studies on the genetic structure and evolutionary and domestication history of Artocarpus species. They will aid in cultivar identification and establishing germplasm conservation strategies for breadfruit and jackfruit. PMID:25202565

  13. Identification of Genetic Loci Jointly Influencing Schizophrenia Risk and the Cognitive Traits of Verbal-Numerical Reasoning, Reaction Time, and General Cognitive Function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smeland, Olav B; Frei, Oleksandr; Kauppi, Karolina; Hill, W David; Li, Wen; Wang, Yunpeng; Krull, Florian; Bettella, Francesco; Eriksen, Jon A; Witoelar, Aree; Davies, Gail; Fan, Chun C; Thompson, Wesley K; Lam, Max; Lencz, Todd; Chen, Chi-Hua; Ueland, Torill; Jönsson, Erik G; Djurovic, Srdjan; Deary, Ian J; Dale, Anders M; Andreassen, Ole A

    2017-10-01

    Schizophrenia is associated with widespread cognitive impairments. Although cognitive deficits are one of the factors most strongly associated with functional outcome in schizophrenia, current treatment strategies largely fail to ameliorate these impairments. To develop more efficient treatment strategies in patients with schizophrenia, a better understanding of the pathogenesis of these cognitive deficits is needed. Accumulating evidence indicates that genetic risk of schizophrenia may contribute to cognitive dysfunction. To identify genomic regions jointly influencing schizophrenia and the cognitive domains of reaction time and verbal-numerical reasoning, as well as general cognitive function, a phenotype that captures the shared variation in performance across cognitive domains. Combining data from genome-wide association studies from multiple phenotypes using conditional false discovery rate analysis provides increased power to discover genetic variants and could elucidate shared molecular genetic mechanisms. Data from the following genome-wide association studies, published from July 24, 2014, to January 17, 2017, were combined: schizophrenia in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium cohort (n = 79 757 [cases, 34 486; controls, 45 271]); verbal-numerical reasoning (n = 36 035) and reaction time (n = 111 483) in the UK Biobank cohort; and general cognitive function in CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology) (n = 53 949) and COGENT (Cognitive Genomics Consortium) (n = 27 888). Genetic loci identified by conditional false discovery rate analysis. Brain messenger RNA expression and brain expression quantitative trait locus functionality were determined. Among the participants in the genome-wide association studies, 21 loci jointly influencing schizophrenia and cognitive traits were identified: 2 loci shared between schizophrenia and verbal-numerical reasoning, 6 loci shared between schizophrenia and

  14. Characterization of microsatellite loci from two-spotted octopus Octopus bimaculatus Verrill 1883 from pyrosequencing reads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domínguez-Contreras, J. F.; Munguía-Vega, A.; Ceballos-Vázquez, B. P.; Arellano-Martínez, M.; Culver, Melanie

    2014-01-01

    We characterized 22 novel microsatellite loci in the two-spotted octopus Octopus bimaculatus using 454 pyrosequencing reads. All loci were polymorphic and will be used in studies of marine connectivity aimed at increasing sustainability of the resource. The mean number alleles per locus was 13.09 (range 7–19) and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.50 to 1.00. Four loci pairs were linked and three deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Eighteen and 12 loci were polymorphic in Octopus bimaculoides and Octopus hubbsorum, respectively.

  15. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Macias, D.; Shaw, K.; Ward, R.; Galvan-Magana, F.; Vazquez-Juarez, R.

    2009-01-01

    In preparation for a study on population structure of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), nine species-specific polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were developed. An initial screening of 50 individuals from Holbox Island, Mexico found all nine loci to be polymorphic, with two to 17 alleles observed per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.200 to 0.826 and from 0.213 to 0.857, respectively. Neither statistically significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg expectations nor statistically significant linkage disequilibrium between loci were observed. These microsatellite loci appear suitable for examining population structure, kinship assessment and other applications.

  16. Biofouling likely serves as a major mode of dispersal for the polychaete tubeworm Hydroides elegans as inferred from microsatellite loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettengill, J B; Wendt, D E; Schug, M D; Hadfield, M G

    2007-01-01

    The polychaete tubeworm Hydroides elegans (Haswell) is a biofouling species with relatively limited larval dispersal. Four highly polymorphic microsatellite loci were used to make inferences about the migration and global population structure of 137 individuals from seven sub-populations located in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of the genetic analyses suggest minimal population sub-structure (F(st) = 0.09). Estimates of pairwise F(st) and migration rates using the coalescent-based method of MIGRATE suggest that there is little genetic differentiation between certain populations. Variation in relatedness among pairs of populations is consistent with a suite of local and global factors. The most likely explanation for close genetic relatedness among certain populations over such vast distances is the regular and consistent transport of adults and larvae on the hulls and in the ballast water of ships, respectively.

  17. High-resolution copy number variation analysis of schizophrenia in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushima, I; Aleksic, B; Nakatochi, M; Shimamura, T; Shiino, T; Yoshimi, A; Kimura, H; Takasaki, Y; Wang, C; Xing, J; Ishizuka, K; Oya-Ito, T; Nakamura, Y; Arioka, Y; Maeda, T; Yamamoto, M; Yoshida, M; Noma, H; Hamada, S; Morikawa, M; Uno, Y; Okada, T; Iidaka, T; Iritani, S; Yamamoto, T; Miyashita, M; Kobori, A; Arai, M; Itokawa, M; Cheng, M-C; Chuang, Y-A; Chen, C-H; Suzuki, M; Takahashi, T; Hashimoto, R; Yamamori, H; Yasuda, Y; Watanabe, Y; Nunokawa, A; Someya, T; Ikeda, M; Toyota, T; Yoshikawa, T; Numata, S; Ohmori, T; Kunimoto, S; Mori, D; Iwata, N; Ozaki, N

    2017-03-01

    Recent schizophrenia (SCZ) studies have reported an increased burden of de novo copy number variants (CNVs) and identified specific high-risk CNVs, although with variable phenotype expressivity. However, the pathogenesis of SCZ has not been fully elucidated. Using array comparative genomic hybridization, we performed a high-resolution genome-wide CNV analysis on a mainly (92%) Japanese population (1699 SCZ cases and 824 controls) and identified 7066 rare CNVs, 70.0% of which were small (history of congenital/developmental phenotypes, and the rate of treatment resistance was significantly higher (odds ratio=2.79, P=0.0036). We found more severe clinical manifestations in patients with two clinically significant CNVs. Gene set analysis replicated previous findings (e.g., synapse, calcium signaling) and identified novel biological pathways including oxidative stress response, genomic integrity, kinase and small GTPase signaling. Furthermore, involvement of multiple SCZ candidate genes and biological pathways in the pathogenesis of SCZ was suggested in established SCZ-associated CNV loci. Our study shows the high genetic heterogeneity of SCZ and its clinical features and raises the possibility that genomic instability is involved in its pathogenesis, which may be related to the increased burden of de novo CNVs and variable expressivity of CNVs.

  18. Origins of amino acid transporter loci in trypanosomatid parasites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackson Andrew P

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Large amino acid transporter gene families were identified from the genome sequences of three parasitic protists, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania major. These genes encode molecular sensors of the external host environment for trypanosomatid cells and are crucial to modulation of gene expression as the parasite passes through different life stages. This study provides a comprehensive phylogenetic account of the origins of these genes, redefining each locus according to a positional criterion, through the integration of phyletic identity with comparative gene order information. Results Each locus was individually specified by its surrounding gene order and associated with homologs showing the same position ('homoeologs' in other species, where available. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenies were in general agreement on systematic relationships and confirmed several 'orthology sets' of genes retained since divergence from the common ancestor. Reconciliation analysis quantified the scale of duplication and gene loss, as well as identifying further apparent orthology sets, which lacked conservation of genomic position. These instances suggested substantial genomic restructuring or transposition. Other analyses identified clear instances of evolutionary rate changes post-duplication, the effects of concerted evolution within tandem gene arrays and gene conversion events between syntenic loci. Conclusion Despite their importance to cell function and parasite development, the repertoires of AAT loci in trypanosomatid parasites are relatively fluid in both complement and gene dosage. Some loci are ubiquitous and, after an ancient origin through transposition, originated through descent from the ancestral trypanosomatid. However, reconciliation analysis demonstrated that unilateral expansions of gene number through tandem gene duplication, transposition of gene duplicates to otherwise well conserved genomic

  19. The genetic basis of natural variation in oenological traits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Salinas

    Full Text Available Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main microorganism responsible for wine alcoholic fermentation. The oenological phenotypes resulting from fermentation, such as the production of acetic acid, glycerol, and residual sugar concentration are regulated by multiple genes and vary quantitatively between different strain backgrounds. With the aim of identifying the quantitative trait loci (QTLs that regulate oenological phenotypes, we performed linkage analysis using three crosses between highly diverged S. cerevisiae strains. Segregants from each cross were used as starter cultures for 20-day fermentations, in synthetic wine must, to simulate actual winemaking conditions. Linkage analysis on phenotypes of primary industrial importance resulted in the mapping of 18 QTLs. We tested 18 candidate genes, by reciprocal hemizygosity, for their contribution to the observed phenotypic variation, and validated five genes and the chromosome II right subtelomeric region. We observed that genes involved in mitochondrial metabolism, sugar transport, nitrogen metabolism, and the uncharacterized ORF YJR030W explained most of the phenotypic variation in oenological traits. Furthermore, we experimentally validated an exceptionally strong epistatic interaction resulting in high level of succinic acid between the Sake FLX1 allele and the Wine/European MDH2 allele. Overall, our work demonstrates the complex genetic basis underlying wine traits, including natural allelic variation, antagonistic linked QTLs and complex epistatic interactions between alleles from strains with different evolutionary histories.

  20. Identification of four novel susceptibility loci for oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.J. Couch (Fergus); K.B. Kuchenbaecker (Karoline); K. Michailidou (Kyriaki); G.A. Mendoza-Fandino (Gustavo A.); S. Nord (Silje); J. Lilyquist (Janna); C. Olswold (Curtis); B. Hallberg (Boubou); S. Agata (Simona); H. Ahsan (Habibul); K. Aittomäki (Kristiina); C.B. Ambrosone (Christine); I.L. Andrulis (Irene); H. Anton-Culver (Hoda); V. Arndt (Volker); B.K. Arun (Banu); B. Arver (Brita Wasteson); M. Barile (Monica); R.B. Barkardottir (Rosa); D. Barrowdale (Daniel); L. Beckmann (Lars); M.W. Beckmann (Matthias); J. Benítez (Javier); S.V. Blank (Stephanie); C. Blomqvist (Carl); N.V. Bogdanova (Natalia); S.E. Bojesen (Stig); M.K. Bolla (Manjeet); B. Bonnani (Bernardo); H. Brauch (Hiltrud); H. Brenner (Hermann); B. Burwinkel (Barbara); S.S. Buys (Saundra S.); T. Caldes (Trinidad); M.A. Caligo (Maria); F. Canzian (Federico); T.A. Carpenter (Adrian); J. Chang-Claude (Jenny); S.J. Chanock (Stephen J.); W.K. Chung (Wendy K.); K.B.M. Claes (Kathleen B.M.); A. Cox (Angela); S.S. Cross (Simon); J.M. Cunningham (Julie); K. Czene (Kamila); M.B. Daly (Mary B.); F. Damiola (Francesca); H. Darabi (Hatef); M. de La Hoya (Miguel); P. Devilee (Peter); O. Díez (Orland); Y.C. Ding (Yuan); R. Dolcetti (Riccardo); S.M. Domchek (Susan); C.M. Dorfling (Cecilia); I. dos Santos Silva (Isabel); M. Dumont (Martine); A.M. Dunning (Alison); D. Eccles (Diana); H. Ehrencrona (Hans); A.B. Ekici (Arif); H. Eliassen (Heather); S.D. Ellis (Steve); P.A. Fasching (Peter); J.D. Figueroa (Jonine); D. Flesch-Janys (Dieter); A. Försti (Asta); F. Fostira (Florentia); W.D. Foulkes (William); M.O.W. Friebel (Mark ); E. Friedman (Eitan); D. Frost (Debra); M. Gabrielson (Marike); M. Gammon (Marilie); P.A. Ganz (Patricia A.); S.M. Gapstur (Susan M.); J. Garber (Judy); M.M. Gaudet (Mia); S.A. Gayther (Simon); A-M. Gerdes (Anne-Marie); M. Ghoussaini (Maya); G.G. Giles (Graham); G. Glendon (Gord); A.K. Godwin (Andrew K.); M.S. Goldberg (Mark); D. Goldgar (David); A. González-Neira (Anna); M.H. Greene (Mark H.); J. Gronwald (Jacek); P. Guénel (Pascal); M.J. Gunter (Marc J.); L. Haeberle (Lothar); C.A. Haiman (Christopher A.); U. Hamann (Ute); T.V.O. Hansen (Thomas); S. Hart (Stewart); S. Healey (Sue); T. Heikkinen (Tuomas); B.E. Henderson (Brian); J. Herzog (Josef); F.B.L. Hogervorst (Frans); A. Hollestelle (Antoinette); M.J. Hooning (Maartje); R.N. Hoover (Robert); J.L. Hopper (John); K. Humphreys (Keith); D. Hunter (David); T. Huzarski (Tomasz); E.N. Imyanitov (Evgeny N.); C. Isaacs (Claudine); A. Jakubowska (Anna); M. James (Margaret); R. Janavicius (Ramunas); U.B. Jensen; E.M. John (Esther); M. Jones (Michael); M. Kabisch (Maria); S. Kar (Siddhartha); B.Y. Karlan (Beth Y.); S. Khan (Sofia); K.T. Khaw; M.G. Kibriya (Muhammad); J.A. Knight (Julia); Y.-D. Ko (Yon-Dschun); I. Konstantopoulou (I.); V-M. Kosma (Veli-Matti); V. Kristensen (Vessela); A. Kwong (Ava); Y. Laitman (Yael); D. Lambrechts (Diether); C. Lazaro (Conxi); E. Lee (Eunjung); L. Le Marchand (Loic); K.J. Lester (Kathryn); A. Lindblom (Annika); N.M. Lindor (Noralane); S. Lindstrom (Stephen); J. Liu (Jianjun); J. Long (Jirong); J. Lubinski (Jan); P.L. Mai (Phuong); E. Makalic (Enes); K.E. Malone (Kathleen E.); A. Mannermaa (Arto); S. Manoukian (Siranoush); S. Margolin (Sara); F. Marme (Federick); J.W.M. Martens (John); L. McGuffog (Lesley); A. Meindl (Alfons); A. Miller (Austin); R.L. Milne (Roger); P. Miron (Penelope); M. Montagna (Marco); S. Mazoyer (Sylvie); A.-M. Mulligan (Anna-Marie); T.A. Muranen (Taru); K.L. Nathanson (Katherine); S.L. Neuhausen (Susan); H. Nevanlinna (Heli); B.G. Nordestgaard (Børge); R. Nussbaum (Robert); K. Offit (Kenneth); E. Olah; O.I. Olopade (Olufunmilayo I.); J.E. Olson (Janet); A. Osorio (Ana); S.K. Park (Sue K.); P.H.M. Peeters; B. Peissel (Bernard); P. Peterlongo (Paolo); J. Peto (Julian); C. Phelan (Catherine); R. Pilarski (Robert); B. Poppe (Bruce); K. Pykäs (Katri); P. Radice (Paolo); N. Rahman (Nazneen); J. Rantala (Johanna); C. Rappaport (Christine); G. Rennert (Gad); A.L. Richardson (Andrea); M. Robson (Mark); I. Romieu (Isabelle); A. Rudolph (Anja); E.J.T. Rutgers (Emiel); M.-J. Sanchez (Maria-Jose); R. Santella (Regina); E.J. Sawyer (Elinor); D.F. Schmidt (Daniel); M.K. Schmidt (Marjanka); R.K. Schmutzler (Rita); F.R. Schumacher (Fredrick); R.J. Scott (Rodney); L. Senter (Leigha); P. Sharma (Priyanka); J. Simard (Jacques); C.F. Singer (Christian); O. Sinilnikova (Olga); P. Soucy (Penny); M.C. Southey (Melissa); D. Steinemann (Doris); M. Stenmark-Askmalm (Marie); D. Stoppa-Lyonnet (Dominique); A.J. Swerdlow (Anthony ); C. Szabo (Csilla); R. Tamimi (Rulla); W. Tapper (William); P.J. Teixeira; S.-H. Teo (Soo-Hwang); M.B. Terry (Mary Beth); M. Thomassen (Mads); D. Thompson (Deborah); L. Tihomirova (Laima); A.E. Toland (Amanda); R.A.E.M. Tollenaar (Rob); I.P. Tomlinson (Ian); T. Truong (Thérèse); H. Tsimiklis (Helen); A. Teulé (A.); R. Tumino (Rosario); N. Tung (Nadine); C. Turnbull (Clare); G. Ursin (Giski); C.H.M. van Deurzen (Carolien); E.J. van Rensburg (Elizabeth); R. Varon-Mateeva (Raymonda); Z. Wang (Zhaoming); S. Wang-Gohrke (Shan); E. Weiderpass (Elisabete); J.N. Weitzel (Jeffrey); A.S. Whittemore (Alice S.); H. Wildiers (Hans); R. Winqvist (Robert); X.R. Yang (Xiaohong R.); D. Yannoukakos (Drakoulis); S. Yao (Song); M.P. Zamora (Pilar); W. Zheng (Wei); P. Hall (Per); P. Kraft (Peter); C. Vachon (Celine); S. Slager (Susan); G. Chenevix-Trench (Georgia); P.D.P. Pharoah (Paul); A.A.N. Monteiro (Alvaro A. N.); M. García-Closas (Montserrat); D.F. Easton (Douglas F.); A.C. Antoniou (Antonis C.)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractCommon variants in 94 loci have been associated with breast cancer including 15 loci with genome-wide significant associations (P<5 × 10-8) with oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and BRCA1-associated breast cancer risk. In this study, to identify new ER-negative

  1. Identification of multi-loci hubs from 4C-seq demonstrates the functional importance of simultaneous interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Tingting; Raviram, Ramya; Snetkova, Valentina; Rocha, Pedro P; Proudhon, Charlotte; Badri, Sana; Bonneau, Richard; Skok, Jane A; Kluger, Yuval

    2016-10-14

    Use of low resolution single cell DNA FISH and population based high resolution chromosome conformation capture techniques have highlighted the importance of pairwise chromatin interactions in gene regulation. However, it is unlikely that associations involving regulatory elements act in isolation of other interacting partners that also influence their impact. Indeed, the influence of multi-loci interactions remains something of an enigma as beyond low-resolution DNA FISH we do not have the appropriate tools to analyze these. Here we present a method that uses standard 4C-seq data to identify multi-loci interactions from the same cell. We demonstrate the feasibility of our method using 4C-seq data sets that identify known pairwise and novel tri-loci interactions involving the Tcrb and Igk antigen receptor enhancers. We further show that the three Igk enhancers, MiEκ, 3'Eκ and Edκ, interact simultaneously in this super-enhancer cluster, which add to our previous findings showing that loss of one element decreases interactions between all three elements as well as reducing their transcriptional output. These findings underscore the functional importance of simultaneous interactions and provide new insight into the relationship between enhancer elements. Our method opens the door for studying multi-loci interactions and their impact on gene regulation in other biological settings. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  2. Development and characterization of thirteen microsatellite loci in Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Castoe, Todd A.; Tomback, Diana F.; Wunder, Michael B.; Schaming, Taza D.

    2013-01-01

    Clark’s nutcrackers are important seed dispersers for two widely-distributed western North American conifers, whitebark pine and limber pine, which are declining due to outbreaks of mountain pine beetle and white pine blister rust. Because nutcracker seed dispersal services are key to maintaining viable populations of these imperiled pines, knowledge of movement patterns of Clark’s nutcrackers helps managers understand local extinction risks for these trees. To investigate population structure within Clark’s nutcracker, we developed primers for and characterized 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci. In a screen of 22 individuals from one population, levels of variability ranged from 6 to 15 alleles. No loci were found to be linked, although 4 loci revealed significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and evidence of null alleles. These microsatellite loci will enable population genetic analyses of Clark’s nutcrackers, which could provide insights into the spatial relationships between nutcrackers and the trees they help disperse.

  3. Evaluation of customised lineage-specific sets of MIRU-VNTR loci for genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates in Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asante-Poku, Adwoa; Nyaho, Michael Selasi; Borrell, Sonia; Comas, Iñaki; Gagneux, Sebastien; Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy

    2014-01-01

    Different combinations of variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) loci have been proposed for genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Existing VNTR schemes show different discriminatory capacity among the six human MTBC lineages. Here, we evaluated the discriminatory power of a "customized MIRU12" loci format proposed previously by Comas et al. based on the standard 24 loci defined by Supply et al. for VNTR-typing of MTBC in Ghana. One hundred and fifty-eight MTBC isolates classified into Lineage 4 and Lineage 5 were used to compare a customized lineage-specific panel of 12 MIRU-VNTR loci ("customized MIRU-12") to the standard MIRU-15 genotyping scheme. The resolution power of each typing method was determined based on the Hunter-Gaston- Discriminatory Index (HGDI). A minimal set of customized MIRU-VNTR loci for typing Lineages 4 (Euro-American) and 5 (M. africanum West African 1) strains from Ghana was defined based on the cumulative HGDI. Among the 106 Lineage 4 strains, the customized MIRU-12 identified a total of 104 distinct genotypes consisting of 2 clusters of 2 isolates each (clustering rate 1.8%), and 102 unique strains while standard MIRU-15 yielded a total of 105 different genotypes, including 1 cluster of 2 isolates (clustering rate: 0.9%) and 104 singletons. Among, 52 Lineage 5 isolates, customized MIRU-12 genotyping defined 51 patterns with 1 cluster of 2 isolates (clustering rate: 0.9%) and 50 unique strains whereas MIRU-15 classified all 52 strains as unique. Cumulative HGDI values for customized MIRU-12 for Lineages 4 and 5 were 0.98 respectively whilst that of standard MIRU-15 was 0.99. A union of loci from the customised MIRU-12 and standard MIRU-15 revealed a set of customized eight highly discriminatory loci: 4052, 2163B, 40, 4165, 2165, 10,16 and 26 with a cumulative HGDI of 0.99 for genotyping Lineage 4 and 5 strains from Ghana.

  4. Evaluation of customised lineage-specific sets of MIRU-VNTR loci for genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates in Ghana.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adwoa Asante-Poku

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Different combinations of variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR loci have been proposed for genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC. Existing VNTR schemes show different discriminatory capacity among the six human MTBC lineages. Here, we evaluated the discriminatory power of a "customized MIRU12" loci format proposed previously by Comas et al. based on the standard 24 loci defined by Supply et al. for VNTR-typing of MTBC in Ghana. METHOD: One hundred and fifty-eight MTBC isolates classified into Lineage 4 and Lineage 5 were used to compare a customized lineage-specific panel of 12 MIRU-VNTR loci ("customized MIRU-12" to the standard MIRU-15 genotyping scheme. The resolution power of each typing method was determined based on the Hunter-Gaston- Discriminatory Index (HGDI. A minimal set of customized MIRU-VNTR loci for typing Lineages 4 (Euro-American and 5 (M. africanum West African 1 strains from Ghana was defined based on the cumulative HGDI. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Among the 106 Lineage 4 strains, the customized MIRU-12 identified a total of 104 distinct genotypes consisting of 2 clusters of 2 isolates each (clustering rate 1.8%, and 102 unique strains while standard MIRU-15 yielded a total of 105 different genotypes, including 1 cluster of 2 isolates (clustering rate: 0.9% and 104 singletons. Among, 52 Lineage 5 isolates, customized MIRU-12 genotyping defined 51 patterns with 1 cluster of 2 isolates (clustering rate: 0.9% and 50 unique strains whereas MIRU-15 classified all 52 strains as unique. Cumulative HGDI values for customized MIRU-12 for Lineages 4 and 5 were 0.98 respectively whilst that of standard MIRU-15 was 0.99. A union of loci from the customised MIRU-12 and standard MIRU-15 revealed a set of customized eight highly discriminatory loci: 4052, 2163B, 40, 4165, 2165, 10,16 and 26 with a cumulative HGDI of 0.99 for genotyping Lineage 4 and 5 strains from Ghana.

  5. Association mapping of partitioning loci in barley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mackay Ian J

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Association mapping, initially developed in human disease genetics, is now being applied to plant species. The model species Arabidopsis provided some of the first examples of association mapping in plants, identifying previously cloned flowering time genes, despite high population sub-structure. More recently, association genetics has been applied to barley, where breeding activity has resulted in a high degree of population sub-structure. A major genotypic division within barley is that between winter- and spring-sown varieties, which differ in their requirement for vernalization to promote subsequent flowering. To date, all attempts to validate association genetics in barley by identifying major flowering time loci that control vernalization requirement (VRN-H1 and VRN-H2 have failed. Here, we validate the use of association genetics in barley by identifying VRN-H1 and VRN-H2, despite their prominent role in determining population sub-structure. Results By taking barley as a typical inbreeding crop, and seasonal growth habit as a major partitioning phenotype, we develop an association mapping approach which successfully identifies VRN-H1 and VRN-H2, the underlying loci largely responsible for this agronomic division. We find a combination of Structured Association followed by Genomic Control to correct for population structure and inflation of the test statistic, resolved significant associations only with VRN-H1 and the VRN-H2 candidate genes, as well as two genes closely linked to VRN-H1 (HvCSFs1 and HvPHYC. Conclusion We show that, after employing appropriate statistical methods to correct for population sub-structure, the genome-wide partitioning effect of allelic status at VRN-H1 and VRN-H2 does not result in the high levels of spurious association expected to occur in highly structured samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that both VRN-H1 and the candidate VRN-H2 genes can be identified using association mapping

  6. High degree of genetic differentiation in marine three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Defaveri, Jacquelin; Shikano, Takahito; Shimada, Yukinori; Merilä, Juha

    2013-09-01

    Populations of widespread marine organisms are typically characterized by a low degree of genetic differentiation in neutral genetic markers, but much less is known about differentiation in genes whose functional roles are associated with specific selection regimes. To uncover possible adaptive population divergence and heterogeneous genomic differentiation in marine three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we used a candidate gene-based genome-scan approach to analyse variability in 138 microsatellite loci located within/close to (<6 kb) functionally important genes in samples collected from ten geographic locations. The degree of genetic differentiation in markers classified as neutral or under balancing selection-as determined with several outlier detection methods-was low (F(ST) = 0.033 or 0.011, respectively), whereas average FST for directionally selected markers was significantly higher (F(ST) = 0.097). Clustering analyses provided support for genomic and geographic heterogeneity in selection: six genetic clusters were identified based on allele frequency differences in the directionally selected loci, whereas four were identified with the neutral loci. Allelic variation in several loci exhibited significant associations with environmental variables, supporting the conjecture that temperature and salinity, but not optic conditions, are important drivers of adaptive divergence among populations. In general, these results suggest that in spite of the high degree of physical connectivity and gene flow as inferred from neutral marker genes, marine stickleback populations are strongly genetically structured in loci associated with functionally relevant genes. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Proactive control of proactive interference using the method of loci

    OpenAIRE

    Bass, Willa S.; Oswald, Karl M.

    2014-01-01

    Proactive interferencebuilds up with exposure to multiple lists of similar items with a resulting reduction in recall. This study examined the effectiveness of using a proactive strategy of the method of loci to reduce proactive interference in a list recall paradigm of categorically similar words. While all participants reported using some form of strategy to recall list words, this study demonstrated that young adults were able to proactively use the method of loci after 25 min of instructi...

  8. An R package "VariABEL" for genome-wide searching of potentially interacting loci by testing genotypic variance heterogeneity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Struchalin Maksim V

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hundreds of new loci have been discovered by genome-wide association studies of human traits. These studies mostly focused on associations between single locus and a trait. Interactions between genes and between genes and environmental factors are of interest as they can improve our understanding of the genetic background underlying complex traits. Genome-wide testing of complex genetic models is a computationally demanding task. Moreover, testing of such models leads to multiple comparison problems that reduce the probability of new findings. Assuming that the genetic model underlying a complex trait can include hundreds of genes and environmental factors, testing of these models in genome-wide association studies represent substantial difficulties. We and Pare with colleagues (2010 developed a method allowing to overcome such difficulties. The method is based on the fact that loci which are involved in interactions can show genotypic variance heterogeneity of a trait. Genome-wide testing of such heterogeneity can be a fast scanning approach which can point to the interacting genetic variants. Results In this work we present a new method, SVLM, allowing for variance heterogeneity analysis of imputed genetic variation. Type I error and power of this test are investigated and contracted with these of the Levene's test. We also present an R package, VariABEL, implementing existing and newly developed tests. Conclusions Variance heterogeneity analysis is a promising method for detection of potentially interacting loci. New method and software package developed in this work will facilitate such analysis in genome-wide context.

  9. New microsatellite loci for Prosopis alba and P. chilensis (Fabaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessega, Cecilia F; Pometti, Carolina L; Miller, Joe T; Watts, Richard; Saidman, Beatriz O; Vilardi, Juan C

    2013-05-01

    As only six useful microsatellite loci that exhibit broad cross-amplification are so far available for Prosopis species, it is necessary to develop a larger number of codominant markers for population genetic studies. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers obtained for Prosopis species from a 454 pyrosequencing run were optimized and characterized for studies in P. alba and P. chilensis. • Twelve markers that were successfully amplified showed polymorphism in P. alba and P. chilensis. The number of alleles per locus ranged between two and seven and heterozygosity estimates ranged from 0.2 to 0.8. Most of these loci cross-amplify in P. ruscifolia, P. flexuosa, P. kuntzei, P. glandulosa, and P. pallida. • These loci will enable genetic diversity studies of P. alba and P. chilensis and contribute to fine-scale population structure, indirect estimation of relatedness among individuals, and marker-assisted selection.

  10. PeakAnalyzer: Genome-wide annotation of chromatin binding and modification loci

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tammoja Kairi

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Functional genomic studies involving high-throughput sequencing and tiling array applications, such as ChIP-seq and ChIP-chip, generate large numbers of experimentally-derived signal peaks across the genome under study. In analyzing these loci to determine their potential regulatory functions, areas of signal enrichment must be considered relative to proximal genes and regulatory elements annotated throughout the target genome Regions of chromatin association by transcriptional regulators should be distinguished as individual binding sites in order to enhance downstream analyses, such as the identification of known and novel consensus motifs. Results PeakAnalyzer is a set of high-performance utilities for the automated processing of experimentally-derived peak regions and annotation of genomic loci. The programs can accurately subdivide multimodal regions of signal enrichment into distinct subpeaks corresponding to binding sites or chromatin modifications, retrieve genomic sequences encompassing the computed subpeak summits, and identify positional features of interest such as intersection with exon/intron gene components, proximity to up- or downstream transcriptional start sites and cis-regulatory elements. The software can be configured to run either as a pipeline component for high-throughput analyses, or as a cross-platform desktop application with an intuitive user interface. Conclusions PeakAnalyzer comprises a number of utilities essential for ChIP-seq and ChIP-chip data analysis. High-performance implementations are provided for Unix pipeline integration along with a GUI version for interactive use. Source code in C++ and Java is provided, as are native binaries for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows systems.

  11. Genes and quality trait loci (QTLs) associated with firmness in Malus x domestica

    KAUST Repository

    Marondedze, Claudius; Thomas, Ludivine

    2013-01-01

    , crunchiness and crispness. Fruit firmness is affected by the inheritance of alleles at multiple loci and their possible interactions with the environment. Identification of these loci is key for the determination of genetic candidate markers that can

  12. Another procedure for the preliminary ordering of loci based on two point lod scores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, D

    1994-01-01

    Because of the difficulty of performing full likelihood analysis over multiple loci and the large numbers of possible orders, a number of methods have been proposed for quickly evaluating orders and, to a lesser extent, for generating good orders. A new method is proposed which uses a function which is moderately laborious to compute, the sum of lod scores between all pairs of loci. This function can be smoothly minimized by initially allowing the loci to be placed anywhere in space, and only subsequently constraining them to lie along a one-dimensional map. Application of this approach to sample data suggests that it has promise and might usefully be combined with other methods when loci need to be ordered.

  13. Intragenomic polymorphisms among high-copy loci: a genus-wide study of nuclear ribosomal DNA in Asclepias (Apocynaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Weitemier

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite knowledge that concerted evolution of high-copy loci is often imperfect, studies that investigate the extent of intragenomic polymorphisms and comparisons across a large number of species are rarely made. We present a bioinformatic pipeline for characterizing polymorphisms within an individual among copies of a high-copy locus. Results are presented for nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA across the milkweed genus, Asclepias. The 18S-26S portion of the nrDNA cistron of Asclepias syriaca served as a reference for assembly of the region from 124 samples representing 90 species of Asclepias. Reads were mapped back to each individual’s consensus and at each position reads differing from the consensus were tallied using a custom perl script. Low frequency polymorphisms existed in all individuals (mean = 5.8%. Most nrDNA positions (91% were polymorphic in at least one individual, with polymorphic sites being less frequent in subunit regions and loops. Highly polymorphic sites existed in each individual, with highest abundance in the “noncoding” ITS regions. Phylogenetic signal was present in the distribution of intragenomic polymorphisms across the genus. Intragenomic polymorphisms in nrDNA are common in Asclepias, being found at higher frequency than any other study to date. The high and variable frequency of polymorphisms across species highlights concerns that phylogenetic applications of nrDNA may be error-prone. The new analytical approach provided here is applicable to other taxa and other high-copy regions characterized by low coverage genome sequencing (genome skimming.

  14. Immunochip analysis identification of 6 additional susceptibility loci for Crohn's disease in Koreans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Suk-Kyun; Hong, Myunghee; Choi, Hyunchul; Zhao, Wanting; Jung, Yusun; Haritunians, Talin; Ye, Byong Duk; Kim, Kyung-Jo; Park, Sang Hyoung; Lee, Inchul; Kim, Won Ho; Cheon, Jae Hee; Kim, Young-Ho; Jang, Byung Ik; Kim, Hyun-Soo; Choi, Jai Hyun; Koo, Ja Seol; Lee, Ji Hyun; Jung, Sung-Ae; Shin, Hyoung Doo; Kang, Daehee; Youn, Hee-Shang; Taylor, Kent D; Rotter, Jerome I; Liu, Jianjun; McGovern, Dermot P B; Song, Kyuyoung

    2015-01-01

    Crohn's disease (CD) is an intractable inflammatory bowel disease of unknown cause. Recent genome-wide association studies of CD in Korean and Japanese populations suggested marginal sharing of susceptibility loci between Caucasian and Asian populations. As the 7 identified loci altogether explain 5.31% of the risk for CD, the objective of this study was to identify additional CD susceptibility loci in the Korean population. Using the ImmunoChip custom single-nucleotide polymorphism array designed for dense genotyping of 186 loci identified through GWAS, we analyzed 722 individuals with CD and 461 controls for 96,048 SNP markers in the discovery stage, followed by validation in an additional 948 affected individuals and 977 controls. We confirmed 6 previously reported loci in Caucasian: GPR35 at 2q37 (rs3749172; P = 5.30 × 10, odds ratio [OR] = 1.45), ZNF365 at 10q21 (rs224143; P = 2.20 × 10, OR = 1.38), ZMIZ1 at 10q22 (rs1250569; P = 3.05 × 10, OR = 1.30), NKX2-3 at 10q24 (rs4409764; P = 7.93 × 10, OR = 1.32), PTPN2 at 18p11 (rs514000; P = 9.00 × 10, OR = 1.33), and USP25 at 21q11 (rs2823256; P = 2.49 × 10, OR = 1.35), bringing the number of known CD loci (including 3 in the HLA) in Koreans to 15. The 6 additional loci increased the total genetic variance for CD risk from 5.31% to 7.27% in Koreans. Although the different genetic backgrounds of CD between Asian and Western countries has been well established for the major susceptibility genes, our findings of overlapping associations offer new insights into the genetic architecture of CD.

  15. Incorporation of covariates in simultaneous localization of two linked loci using affected relative pairs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Kung-Yee

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many dichotomous traits for complex diseases are often involved more than one locus and/or associated with quantitative biomarkers or environmental factors. Incorporating these quantitative variables into linkage analysis as well as localizing two linked disease loci simultaneously could therefore improve the efficiency in mapping genes. We extended the robust multipoint Identity-by-Descent (IBD approach with incorporation of covariates developed previously to simultaneously estimate two linked loci using different types of affected relative pairs (ARPs. Results We showed that the efficiency was enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate parametrically or non-parametrically while localizing two disease loci using ARPs. In addition to its help in identifying factors associated with the disease and in improving the efficiency in estimating disease loci, this extension also allows investigators to account for heterogeneity in risk-ratios for different ARPs. Data released from the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA for Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW 14 were used to illustrate the application of this extended method. Conclusions The simulation studies and example illustrated that the efficiency in estimating disease loci was demonstratively enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate and by using all relative pairs while mapping two linked loci simultaneously.

  16. Large-scale association analysis identifies new risk loci for coronary artery disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deloukas, Panos; Kanoni, Stavroula; Willenborg, Christina; Farrall, Martin; Assimes, Themistocles L.; Thompson, John R.; Ingelsson, Erik; Saleheen, Danish; Erdmann, Jeanette; Goldstein, Benjamin A.; Stirrups, Kathleen; König, Inke R.; Cazier, Jean-Baptiste; Johansson, Asa; Hall, Alistair S.; Lee, Jong-Young; Willer, Cristen J.; Chambers, John C.; Esko, Tõnu; Folkersen, Lasse; Goel, Anuj; Grundberg, Elin; Havulinna, Aki S.; Ho, Weang K.; Hopewell, Jemma C.; Eriksson, Niclas; Kleber, Marcus E.; Kristiansson, Kati; Lundmark, Per; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Rafelt, Suzanne; Shungin, Dmitry; Strawbridge, Rona J.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Tikkanen, Emmi; van Zuydam, Natalie; Voight, Benjamin F.; Waite, Lindsay L.; Zhang, Weihua; Ziegler, Andreas; Absher, Devin; Altshuler, David; Balmforth, Anthony J.; Barroso, Inês; Braund, Peter S.; Burgdorf, Christof; Claudi-Boehm, Simone; Cox, David; Dimitriou, Maria; Do, Ron; Doney, Alex S. F.; El Mokhtari, NourEddine; Eriksson, Per; Fischer, Krista; Fontanillas, Pierre; Franco-Cereceda, Anders; Gigante, Bruna; Groop, Leif; Gustafsson, Stefan; Hager, Jörg; Hallmans, Göran; Han, Bok-Ghee; Hunt, Sarah E.; Kang, Hyun M.; Illig, Thomas; Kessler, Thorsten; Knowles, Joshua W.; Kolovou, Genovefa; Kuusisto, Johanna; Langenberg, Claudia; Langford, Cordelia; Leander, Karin; Lokki, Marja-Liisa; Lundmark, Anders; McCarthy, Mark I.; Meisinger, Christa; Melander, Olle; Mihailov, Evelin; Maouche, Seraya; Morris, Andrew D.; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Nikus, Kjell; Peden, John F.; Rayner, N. William; Rasheed, Asif; Rosinger, Silke; Rubin, Diana; Rumpf, Moritz P.; Schäfer, Arne; Sivananthan, Mohan; Song, Ci; Stewart, Alexandre F. R.; Tan, Sian-Tsung; Thorgeirsson, Gudmundur; van der Schoot, C. Ellen; Wagner, Peter J.; Wells, George A.; Wild, Philipp S.; Yang, Tsun-Po; Amouyel, Philippe; Arveiler, Dominique; Basart, Hanneke; Boehnke, Michael; Boerwinkle, Eric; Brambilla, Paolo; Cambien, Francois; Cupples, Adrienne L.; de Faire, Ulf; Dehghan, Abbas; Diemert, Patrick; Epstein, Stephen E.; Evans, Alun; Ferrario, Marco M.; Ferrières, Jean; Gauguier, Dominique; Go, Alan S.; Goodall, Alison H.; Gudnason, Villi; Hazen, Stanley L.; Holm, Hilma; Iribarren, Carlos; Jang, Yangsoo; Kähönen, Mika; Kee, Frank; Kim, Hyo-Soo; Klopp, Norman; Koenig, Wolfgang; Kratzer, Wolfgang; Kuulasmaa, Kari; Laakso, Markku; Laaksonen, Reijo; Lee, Ji-Young; Lind, Lars; Ouwehand, Willem H.; Parish, Sarah; Park, Jeong E.; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Peters, Annette; Quertermous, Thomas; Rader, Daniel J.; Salomaa, Veikko; Schadt, Eric; Shah, Svati H.; Sinisalo, Juha; Stark, Klaus; Stefansson, Kari; Trégouët, David-Alexandre; Virtamo, Jarmo; Wallentin, Lars; Wareham, Nicholas; Zimmermann, Martina E.; Nieminen, Markku S.; Hengstenberg, Christian; Sandhu, Manjinder S.; Pastinen, Tomi; Syvänen, Ann-Christine; Hovingh, G. Kees; Dedoussis, George; Franks, Paul W.; Lehtimäki, Terho; Metspalu, Andres; Zalloua, Pierre A.; Siegbahn, Agneta; Schreiber, Stefan; Ripatti, Samuli; Blankenberg, Stefan S.; Perola, Markus; Clarke, Robert; Boehm, Bernhard O.; O'Donnell, Christopher; Reilly, Muredach P.; März, Winfried; Collins, Rory; Kathiresan, Sekar; Hamsten, Anders; Kooner, Jaspal S.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Danesh, John; Palmer, Colin N. A.; Roberts, Robert; Watkins, Hugh; Schunkert, Heribert; Samani, Nilesh J.

    2013-01-01

    Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of death. Here, we report an association analysis in 63,746 CAD cases and 130,681 controls identifying 15 loci reaching genome-wide significance, taking the number of susceptibility loci for CAD to 46, and a further 104 independent variants (r(2)

  17. [Association of aggressive behaviors of schizophrenia with short tandem repeats loci].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chun; Ba, Huajie; Tan, Xingqi; Zhao, Hanqing; Zhang, Shuyou; Yu, Haiying

    2017-12-10

    To assess the association of short tandem repeats (STRs) loci with aggressive behaviors of schizophrenia. Blood samples from 123 schizophrenic patients with aggressive behaviors and 489 schizophrenic patients without aggressive behaviors were collected. DNA from all samples was amplified with a PowerPlex 21 system and separated by electrophoresis to determine the genotypes and allelic frequencies of 20 STR loci including D3S1368, D1S1656, D6S1043, D13S317, Penta E, D16S639, D18S51, D2S1338, CSF1PO, Penta D, TH01, vWA, D21S11, D7S820, D5S818, TPOX, D8S1179, D12S391, D19S433, and FGA. All of the 20 STR loci have reached Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both groups. A significant difference was found in allelic and genotypic frequencies of loci Penta D between the two groups (alleles: P=0.042; genotypes: P=0.014) but not for the remaining 19 loci (P> 0.05). Univariate analysis also showed a significant difference for allele 10 and genotypes 10-12 of Penta D between the two groups (P=0.0027, P=0.0001), with the OR being 1.81 (95%CI: 1.22-2.67) and 4.33 (95%CI: 1.95-9.59), respectively. Penta D may be associated with aggressive behaviors of schizophrenia. Allele 10 and genotypes 10-12 of Penta D may confer a risk for the disease.

  18. Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Speliotes, Elizabeth K.; Willer, Cristen J.; Berndt, Sonja I.; Monda, Keri L.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Jackson, Anne U.; Allen, Hana Lango; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Luan, Jian'an; Maegi, Reedik; Randall, Joshua C.; Vedantam, Sailaja; Winkler, Thomas W.; Qi, Lu; Workalemahu, Tsegaselassie; Heid, Iris M.; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Stringham, Heather M.; Weedon, Michael N.; Wheeler, Eleanor; Wood, Andrew R.; Ferreira, Teresa; Weyant, Robert J.; Segre, Ayellet V.; Estrada, Karol; Liang, Liming; Nemesh, James; Park, Ju-Hyun; Gustafsson, Stefan; Kilpelaenen, Tuomas O.; Yang, Jian; Bouatia-Naji, Nabila; Esko, Tonu; Feitosa, Mary F.; Kutalik, Zoltan; Mangino, Massimo; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Scherag, Andre; Smith, Albert Vernon; Welch, Ryan; Zhao, Jing Hua; Aben, Katja K.; Absher, Devin M.; Amin, Najaf; Dixon, Anna L.; Fisher, Eva; Glazer, Nicole L.; Goddard, Michael E.; Heard-Costa, Nancy L.; van Meurs, Joyce B. J.

    2010-01-01

    Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and similar to 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of

  19. Genetic Diversity of Three Spotted Seahorse, Hippocampus trimaculatus (Leach, 1814 in India Using Four Microsatellite Loci

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muthusamy THANGARAJ

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Seahorse populations are declining year by year not only in India but also throughout the world, because of over-fishing and increasing demand in Chinese market. The three spotted seahorse, Hippocampus trimaculatus is one of the dominant species and distributed all along the Indian coast. To study the genetic structure is very essential to conserve these species effectively. Hippocampus trimaculatus samples (n = 60/population were collected from Mullimunai in Palk Bay, Tuticorin in Gulf of Mannar and Vizhinjam in south Malabar in India as by-catch in small trawlnets. Microsatellites are being widely applied in animal genome mapping and phylogenetic analysis because of their co-dominant inheritance and high degree of polymorphism. The molecular polymorphism of microsatellite DNA has proved to be a potent tool in the analysis of several aspects of population genetics. In the present study, four microsatellite primers were used to investigate the genetic difference and structure of three selected populations of H. trimaculatus. The result showed the overall FST value (0.0989 of the microsatellite loci between Mullimunai and Vizhinjam was significantly different. The genetic distance between Mullimunai and Tuticorin was 0.183; between Tuticorin and Vizhinjam was 0.461; and Mullimunai and Vizhinjam was 0.837. There was no statistical evidence of recent severe bottlenecks in any of the three populations. Continuous monitoring of microsatellite variations within the populations of all the three locations was suggested to determine whether genetic variation within the populations is stabilized between year classes.

  20. PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the Arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramey, A; Graziano, S L; Nielsen, J L

    2008-03-01

    Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for the Arctic cisco, Coregonus autumnalis. Loci were evaluated in 21 samples from the Colville River subsistence fishery. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 18. Observed heterozygosity of loci varied from 0.10 to 1.00, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.09 to 0.92. All eight microsatellite markers were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The loci presented here will be useful in describing population structure and exploring populations of origin for Arctic cisco. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd No claim to original US government works.

  1. Variation in soil aluminium tolerance genes is associated with local adaptation to soils at the Park Grass Experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Billie; McCouch, Susan; Geber, Monica

    2014-12-01

    Studies of the wild grass Anthoxanthum odoratum at the long-term Park Grass Experiment (PGE, Harpenden, UK) document a well-known example of rapid plant evolution in response to environmental change. Repeated fertilizer applications have acidified the soil in some experimental plots over the past 150+ years, and Anthoxanthum subpopulations have quickly become locally adapted. Early reciprocal transplants showed subpopulation differentiation specifically in response to soil aluminium (Al) toxicity across the experiment, even at small (30 m) spatial scales. Almost 40 years after its original measurement, we reassessed the degree of local adaptation to soil Al at the PGE using updated phenotyping methods and identified genes with variation linked to the tolerance trait. Root growth assays show that plants are locally adapted to soil Al at both the seedling and adult growth stages, but to a smaller extent than previously inferred. Among a large suite of candidate loci that were previously shown to have Al-sensitive expression differences between sensitive and tolerant plants, three loci contained SNPs that are associated with both Al tolerance and soil acidity: an Al-sensitive malate transporter (ALMT), a tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) and the putative homolog of the rice cell-wall modification gene STAR1. Natural genetic variation at these loci is likely to have contributed to the recent rapid evolution at PGE. Continued study of Al tolerance variants in Anthoxanthum will allow us to test hypotheses about the nature and source of genetic variation that enables some species to adapt to soil acidification and other types of rapid environmental change. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Segregating YKU80 and TLC1 alleles underlying natural variation in telomere properties in wild yeast.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianni Liti

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available In yeast, as in humans, telomere length varies among individuals and is controlled by multiple loci. In a quest to define the extent of variation in telomere length, we screened 112 wild-type Saccharomyces sensu stricto isolates. We found extensive telomere length variation in S. paradoxus isolates. This phenotype correlated with their geographic origin: European strains were observed to have extremely short telomeres (400 bp. Insertions of a URA3 gene near telomeres allowed accurate analysis of individual telomere lengths and telomere position effect (TPE. Crossing the American and European strains resulted in F1 spores with a continuum of telomere lengths consistent with what would be predicted if many quantitative trait loci (QTLs were involved in length maintenance. Variation in TPE is similarly quantitative but only weakly correlated with telomere length. Genotyping F1 segregants indicated several QTLs associated with telomere length and silencing variation. These QTLs include likely candidate genes but also map to regions where there are no known genes involved in telomeric properties. We detected transgressive segregation for both phenotypes. We validated by reciprocal hemizygosity that YKU80 and TLC1 are telomere-length QTLs in the two S. paradoxus subpopulations. Furthermore, we propose that sequence divergence within the Ku heterodimer generates negative epistasis within one of the allelic combinations (American-YKU70 and European-YKU80 resulting in very short telomeres.

  3. Segregating YKU80 and TLC1 alleles underlying natural variation in telomere properties in wild yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liti, Gianni; Haricharan, Svasti; Cubillos, Francisco A; Tierney, Anna L; Sharp, Sarah; Bertuch, Alison A; Parts, Leopold; Bailes, Elizabeth; Louis, Edward J

    2009-09-01

    In yeast, as in humans, telomere length varies among individuals and is controlled by multiple loci. In a quest to define the extent of variation in telomere length, we screened 112 wild-type Saccharomyces sensu stricto isolates. We found extensive telomere length variation in S. paradoxus isolates. This phenotype correlated with their geographic origin: European strains were observed to have extremely short telomeres (400 bp). Insertions of a URA3 gene near telomeres allowed accurate analysis of individual telomere lengths and telomere position effect (TPE). Crossing the American and European strains resulted in F1 spores with a continuum of telomere lengths consistent with what would be predicted if many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were involved in length maintenance. Variation in TPE is similarly quantitative but only weakly correlated with telomere length. Genotyping F1 segregants indicated several QTLs associated with telomere length and silencing variation. These QTLs include likely candidate genes but also map to regions where there are no known genes involved in telomeric properties. We detected transgressive segregation for both phenotypes. We validated by reciprocal hemizygosity that YKU80 and TLC1 are telomere-length QTLs in the two S. paradoxus subpopulations. Furthermore, we propose that sequence divergence within the Ku heterodimer generates negative epistasis within one of the allelic combinations (American-YKU70 and European-YKU80) resulting in very short telomeres.

  4. Confirmation of novel type 1 diabetes risk loci in families

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cooper, J D; Howson, J M M; Smyth, D

    2012-01-01

    Over 50 regions of the genome have been associated with type 1 diabetes risk, mainly using large case/control collections. In a recent genome-wide association (GWA) study, 18 novel susceptibility loci were identified and replicated, including replication evidence from 2,319 families. Here, we......, the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC), aimed to exclude the possibility that any of the 18 loci were false-positives due to population stratification by significantly increasing the statistical power of our family study....

  5. New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupuis, Josée; Langenberg, Claudia; Prokopenko, Inga; Saxena, Richa; Soranzo, Nicole; Jackson, Anne U; Wheeler, Eleanor; Glazer, Nicole L; Bouatia-Naji, Nabila; Gloyn, Anna L; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Mägi, Reedik; Morris, Andrew P; Randall, Joshua; Johnson, Toby; Elliott, Paul; Rybin, Denis; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Henneman, Peter; Grallert, Harald; Dehghan, Abbas; Hottenga, Jouke Jan; Franklin, Christopher S; Navarro, Pau; Song, Kijoung; Goel, Anuj; Perry, John R B; Egan, Josephine M; Lajunen, Taina; Grarup, Niels; Sparsø, Thomas; Doney, Alex; Voight, Benjamin F; Stringham, Heather M; Li, Man; Kanoni, Stavroula; Shrader, Peter; Cavalcanti-Proença, Christine; Kumari, Meena; Qi, Lu; Timpson, Nicholas J; Gieger, Christian; Zabena, Carina; Rocheleau, Ghislain; Ingelsson, Erik; An, Ping; O’Connell, Jeffrey; Luan, Jian'an; Elliott, Amanda; McCarroll, Steven A; Payne, Felicity; Roccasecca, Rosa Maria; Pattou, François; Sethupathy, Praveen; Ardlie, Kristin; Ariyurek, Yavuz; Balkau, Beverley; Barter, Philip; Beilby, John P; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Benediktsson, Rafn; Bennett, Amanda J; Bergmann, Sven; Bochud, Murielle; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bonnefond, Amélie; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Borch-Johnsen, Knut; Böttcher, Yvonne; Brunner, Eric; Bumpstead, Suzannah J; Charpentier, Guillaume; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Chines, Peter; Clarke, Robert; Coin, Lachlan J M; Cooper, Matthew N; Cornelis, Marilyn; Crawford, Gabe; Crisponi, Laura; Day, Ian N M; de Geus, Eco; Delplanque, Jerome; Dina, Christian; Erdos, Michael R; Fedson, Annette C; Fischer-Rosinsky, Antje; Forouhi, Nita G; Fox, Caroline S; Frants, Rune; Franzosi, Maria Grazia; Galan, Pilar; Goodarzi, Mark O; Graessler, Jürgen; Groves, Christopher J; Grundy, Scott; Gwilliam, Rhian; Gyllensten, Ulf; Hadjadj, Samy; Hallmans, Göran; Hammond, Naomi; Han, Xijing; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hassanali, Neelam; Hayward, Caroline; Heath, Simon C; Hercberg, Serge; Herder, Christian; Hicks, Andrew A; Hillman, David R; Hingorani, Aroon D; Hofman, Albert; Hui, Jennie; Hung, Joe; Isomaa, Bo; Johnson, Paul R V; Jørgensen, Torben; Jula, Antti; Kaakinen, Marika; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kesaniemi, Y Antero; Kivimaki, Mika; Knight, Beatrice; Koskinen, Seppo; Kovacs, Peter; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm; Lathrop, G Mark; Lawlor, Debbie A; Le Bacquer, Olivier; Lecoeur, Cécile; Li, Yun; Lyssenko, Valeriya; Mahley, Robert; Mangino, Massimo; Manning, Alisa K; Martínez-Larrad, María Teresa; McAteer, Jarred B; McCulloch, Laura J; McPherson, Ruth; Meisinger, Christa; Melzer, David; Meyre, David; Mitchell, Braxton D; Morken, Mario A; Mukherjee, Sutapa; Naitza, Silvia; Narisu, Narisu; Neville, Matthew J; Oostra, Ben A; Orrù, Marco; Pakyz, Ruth; Palmer, Colin N A; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Pattaro, Cristian; Pearson, Daniel; Peden, John F; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Perola, Markus; Pfeiffer, Andreas F H; Pichler, Irene; Polasek, Ozren; Posthuma, Danielle; Potter, Simon C; Pouta, Anneli; Province, Michael A; Psaty, Bruce M; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Rayner, Nigel W; Rice, Kenneth; Ripatti, Samuli; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Roden, Michael; Rolandsson, Olov; Sandbaek, Annelli; Sandhu, Manjinder; Sanna, Serena; Sayer, Avan Aihie; Scheet, Paul; Scott, Laura J; Seedorf, Udo; Sharp, Stephen J; Shields, Beverley; Sigurðsson, Gunnar; Sijbrands, Erik J G; Silveira, Angela; Simpson, Laila; Singleton, Andrew; Smith, Nicholas L; Sovio, Ulla; Swift, Amy; Syddall, Holly; Syvänen, Ann-Christine; Tanaka, Toshiko; Thorand, Barbara; Tichet, Jean; Tönjes, Anke; Tuomi, Tiinamaija; Uitterlinden, André G; van Dijk, Ko Willems; van Hoek, Mandy; Varma, Dhiraj; Visvikis-Siest, Sophie; Vitart, Veronique; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Waeber, Gérard; Wagner, Peter J; Walley, Andrew; Walters, G Bragi; Ward, Kim L; Watkins, Hugh; Weedon, Michael N; Wild, Sarah H; Willemsen, Gonneke; Witteman, Jaqueline C M; Yarnell, John W G; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Zelenika, Diana; Zethelius, Björn; Zhai, Guangju; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zillikens, M Carola; Borecki, Ingrid B; Loos, Ruth J F; Meneton, Pierre; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Nathan, David M; Williams, Gordon H; Hattersley, Andrew T; Silander, Kaisa; Salomaa, Veikko; Smith, George Davey; Bornstein, Stefan R; Schwarz, Peter; Spranger, Joachim; Karpe, Fredrik; Shuldiner, Alan R; Cooper, Cyrus; Dedoussis, George V; Serrano-Ríos, Manuel; Morris, Andrew D; Lind, Lars; Palmer, Lyle J; Hu, Frank B.; Franks, Paul W; Ebrahim, Shah; Marmot, Michael; Kao, W H Linda; Pankow, James S; Sampson, Michael J; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laakso, Markku; Hansen, Torben; Pedersen, Oluf; Pramstaller, Peter Paul; Wichmann, H Erich; Illig, Thomas; Rudan, Igor; Wright, Alan F; Stumvoll, Michael; Campbell, Harry; Wilson, James F; Hamsten, Anders; Bergman, Richard N; Buchanan, Thomas A; Collins, Francis S; Mohlke, Karen L; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Valle, Timo T; Altshuler, David; Rotter, Jerome I; Siscovick, David S; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Boomsma, Dorret; Deloukas, Panos; Spector, Timothy D; Frayling, Timothy M; Ferrucci, Luigi; Kong, Augustine; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Stefansson, Kari; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Aulchenko, Yurii S; Cao, Antonio; Scuteri, Angelo; Schlessinger, David; Uda, Manuela; Ruokonen, Aimo; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Waterworth, Dawn M; Vollenweider, Peter; Peltonen, Leena; Mooser, Vincent; Abecasis, Goncalo R; Wareham, Nicholas J; Sladek, Robert; Froguel, Philippe; Watanabe, Richard M; Meigs, James B; Groop, Leif; Boehnke, Michael; McCarthy, Mark I; Florez, Jose C; Barroso, Inês

    2010-01-01

    Circulating glucose levels are tightly regulated. To identify novel glycemic loci, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide associations studies informative for fasting glucose (FG), fasting insulin (FI) and indices of β-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 non-diabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with FG/HOMA-B and two associated with FI/HOMA-IR. These include nine new FG loci (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and FAM148B) and one influencing FI/HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB/TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify T2D risk loci, as well as loci that elevate FG modestly, but do not cause overt diabetes. PMID:20081858

  6. Genome-wide association study identifies three novel loci for type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hara, Kazuo; Fujita, Hayato; Johnson, Todd A

    2014-01-01

    Although over 60 loci for type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been identified, there still remains a large genetic component to be clarified. To explore unidentified loci for T2D, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 6 209 637 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which were directly g...

  7. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Suillus luteus

    OpenAIRE

    Muller, L.; LAMBAERTS, Marc; VANGRONSVELD, Jaco; COLPAERT, Jan

    2006-01-01

    Eight microsatellite loci were isolated from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Suillus luteus using a dual-suppression-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. In a test sample of 40 isolates, the total number of alleles per locus and the expected heterozygosities ranged from five to 16 and from 0.532 to 0.811, respectively. These highly polymorphic markers allow an accurate description of the genetic diversity and structure of S. luteus populations.

  8. A high sensitivity process variation sensor utilizing sub-threshold operation

    OpenAIRE

    Meterelliyoz, Mesut; Song, Peilin; Stellari, Franco; Kulkarni, Jaydeep P.; Roy, Kaushik

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a novel low-power, bias-free, high-sensitivity process variation sensor for monitoring random variations in the threshold voltage. The proposed sensor design utilizes the exponential current-voltage relationship of sub-threshold operation thereby improving the sensitivity by 2.3X compared to the above-threshold operation. A test-chip containing 128 PMOS and 128 NMOS devices has been fabri...

  9. New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupuis, Josée; Langenberg, Claudia; Prokopenko, Inga

    2010-01-01

    Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up...... to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA......2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell...

  10. New Microsatellite Loci for Prosopis alba and P. chilensis (Fabaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cecilia F. Bessega

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: As only six useful microsatellite loci that exhibit broad cross-amplification are so far available for Prosopis species, it is necessary to develop a larger number of codominant markers for population genetic studies. Simple sequence repeat (SSR markers obtained for Prosopis species from a 454 pyrosequencing run were optimized and characterized for studies in P. alba and P. chilensis. Methods and Results: Twelve markers that were successfully amplified showed polymorphism in P. alba and P. chilensis. The number of alleles per locus ranged between two and seven and heterozygosity estimates ranged from 0.2 to 0.8. Most of these loci cross-amplify in P. ruscifolia, P. flexuosa, P. kuntzei, P. glandulosa, and P. pallida. Conclusions: These loci will enable genetic diversity studies of P. alba and P. chilensis and contribute to fine-scale population structure, indirect estimation of relatedness among individuals, and marker-assisted selection.

  11. Seventy-five genetic loci influencing the human red blood cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Harst, Pim; Zhang, Weihua; Mateo Leach, Irene; Rendon, Augusto; Verweij, Niek; Sehmi, Joban; Paul, Dirk S; Elling, Ulrich; Allayee, Hooman; Li, Xinzhong; Radhakrishnan, Aparna; Tan, Sian-Tsung; Voss, Katrin; Weichenberger, Christian X; Albers, Cornelis A; Al-Hussani, Abtehale; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Ciullo, Marina; Danjou, Fabrice; Dina, Christian; Esko, Tõnu; Evans, David M; Franke, Lude; Gögele, Martin; Hartiala, Jaana; Hersch, Micha; Holm, Hilma; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kleber, Marcus E; Lagou, Vasiliki; Langenberg, Claudia; Lopez, Lorna M; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Melander, Olle; Murgia, Federico; Nolte, Ilja M; O'Reilly, Paul F; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Parsa, Afshin; Pirastu, Nicola; Porcu, Eleonora; Portas, Laura; Prokopenko, Inga; Ried, Janina S; Shin, So-Youn; Tang, Clara S; Teumer, Alexander; Traglia, Michela; Ulivi, Sheila; Westra, Harm-Jan; Yang, Jian; Zhao, Jing Hua; Anni, Franco; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Attwood, Antony; Balkau, Beverley; Bandinelli, Stefania; Bastardot, François; Benyamin, Beben; Boehm, Bernhard O; Cookson, William O; Das, Debashish; de Bakker, Paul I W; de Boer, Rudolf A; de Geus, Eco J C; de Moor, Marleen H; Dimitriou, Maria; Domingues, Francisco S; Döring, Angela; Engström, Gunnar; Eyjolfsson, Gudmundur Ingi; Ferrucci, Luigi; Fischer, Krista; Galanello, Renzo; Garner, Stephen F; Genser, Bernd; Gibson, Quince D; Girotto, Giorgia; Gudbjartsson, Daniel Fannar; Harris, Sarah E; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hastie, Claire E; Hedblad, Bo; Illig, Thomas; Jolley, Jennifer; Kähönen, Mika; Kema, Ido P; Kemp, John P; Liang, Liming; Lloyd-Jones, Heather; Loos, Ruth J F; Meacham, Stuart; Medland, Sarah E; Meisinger, Christa; Memari, Yasin; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Kathy; Moffatt, Miriam F; Nauck, Matthias; Novatchkova, Maria; Nutile, Teresa; Olafsson, Isleifur; Onundarson, Pall T; Parracciani, Debora; Penninx, Brenda W; Perseu, Lucia; Piga, Antonio; Pistis, Giorgio; Pouta, Anneli; Puc, Ursula; Raitakari, Olli; Ring, Susan M; Robino, Antonietta; Ruggiero, Daniela; Ruokonen, Aimo; Saint-Pierre, Aude; Sala, Cinzia; Salumets, Andres; Sambrook, Jennifer; Schepers, Hein; Schmidt, Carsten Oliver; Silljé, Herman H W; Sladek, Rob; Smit, Johannes H; Starr, John M; Stephens, Jonathan; Sulem, Patrick; Tanaka, Toshiko; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Tragante, Vinicius; van Gilst, Wiek H; van Pelt, L Joost; van Veldhuisen, Dirk J; Völker, Uwe; Whitfield, John B; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winkelmann, Bernhard R; Wirnsberger, Gerald; Algra, Ale; Cucca, Francesco; d'Adamo, Adamo Pio; Danesh, John; Deary, Ian J; Dominiczak, Anna F; Elliott, Paul; Fortina, Paolo; Froguel, Philippe; Gasparini, Paolo; Greinacher, Andreas; Hazen, Stanley L; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Khaw, Kay Tee; Lehtimäki, Terho; Maerz, Winfried; Martin, Nicholas G; Metspalu, Andres; Mitchell, Braxton D; Montgomery, Grant W; Moore, Carmel; Navis, Gerjan; Pirastu, Mario; Pramstaller, Peter P; Ramirez-Solis, Ramiro; Schadt, Eric; Scott, James; Shuldiner, Alan R; Smith, George Davey; Smith, J Gustav; Snieder, Harold; Sorice, Rossella; Spector, Tim D; Stefansson, Kari; Stumvoll, Michael; Tang, W H Wilson; Toniolo, Daniela; Tönjes, Anke; Visscher, Peter M; Vollenweider, Peter; Wareham, Nicholas J; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R; Boomsma, Dorret I; Beckmann, Jacques S; Dedoussis, George V; Deloukas, Panos; Ferreira, Manuel A; Sanna, Serena; Uda, Manuela; Hicks, Andrew A; Penninger, Josef Martin; Gieger, Christian; Kooner, Jaspal S; Ouwehand, Willem H; Soranzo, Nicole; Chambers, John C

    2012-12-20

    Anaemia is a chief determinant of global ill health, contributing to cognitive impairment, growth retardation and impaired physical capacity. To understand further the genetic factors influencing red blood cells, we carried out a genome-wide association study of haemoglobin concentration and related parameters in up to 135,367 individuals. Here we identify 75 independent genetic loci associated with one or more red blood cell phenotypes at P < 10(-8), which together explain 4-9% of the phenotypic variance per trait. Using expression quantitative trait loci and bioinformatic strategies, we identify 121 candidate genes enriched in functions relevant to red blood cell biology. The candidate genes are expressed preferentially in red blood cell precursors, and 43 have haematopoietic phenotypes in Mus musculus or Drosophila melanogaster. Through open-chromatin and coding-variant analyses we identify potential causal genetic variants at 41 loci. Our findings provide extensive new insights into genetic mechanisms and biological pathways controlling red blood cell formation and function.

  12. Filipino DNA variation at 12 X-chromosome short tandem repeat markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvador, Jazelyn M; Apaga, Dame Loveliness T; Delfin, Frederick C; Calacal, Gayvelline C; Dennis, Sheila Estacio; De Ungria, Maria Corazon A

    2018-06-08

    Demands for solving complex kinship scenarios where only distant relatives are available for testing have risen in the past years. In these instances, other genetic markers such as X-chromosome short tandem repeat (X-STR) markers are employed to supplement autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR DNA typing. However, prior to use, the degree of STR polymorphism in the population requires evaluation through generation of an allele or haplotype frequency population database. This population database is also used for statistical evaluation of DNA typing results. Here, we report X-STR data from 143 unrelated Filipino male individuals who were genotyped via conventional polymerase chain reaction-capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) using the 12 X-STR loci included in the Investigator ® Argus X-12 kit (Qiagen) and via massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of seven X-STR loci included in the ForenSeq ™ DNA Signature Prep kit of the MiSeq ® FGx ™ Forensic Genomics System (Illumina). Allele calls between PCR-CE and MPS systems were consistent (100% concordance) across seven overlapping X-STRs. Allele and haplotype frequencies and other parameters of forensic interest were calculated based on length (PCR-CE, 12 X-STRs) and sequence (MPS, seven X-STRs) variations observed in the population. Results of our study indicate that the 12 X-STRs in the PCR-CE system are highly informative for the Filipino population. MPS of seven X-STR loci identified 73 X-STR alleles compared with 55 X-STR alleles that were identified solely by length via PCR-CE. Of the 73 sequence-based alleles observed, six alleles have not been reported in the literature. The population data presented here may serve as a reference Philippine frequency database of X-STRs for forensic casework applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Epistasis between QTLs for bone density variation in Copenhagen × dark agouti F2 rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lixiang; Alam, Imranul; Sun, Qiwei; Econs, Michael J.; Foroud, Tatiana; Turner, Charles H.

    2010-01-01

    The variation in several of the risk factors for osteoporotic fracture, including bone mineral density (BMD), has been shown to be strongly influenced by genetic differences. However, the genetic architecture of BMD is complex in both humans and in model organisms. We previously reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) results for BMD from a genome screen of 828 F2 progeny of Copenhagen and dark agouti rats. These progeny also provide an excellent opportunity to search for epistatic effects, or interaction between genetic loci, that contribute to fracture risk. Microsatellite marker data from a 20-cM genome screen was analyzed along with weight-adjusted bone density (DXA and pQCT) phenotypic data using the R/qtl software package. Genotype and phenotype data were permuted to determine genome-wide significance thresholds for the full model and epistasis (interaction) LOD scores corresponding to an alpha level of 0.01. A novel locus on chromosome 15 and a previously reported chromosome 14 QTL demonstrated a strong epistatic effect on BMD at the femur by DXA (LOD = 5.4). Two novel QTLs on chromosomes 2 and 12 were found to interact to affect total BMD at the femur midshaft by pQCT (LOD = 5.0). These results provide new information regarding the mode of action of previously identified QTL in the rat, as well as identifying novel loci that act in combination with known QTL or with other novel loci to contribute to BMD variation. PMID:19153792

  14. Epistasis between QTLs for bone density variation in Copenhagen x dark agouti F2 rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koller, Daniel L; Liu, Lixiang; Alam, Imranul; Sun, Qiwei; Econs, Michael J; Foroud, Tatiana; Turner, Charles H

    2009-03-01

    The variation in several of the risk factors for osteoporotic fracture, including bone mineral density (BMD), has been shown to be strongly influenced by genetic differences. However, the genetic architecture of BMD is complex in both humans and in model organisms. We previously reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) results for BMD from a genome screen of 828 F2 progeny of Copenhagen and dark agouti rats. These progeny also provide an excellent opportunity to search for epistatic effects, or interaction between genetic loci, that contribute to fracture risk. Microsatellite marker data from a 20-cM genome screen was analyzed along with weight-adjusted bone density (DXA and pQCT) phenotypic data using the R/qtl software package. Genotype and phenotype data were permuted to determine genome-wide significance thresholds for the full model and epistasis (interaction) LOD scores corresponding to an alpha level of 0.01. A novel locus on chromosome 15 and a previously reported chromosome 14 QTL demonstrated a strong epistatic effect on BMD at the femur by DXA (LOD = 5.4). Two novel QTLs on chromosomes 2 and 12 were found to interact to affect total BMD at the femur midshaft by pQCT (LOD = 5.0). These results provide new information regarding the mode of action of previously identified QTL in the rat, as well as identifying novel loci that act in combination with known QTL or with other novel loci to contribute to BMD variation.

  15. Multiple loci are associated with white blood cell phenotypes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A Nalls

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available White blood cell (WBC count is a common clinical measure from complete blood count assays, and it varies widely among healthy individuals. Total WBC count and its constituent subtypes have been shown to be moderately heritable, with the heritability estimates varying across cell types. We studied 19,509 subjects from seven cohorts in a discovery analysis, and 11,823 subjects from ten cohorts for replication analyses, to determine genetic factors influencing variability within the normal hematological range for total WBC count and five WBC subtype measures. Cohort specific data was supplied by the CHARGE, HeamGen, and INGI consortia, as well as independent collaborative studies. We identified and replicated ten associations with total WBC count and five WBC subtypes at seven different genomic loci (total WBC count-6p21 in the HLA region, 17q21 near ORMDL3, and CSF3; neutrophil count-17q21; basophil count- 3p21 near RPN1 and C3orf27; lymphocyte count-6p21, 19p13 at EPS15L1; monocyte count-2q31 at ITGA4, 3q21, 8q24 an intergenic region, 9q31 near EDG2, including three previously reported associations and seven novel associations. To investigate functional relationships among variants contributing to variability in the six WBC traits, we utilized gene expression- and pathways-based analyses. We implemented gene-clustering algorithms to evaluate functional connectivity among implicated loci and showed functional relationships across cell types. Gene expression data from whole blood was utilized to show that significant biological consequences can be extracted from our genome-wide analyses, with effect estimates for significant loci from the meta-analyses being highly corellated with the proximal gene expression. In addition, collaborative efforts between the groups contributing to this study and related studies conducted by the COGENT and RIKEN groups allowed for the examination of effect homogeneity for genome-wide significant associations across

  16. Seven newly identified loci for autoimmune thyroid disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Jason D; Simmonds, Matthew J; Walker, Neil M; Burren, Oliver; Brand, Oliver J; Guo, Hui; Wallace, Chris; Stevens, Helen; Coleman, Gillian; Franklyn, Jayne A; Todd, John A; Gough, Stephen C L

    2012-12-01

    Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), including Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), is one of the most common of the immune-mediated diseases. To further investigate the genetic determinants of AITD, we conducted an association study using a custom-made single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, the ImmunoChip. The SNP array contains all known and genotype-able SNPs across 186 distinct susceptibility loci associated with one or more immune-mediated diseases. After stringent quality control, we analysed 103 875 common SNPs (minor allele frequency >0.05) in 2285 GD and 462 HT patients and 9364 controls. We found evidence for seven new AITD risk loci (P test derived significance threshold), five at locations previously associated and two at locations awaiting confirmation, with other immune-mediated diseases.

  17. Isolation and characterization of twelve microsatellite loci for the Japanese Devilray (Mobula japanica)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poortvliet, Marloes; Galvan-Magana, Felipe; Bernardi, Giacomo; Croll, Donald A.; Olsen, Jeanine L.

    2011-01-01

    Twelve polymorphic microsatellites loci were characterized for Mobula japanica (Japanese Devilray) using an enrichment protocol. All but two loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium with no evidence of linkage disequilibrium or null-alleles for a sample of 40 individuals from two populations. The

  18. Low Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Variation in the Endangered Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa chinensis): Inferences About the Role of Balancing Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiyang; Lin, Wenzhi; Zhou, Ruilian; Gui, Duan; Yu, Xinjian; Wu, Yuping

    2016-03-01

    It has been widely reported that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is under balancing selection due to its immune function across terrestrial and aquatic mammals. The comprehensive studies at MHC and other neutral loci could give us a synthetic evaluation about the major force determining genetic diversity of species. Previously, a low level of genetic diversity has been reported among the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) using both mitochondrial marker and microsatellite loci. Here, the expression and sequence polymorphism of 2 MHC class II genes (DQB and DRB) in 32 S. chinensis from PRE collected between 2003 and 2011 were investigated. High ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates, codon-based selection analysis, and trans-species polymorphism (TSP) support the hypothesis that balancing selection acted on S. chinensis MHC sequences. However, only 2 haplotypes were detected at either DQB or DRB loci. Moreover, the lack of deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg expectation at DRB locus combined with the relatively low heterozygosity at both DQB locus and microsatellite loci suggested that balancing selection might not be sufficient, which further suggested that genetic drift associated with historical bottlenecks was not mitigated by balancing selection in terms of the loss of MHC and neutral variation in S. chinensis. The combined results highlighted the importance of maintaining the genetic diversity of the endangered S. chinensis. © The American Genetic Association 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Population transcriptomics of life-history variation in the genus Salmo

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Giger, T.; Excoffier, L.; Amstutz, U.

    2008-01-01

    with physiological changes that are likely to be involved in preadaptations to seawater in anadromous populations of the genus Salmo, one of which was identified to encode for nucleophosmin 1. Our findings thus provide new molecular insights into salmonid life-history variation, opening new perspectives in the study......In this study, we demonstrate the power of applying complementary DNA (cDNA) microarray technology to identifying candidate loci that exhibit subtle differences in expression levels associated with a complex trait in natural populations of a nonmodel organism. Using a highly replicated experimental...... design involving 180 cDNA microarray experiments, we measured gene-expression levels from 1098 transcript probes in 90 individuals originating from six brown trout (Salmo trutta) and one Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population, which follow either a migratory or a sedentary life history. We identified...

  20. Speckle Noise Reduction via Nonconvex High Total Variation Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulian Wu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We address the problem of speckle noise removal. The classical total variation is extensively used in this field to solve such problem, but this method suffers from the staircase-like artifacts and the loss of image details. In order to resolve these problems, a nonconvex total generalized variation (TGV regularization is used to preserve both edges and details of the images. The TGV regularization which is able to remove the staircase effect has strong theoretical guarantee by means of its high order smooth feature. Our method combines the merits of both the TGV method and the nonconvex variational method and avoids their main drawbacks. Furthermore, we develop an efficient algorithm for solving the nonconvex TGV-based optimization problem. We experimentally demonstrate the excellent performance of the technique, both visually and quantitatively.

  1. Cross-genus amplification and characterisation of microsatellite loci ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cross-genus amplification and characterisation of microsatellite loci in the little free tailed bat, Chaerephon pumilus s. l. (Molossidae) from South Eastern Africa. Theshnie Naidoo, Angus Macdonald, Jennifer M Lamb ...

  2. Toll-like receptor variation in the bottlenecked population of the Seychelles warbler: computer simulations see the 'ghost of selection past' and quantify the 'drift debt'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilroy, D L; Phillips, K P; Richardson, D S; van Oosterhout, C

    2017-07-01

    Balancing selection can maintain immunogenetic variation within host populations, but detecting its signal in a postbottlenecked population is challenging due to the potentially overriding effects of drift. Toll-like receptor genes (TLRs) play a fundamental role in vertebrate immune defence and are predicted to be under balancing selection. We previously characterized variation at TLR loci in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), an endemic passerine that has undergone a historical bottleneck. Five of seven TLR loci were polymorphic, which is in sharp contrast to the low genomewide variation observed. However, standard population genetic statistical methods failed to detect a contemporary signature of selection at any TLR locus. We examined whether the observed TLR polymorphism could be explained by neutral evolution, simulating the population's demography in the software DIYABC. This showed that the posterior distributions of mutation rates had to be unrealistically high to explain the observed genetic variation. We then conducted simulations with an agent-based model using typical values for the mutation rate, which indicated that weak balancing selection has acted on the three TLR genes. The model was able to detect evidence of past selection elevating TLR polymorphism in the prebottleneck populations, but was unable to discern any effects of balancing selection in the contemporary population. Our results show drift is the overriding evolutionary force that has shaped TLR variation in the contemporary Seychelles warbler population, and the observed TLR polymorphisms might be merely the 'ghost of selection past'. Forecast models predict immunogenetic variation in this species will continue to be eroded in the absence of contemporary balancing selection. Such 'drift debt' occurs when a gene pool has not yet reached its new equilibrium level of polymorphism, and this loss could be an important threat to many recently bottlenecked populations. © 2017

  3. Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; de Vlaming, Ronald

    2016-01-01

    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the under......The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified...

  4. Cross-species transferability of SSR loci developed from transciptome sequencing in lodgepole pine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, Mark R; Parchman, Thomas L; Buerkle, C Alex

    2012-05-01

    With the advent of next generation sequencing technologies, transcriptome level sequence collections are arising as prominent resources for the discovery of gene-based molecular markers. In a previous study more than 15,000 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences resulting from 454 pyrosequencing of Pinus contorta cDNA were identified. From these we developed PCR primers for approximately 4000 candidate SSRs. Here, we tested 184 of these SSRs for successful amplification across P. contorta and eight other pine species and examined patterns of polymorphism and allelic variability for a subset of these SSRs. Cross-species transferability was high, with high percentages of loci producing PCR products in all species tested. In addition, 50% of the loci we screened across panels of individuals from three of these species were polymorphic and allelically diverse. We examined levels of diversity in a subset of these SSRs by collecting genotypic data across several populations of Pinus ponderosa in northern Wyoming. Our results indicate the utility of mining pyrosequenced EST collections for gene-based SSRs and provide a source of molecular markers that should bolster evolutionary genetic investigations across the genus Pinus. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Suppression of subthreshold characteristics variation for junctionless multigate transistors using high-k spacers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou, Haijun; Zhang, Baili; Li, Dan; Lin, Xinnan; He, Jin; Chan, Mansun

    2015-01-01

    In this work, the high-k spacer is proposed to suppress the subthreshold characteristics variation of junctionless multigate transistor (JMT) with non-ideal sidewall angle for the first time. It is demonstrated that the variation of subthreshold characteristics induced by the changing sidewall angle is efficiently suppressed by high-k spacers due to the enhanced corner effect through the fringe capacitance, and the electrostatic integrity of JMTs is also improved at sub-22 nm gate length. Two key parameters of high-k spacer, the thickness and length, have been optimized in terms of the suppression of subthreshold characteristics variation. Then their optimal values are proposed. The benefit of high-k spacer makes JMTs more scalable. (paper)

  6. Characterization of Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula eques) microsatellite loci and their cross-utility in other parrots (Psittacidae, Aves).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raisin, Claire; Dawson, Deborah A; Greenwood, Andrew G; Jones, Carl G; Groombridge, Jim J

    2009-07-01

    We characterized 21 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the endangered Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula eques). Loci were isolated from a Mauritius parakeet genomic library that had been enriched separately for eight different repeat motifs. Loci were characterized in up to 43 putatively unrelated Mauritius parakeets from a single population inhabiting the Black River Gorges National Park, Mauritius. Each locus displayed between three and nine alleles, with the observed heterozygosity ranging between 0.39 and 0.96. All loci were tested in 10 other parrot species. Despite testing few individuals, between seven and 21 loci were polymorphic in each of seven species tested. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Polymorphic microsatellite loci for two Atlantic oyster species: Crassostrea rhizophorae and C. gasar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavaleiro, Nathalia P; Solé-Cava, Antonio M; Lazoski, Cristiano; Cunha, Haydée A

    2013-12-01

    Using a CA/CAA enriched library screening procedure, we isolated and characterised a total of seventeen polymorphic microsatellite loci for two species of Crassostrea with recognised economic importance. Eleven microsatellite loci were developed for C. rhizophorae, a Western Atlantic species for which no microsatellites were previously known. Another six loci were developed for C. gasar, a species that occurs on both sides of the South Atlantic, adding to the ten loci previously described for the species. The levels of polymorphism were estimated using 24 C. rhizophorae from Southeast Brazil (São Paulo) and 23 C. gasar individuals from North Brazil (Maranhão). The number of alleles per polymorphic locus varied from 3 to 27, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged between 0.174 and 0.958 and between 0.237 and 0.972 in C. rhizophorae and C. gasar, respectively. No linkage disequilibrium was found between any locus pair, and four of them exhibited deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Of the 17 loci developed, 8 cross-amplified in C. gigas and 13 in C. virginica. These markers are useful for evolution and population genetics studies of Crassostrea species and may provide fundamental data for the future cultivation of native oysters in Western Atlantic.

  8. Gene-environment interaction involving recently identified colorectal cancer susceptibility loci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kantor, Elizabeth D.; Hutter, Carolyn M.; Minnier, Jessica; Berndt, Sonja I.; Brenner, Hermann; Caan, Bette J.; Campbell, Peter T.; Carlson, Christopher S.; Casey, Graham; Chan, Andrew T.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chanock, Stephen J.; Cotterchio, Michelle; Du, Mengmeng; Duggan, David; Fuchs, Charles S.; Giovannucci, Edward L.; Gong, Jian; Harrison, Tabitha A.; Hayes, Richard B.; Henderson, Brian E.; Hoffmeister, Michael; Hopper, John L.; Jenkins, Mark A.; Jiao, Shuo; Kolonel, Laurence N.; Le Marchand, Loic; Lemire, Mathieu; Ma, Jing; Newcomb, Polly A.; Ochs-Balcom, Heather M.; Pflugeisen, Bethann M.; Potter, John D.; Rudolph, Anja; Schoen, Robert E.; Seminara, Daniela; Slattery, Martha L.; Stelling, Deanna L.; Thomas, Fridtjof; Thornquist, Mark; Ulrich, Cornelia M.; Warnick, Greg S.; Zanke, Brent W.; Peters, Ulrike; Hsu, Li; White, Emily

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Prior research has evaluated the presence of gene-environment interaction involving the first 10 identified susceptibility loci, but little work has been conducted on interaction involving SNPs at recently identified susceptibility loci, including: rs10911251, rs6691170, rs6687758, rs11903757, rs10936599, rs647161, rs1321311, rs719725, rs1665650, rs3824999, rs7136702, rs11169552, rs59336, rs3217810, rs4925386, and rs2423279. METHODS Data on 9160 cases and 9280 controls from the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) and Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR) were used to evaluate the presence of interaction involving the above-listed SNPs and sex, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking, aspirin use, post-menopausal hormone (PMH) use, as well as intake of dietary calcium, dietary fiber, dietary folate, red meat, processed meat, fruit, and vegetables. Interaction was evaluated using a fixed-effects meta-analysis of an efficient Empirical Bayes estimator, and permutation was used to account for multiple comparisons. RESULTS None of the permutation-adjusted p-values reached statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS The associations between recently identified genetic susceptibility loci and CRC are not strongly modified by sex, BMI, alcohol, smoking, aspirin, PMH use, and various dietary factors. IMPACT Results suggest no evidence of strong gene-environment interactions involving the recently identified 16 susceptibility loci for CRC taken one at a time. PMID:24994789

  9. Novel Centromeric Loci of the Wine and Beer Yeast Dekkera bruxellensis CEN1 and CEN2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ishchuk, Olena P.; Vojvoda Zeljko, Tanja; Schifferdecker, Anna J.

    2016-01-01

    The wine and beer yeast Dekkera bruxellensis thrives in environments that are harsh and limiting, especially in concentrations with low oxygen and high ethanol. Its different strains' chromosomes greatly vary in number (karyotype). This study isolates two novel centromeric loci (CEN1 and CEN2...

  10. [SSR loci information analysis in transcriptome of Andrographis paniculata].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jun-Ren; Chen, Xiu-Zhen; Tang, Xiao-Ting; He, Rui; Zhan, Ruo-Ting

    2018-06-01

    To study the SSR loci information and develop molecular markers, a total of 43 683 Unigenes in transcriptome of Andrographis paniculata were used to explore SSR. The distribution frequency of SSR and the basic characteristics of repeat motifs were analyzed using MicroSAtellite software, SSR primers were designed by Primer 3.0 software and then validated by PCR. Moreover, the gene function analysis of SSR Unigene was obtained by Blast. The results showed that 14 135 SSR loci were found in the transcriptome of A. paniculata, which distributed in 9 973 Unigenes with a distribution frequency of 32.36%. Di-nucleotide and Tri-nucleotide repeat were the main types, accounted for 75.54% of all SSRs. The repeat motifs of AT/AT and CCG/CGG were the predominant repeat types of Di-nucleotide and Tri-nucleotide, respectively. A total of 4 740 pairs of SSR primers with the potential to produce polymorphism were designed for maker development. Ten pairs of primers in 20 pairs of randomly picked primers produced fragments with expected molecular size. The gene function of Unigenes containing SSR were mostly related to the basic metabolism function of A. paniculata. The SSR markers in transcriptome of A. paniculata show rich type, strong specificity and high potential of polymorphism, which will benefit the candidate gene mining and marker-assisted breeding. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  11. Heterosis at Allozyme Loci under Inbreeding and Crossbreeding in PINUS ATTENUATA

    OpenAIRE

    Strauss, Steven H.

    1986-01-01

    The dependence of heterosis at isozyme loci on inbreeding and crossbreeding was studied in 10-yr-old trees of knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata Lemm.). Heterozygosity was determined at 24 polymorphic isozyme loci and related to the rate of vegetative growth and cone production. The inbreds, created by selfpollination, had 46% of the heterozygosity of their mothers; the crossbreds, created by interpopulation crossing, had 155% of the heterozygosity of their mothers. Within the crossbreds, hetero...

  12. Genome-wide meta-analysis uncovers novel loci influencing circulating leptin levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O; Carli, Jayne F Martin; Skowronski, Alicja A

    2016-01-01

    . Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating leptin levels from 32,161 individuals and followed up loci reaching PFTO....... Although the association of the FTO obesity locus with leptin levels is abolished by adjustment for BMI, associations of the four other loci are independent of adiposity. The GCKR locus was found associated with multiple metabolic traits in previous GWAS and the CCNL1 locus with birth weight. Knockdown...

  13. GWAS meta-analysis and replication identifies three new susceptibility loci for ovarian cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pharoah, Paul D P; Tsai, Ya-Yu; Ramus, Susan J

    2013-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified four susceptibility loci for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), with another two suggestive loci reaching near genome-wide significance. We pooled data from a GWAS conducted in North America with another GWAS from the UK. We selected the top 24...

  14. Systematic Evaluation of Pleiotropy Identifies 6 Further Loci Associated With Coronary Artery Disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Webb, Thomas R.; Erdmann, Jeanette; Stirrups, Kathleen E.; Stitziel, Nathan O.; Masca, Nicholas G. D.; Jansen, Henning; Kanoni, Stavroula; Nelson, Christopher P.; Ferrario, Paola G.; König, Inke R.; Eicher, John D.; Johnson, Andrew D.; Hamby, Stephen E.; Betsholtz, Christer; Ruusalepp, Arno; Franzén, Oscar; Schadt, Eric E.; Björkegren, Johan L. M.; Weeke, Peter E.; Auer, Paul L.; Schick, Ursula M.; Lu, Yingchang; Zhang, He; Dube, Marie-Pierre; Goel, Anuj; Farrall, Martin; Peloso, Gina M.; Won, Hong-Hee; Do, Ron; van Iperen, Erik; Kruppa, Jochen; Mahajan, Anubha; Scott, Robert A.; Willenborg, Christina; Braund, Peter S.; van Capelleveen, Julian C.; Doney, Alex S. F.; Donnelly, Louise A.; Asselta, Rosanna; Merlini, Pier A.; Duga, Stefano; Marziliano, Nicola; Denny, Josh C.; Shaffer, Christian; El-Mokhtari, Nour Eddine; Franke, Andre; Heilmann, Stefanie; Hengstenberg, Christian; Hoffmann, Per; Holmen, Oddgeir L.; Hveem, Kristian; Jansson, Jan-Håkan; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Kessler, Thorsten; Kriebel, Jennifer; Laugwitz, Karl L.; Marouli, Eirini; Martinelli, Nicola; McCarthy, Mark I.; van Zuydam, Natalie R.; Meisinger, Christa; Esko, Tõnu; Mihailov, Evelin; Escher, Stefan A.; Alver, Maris; Moebus, Susanne; Morris, Andrew D.; Virtamo, Jarma; Nikpay, Majid; Olivieri, Oliviero; Provost, Sylvie; AlQarawi, Alaa; Robertson, Neil R.; Akinsansya, Karen O.; Reilly, Dermot F.; Vogt, Thomas F.; Yin, Wu; Asselbergs, Folkert W.; Kooperberg, Charles; Jackson, Rebecca D.; Stahl, Eli; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Strauch, Konstantin; Varga, Tibor V.; Waldenberger, Melanie; Zeng, Lingyao; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Salomaa, Veikko; Ford, Ian; Jukema, J. Wouter; Amouyel, Philippe; Kontto, Jukka; Nordestgaard, Børge G.; Ferrières, Jean; Saleheen, Danish; Sattar, Naveed; Surendran, Praveen; Wagner, Aline; Young, Robin; Howson, Joanna M. M.; Butterworth, Adam S.; Danesh, John; Ardissino, Diego; Bottinger, Erwin P.; Erbel, Raimund; Franks, Paul W.; Girelli, Domenico; Hall, Alistair S.; Hovingh, G. Kees; Kastrati, Adnan; Lieb, Wolfgang; Meitinger, Thomas; Kraus, William E.; Shah, Svati H.; McPherson, Ruth; Orho-Melander, Marju; Melander, Olle; Metspalu, Andres; Palmer, Colin N. A.; Peters, Annette; Rader, Daniel J.; Reilly, Muredach P.; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Reiner, Alex P.; Roden, Dan M.; Tardif, Jean-Claude; Thompson, John R.; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Watkins, Hugh; Willer, Cristen J.; Samani, Nilesh J.; Schunkert, Heribert; Deloukas, Panos; Kathiresan, Sekar

    2017-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies have so far identified 56 loci associated with risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Many CAD loci show pleiotropy; that is, they are also associated with other diseases or traits. This study sought to systematically test if genetic variants identified for non-CAD

  15. Low penetrance breast cancer susceptibility loci are associated with specific breast tumor subtypes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Broeks, Annegien; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Sherman, Mark E

    2011-01-01

    Breast cancers demonstrate substantial biological, clinical and etiological heterogeneity. We investigated breast cancer risk associations of eight susceptibility loci identified in GWAS and two putative susceptibility loci in candidate genes in relation to specific breast tumor subtypes. Subtype...... stratification might help in the identification and characterization of novel risk factors for breast cancer subtypes. This may eventually result in further improvements in prevention, early detection and treatment.......Breast cancers demonstrate substantial biological, clinical and etiological heterogeneity. We investigated breast cancer risk associations of eight susceptibility loci identified in GWAS and two putative susceptibility loci in candidate genes in relation to specific breast tumor subtypes. Subtypes...... were defined by five markers (ER, PR, HER2, CK5/6, EGFR) and other pathological and clinical features. Analyses included up to 30 040 invasive breast cancer cases and 53 692 controls from 31 studies within the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. We confirmed previous reports of stronger associations...

  16. Laboratory and wild-derived mice with multiple loci for production of xenotropic murine leukemia virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozak, C A; Hartley, J W; Morse, H C

    1984-07-01

    Mendelian segregation analysis was used to define genetic loci for the induction of infectious xenotropic murine leukemia virus in several laboratory and wild-derived mice. MA/My mice contain two loci for xenotropic virus inducibility, one of which, Bxv -1, is the only induction locus carried by five other inbred strains. The second, novel MA/My locus, designated Mxv -1, is unlinked to Bxv -1 and shows a lower efficiency of virus induction. The NZB mouse carries two induction loci; both are distinct from Bxv -1 since neither is linked to the Pep-3 locus on chromosome 1. Finally, one partially inbred strain derived from the wild Japanese mouse, Mus musculus molossinus, carries multiple (at least three) unlinked loci for induction of xenotropic virus. Although it is probable that inbred strains inherited xenotropic virus inducibility from Japanese mice, our data suggest that none of the induction loci carried by this particular M. m. molossinus strain are allelic with Bxv -1.

  17. Allozymic variation in the clam genus Eurhomalea (Bivalvia: Veneriidae along southern South American coast Variación alozímica en el género de almejas Eurhomalea (Bivalvia: Veneriidae a lo largo de la costa sur de Sudamérica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.H GALLARDO

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available The correspondence between allozymic variation and specific differentiation was studied in four populations corresponding to the three nominal, allopatric species of clam genus Eurhomalea (E. rufa, E. lenticularis, E. exalbida described for southern South America. Allozyme variation scored in 12 loci was high as indicated by heterozygosity levels (15.8-20.7 % and by the presence of only three monomorphic loci (Hk-2, Icd-2, and Xdh-1. These high estimates of allelic variability were influenced by the low levels of interspecific genetic similarity (I = 0.64 and for the high conspecific values of genetic identity observed. The high estimates of substructuring found at the species level (F ST = 0.39 contrasted with the low differentiation (F ST = 0.027 and high migration rate (Nm = 9 existing among conspecific samples. Diagnostic allele fixation coinciding with specific recognition was recorded at locus Hk-1 whereas nearly-fixed differences at loci (Adh, alpha-Gpd, Icd-1, Ldh, Odh, Pgm-3 differed sharply in frequency among species. The Wagner procedure and the neighbor-joining algorithm produced a similar tree topology highly related to the geographic distance and to their taxonomic recognition. The lack of coincidence between patterns of allozymic variation and the two distinctive shell morphs (flat and globoid occurring in E. exalbida from Ushuaia bay do not support their taxonomic recognition.Se estudió la correspondencia entre la variación bioquímica y la diferenciación específica en cuatro poblaciones correspondientes a las tres especies nominales y alopátricas en las almejas del género Eurhomalea (E. rufa, E. lenticularis, E. exalbida descritas para la zona sur de Sudamérica. La variación alozímica registrada en 12 loci fue alta como lo indican los altos niveles de heterocigosidad (15,8-20,7 % y por la presencia de solo tres loci monomórficos (Hk-2, Icd-2 y Xdh-1. Esta alta estimación de variabilidad alélica influyó en los bajos

  18. Genetic dissection of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana. II. Mapping hybrid male sterility loci on the third chromosome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Yun; Zeng, Zhao-Bang; Li, Jian; Hartl, Daniel L; Laurie, Cathy C

    2003-08-01

    Hybrid male sterility (HMS) is a rapidly evolving mechanism of reproductive isolation in Drosophila. Here we report a genetic analysis of HMS in third-chromosome segments of Drosophila mauritiana that were introgressed into a D. simulans background. Qualitative genetic mapping was used to localize 10 loci on 3R and a quantitative trait locus (QTL) procedure (multiple-interval mapping) was used to identify 19 loci on the entire chromosome. These genetic incompatibilities often show dominance and complex patterns of epistasis. Most of the HMS loci have relatively small effects and generally at least two or three of them are required to produce complete sterility. Only one small region of the third chromosome of D. mauritiana by itself causes a high level of infertility when introgressed into D. simulans. By comparison with previous studies of the X chromosome, we infer that HMS loci are only approximately 40% as dense on this autosome as they are on the X chromosome. These results are consistent with the gradual evolution of hybrid incompatibilities as a by-product of genetic divergence in allopatric populations.

  19. [Analysis of genetic polymorphisms and mutations of 20 frequently used STR loci among ethnic Hans from Henan].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongdan; Kang, Bing; Gao, Yue; Huo, Xiaodong; Li, Tao; Guo, Qiannan; Zhu, Bofeng; Liao, Shixiu

    2017-04-10

    To study the genetic polymorphisms and mutations of 20 frequently used autosomal microsatellites among ethnic Hans from Henan. Peripheral blood samples of 2604 individuals were collected. DNA was amplified and genotyped using a PowerPlex(TM) 21 system. The frequencies, forensic parameters and mutation rates of the 20 short tandem repeat (STR) loci were analyzed. A total of 323 alleles were found in this population and the allelic frequencies have ranged from 0.0003 to 0.5144. Except for D3S1358, TH01 and TPOX, mutations have been found in all of the remaining 17 STR loci, which totaled 47, with mutation rates ranging from 0 to 3.46 × 10 -3 . The 20 STR loci selected by the PowerPlex(TM) 21 system are highly polymorphic among ethnic Hans from Henan, and may be of great value in forensic and human population studies. As no similar study has been carried out previously, above results may be of great value for individual discrimination and paternal testing.

  20. AtHMA4 Drives Natural Variation in Leaf Zn Concentration of Arabidopsis thaliana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zi-Ru; Kuang, Lu; Gao, Yi-Qun; Wang, Ya-Ling; Salt, David E.; Chao, Dai-Yin

    2018-01-01

    Zinc (Zn) is an essential element for plant growth and development, and Zn derived from crop plants in the diet is also important for human health. Here, we report that genetic variation in Heavy Metal-ATPase 4 (HMA4) controls natural variation in leaf Zn content. Investigation of the natural variation in leaf Zn content in a world-wide collection of 349 Arabidopsis thaliana wild collected accessions identified two accessions, Van-0 and Fab-2, which accumulate significantly lower Zn when compared with Col-0. Both quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and bulked segregant analysis (BSA) identified HMA4 as a strong candidate accounting for this variation in leaf Zn concentration. Genetic complementation experiments confirmed this hypothesis. Sequence analysis revealed that a 1-bp deletion in the third exon of HMA4 from Fab-2 is responsible for the lose of function of HMA4 driving the low Zn observed in Fab-2. Unlike in Fab-2 polymorphisms in the promoter region were found to be responsible for the weak function of HMA4 in Van-0. This is supported by both an expression analysis of HMA4 in Van-0 and through a series of T-DNA insertion mutants which generate truncated HMA4 promoters in the Col-0 background. In addition, we also observed that Fab-2, Van-0 and the hma4-2 null mutant in the Col-0 background show enhanced resistance to a combination of high Zn and high Cd in the growth medium, raising the possibility that variation at HMA4 may play a role in environmental adaptation. PMID:29545819

  1. AtHMA4 Drives Natural Variation in Leaf Zn Concentration of Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zi-Ru; Kuang, Lu; Gao, Yi-Qun; Wang, Ya-Ling; Salt, David E; Chao, Dai-Yin

    2018-01-01

    Zinc (Zn) is an essential element for plant growth and development, and Zn derived from crop plants in the diet is also important for human health. Here, we report that genetic variation in Heavy Metal-ATPase 4 ( HMA4 ) controls natural variation in leaf Zn content. Investigation of the natural variation in leaf Zn content in a world-wide collection of 349 Arabidopsis thaliana wild collected accessions identified two accessions, Van-0 and Fab-2, which accumulate significantly lower Zn when compared with Col-0. Both quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and bulked segregant analysis (BSA) identified HMA4 as a strong candidate accounting for this variation in leaf Zn concentration. Genetic complementation experiments confirmed this hypothesis. Sequence analysis revealed that a 1-bp deletion in the third exon of HMA4 from Fab-2 is responsible for the lose of function of HMA4 driving the low Zn observed in Fab-2. Unlike in Fab-2 polymorphisms in the promoter region were found to be responsible for the weak function of HMA4 in Van-0. This is supported by both an expression analysis of HMA4 in Van-0 and through a series of T-DNA insertion mutants which generate truncated HMA4 promoters in the Col-0 background. In addition, we also observed that Fab-2, Van-0 and the hma4-2 null mutant in the Col-0 background show enhanced resistance to a combination of high Zn and high Cd in the growth medium, raising the possibility that variation at HMA4 may play a role in environmental adaptation.

  2. Population data for 12 Y-chromosome STR loci in a sample from Honduras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matamoros, Mireya; Yurrebaso, Iñaki; Gusmão, Leonor; García, Oscar

    2009-09-01

    Haplotype, allele frequencies and population data of 12 Y-chromosome STR loci DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439 were determined from a sample of 128 unrelated male individuals from Honduras, Central America. A total of 112 haplotypes were identified by the 12 Y-STR loci of which 98 were unique. The haplotype diversity (98.99%) and the proportion of different haplotypes (87.50%) were estimated. Genetic distances were calculated between Honduras and other populations from Southern and Central America, Europe and Africa. The analysis of a Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) plot, based on pairwise R(ST) genetic distances, allowed to conclude that Honduras is highly differentiated from the African samples (0.343Honduras showed a lower genetic distance to the European cluster (composed by European and South American general population samples from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela) than to the Central American cluster (Mexico and El Salvador).

  3. High levels of heterozygosity found for 15 SSR loci in Solanum chacoense

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genetic variation is a necessary prerequisite for improving domesticated plants through breeding; without it, breeding progress would be impossible. Genetic variation can be readily ascertained with co-dominant DNA markers, such as simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Twenty-four SSR markers specifically...

  4. Estimation of loci involved in non-shattering of seeds in early rice domestication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, Ryo; Nishimura, Akinori; Htun, Than Myint; Nishioka, Ryo; Oka, Yumi; Tsujimura, Yuki; Inoue, Chizuru; Ishii, Takashige

    2017-04-01

    Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is widely cultivated around the world and is known to be domesticated from its wild form, O. rufipogon. A loss of seed shattering is one of the most obvious phenotypic changes selected for during rice domestication. Previously, three seed-shattering loci, qSH1, sh4, and qSH3 were reported to be involved in non-shattering of seeds of Japonica-type cultivated rice, O. sativa cv. Nipponbare. In this study, we focused on non-shattering characteristics of O. sativa Indica cv. IR36 having functional allele at qSH1. We produced backcross recombinant inbred lines having chromosomal segments from IR36 in the genetic background of wild rice, O. rufipogon W630. Histological and quantitative trait loci analyses of abscission layer formation were conducted. In the analysis of quantitative trait loci, a strong peak was observed close to sh4. We, nevertheless, found that some lines showed complete abscission layer formation despite carrying the IR36 allele at sh4, implying that non-shattering of seeds of IR36 could be regulated by the combination of mutations at sh4 and other seed-shattering loci. We also genotyped qSH3, a recently identified seed-shattering locus. Lines that have the IR36 alleles at sh4 and qSH3 showed inhibition of abscission layer formation but the degree of seed shattering was different from that of IR36. On the basis of these results, we estimated that non-shattering of seeds in early rice domestication involved mutations in at least three loci, and these genetic materials produced in this study may help to identify novel seed-shattering loci.

  5. Cross-genus amplification and characterisation of microsatellite loci ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jennifer Lamb

    School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, New Biology Building, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University ... These six loci were informative in studies of population genetic structure of C. pumilus ..... The Human Genome Project and the.

  6. Evolution of multiple additive loci caused divergence between Drosophila yakuba and D. santomea in wing rowing during male courtship.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Cande

    Full Text Available In Drosophila, male flies perform innate, stereotyped courtship behavior. This innate behavior evolves rapidly between fly species, and is likely to have contributed to reproductive isolation and species divergence. We currently understand little about the neurobiological and genetic mechanisms that contributed to the evolution of courtship behavior. Here we describe a novel behavioral difference between the two closely related species D. yakuba and D. santomea: the frequency of wing rowing during courtship. During courtship, D. santomea males repeatedly rotate their wing blades to face forward and then back (rowing, while D. yakuba males rarely row their wings. We found little intraspecific variation in the frequency of wing rowing for both species. We exploited multiplexed shotgun genotyping (MSG to genotype two backcross populations with a single lane of Illumina sequencing. We performed quantitative trait locus (QTL mapping using the ancestry information estimated by MSG and found that the species difference in wing rowing mapped to four or five genetically separable regions. We found no evidence that these loci display epistasis. The identified loci all act in the same direction and can account for most of the species difference.

  7. Genome-wide Association Study Identifies New Loci for Resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans in Canola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harsh Raman

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, is a significant disease which affects the sustainable production of canola. This study reports a genome-wide association study based on 18,804 polymorphic SNPs to identify loci associated with qualitative and quantitative resistance to L. maculans. Genomic regions delimited with 503 significant SNP markers, that are associated with resistance evaluated using 12 single spore isolates and pathotypes from four canola stubble were identified. Several significant associations were detected at known disease resistance loci including in the vicinity of recently cloned Rlm2/LepR3 genes, and at new loci on chromosomes A01/C01, A02/C02, A03/C03, A05/C05, A06, A08, and A09. In addition, we validated statistically significant associations on A01, A07 and A10 in four genetic mapping populations, demonstrating that GWAS marker loci are indeed associated with resistance to L. maculans. One of the novel loci identified for the first time, Rlm12, conveys adult plant resistance and mapped within 13.2 kb from Arabidopsis R gene of TIR-NBS class. We showed that resistance loci are located in the vicinity of R genes of A. thaliana and B. napus on the sequenced genome of B. napus cv. Darmor-bzh. Significantly associated SNP markers provide a valuable tool to enrich germplasm for favorable alleles in order to improve the level of resistance to L. maculans in canola.

  8. Characterization of Microsatellite Loci in the Himalayan Lichen Fungus Lobaria pindarensis (Lobariaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiva Devkota

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were developed for the rare, Himalayan, endemic haploid lichen fungus, Lobaria pindarensis, to study its population subdivision and the species' response to forest disturbance and fragmentation. Methods and Results: We developed 18 polymorphic microsatellite markers using 454 pyrosequencing data and assessed them in 109 individuals. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 11 with an average of 6.9. Nei's unbiased gene diversity, averaged over loci, ranged from 0.514 to 0.685 in the three populations studied. The cross-amplification success with related species (L. chinensis, L. gyrophorica, L. isidiophora, L. orientalis, L. pulmonaria, L. spathulata, and Lobaria sp. was generally high and decreased with decreasing relationship to L. pindarensis. Conclusions: The new markers will allow the study of genetic diversity and differentiation within L. pindarensis across its distribution. Moreover, they will enable us to study the effects of forest management on the genetic population structure of this tree-colonizing lichen and to carry out population genetic studies of related species in East Asia.

  9. Dopa decarboxylase (Ddc) affects variation in Drosophila longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Luca, Maria; Roshina, Nataliya V; Geiger-Thornsberry, Gretchen L; Lyman, Richard F; Pasyukova, Elena G; Mackay, Trudy F C

    2003-08-01

    Mutational analyses in model organisms have shown that genes affecting metabolism and stress resistance regulate life span, but the genes responsible for variation in longevity in natural populations are largely unidentified. Previously, we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting variation in longevity between two Drosophila melanogaster strains. Here, we show that the longevity QTL in the 36E;38B cytogenetic interval on chromosome 2 contains multiple closely linked QTLs, including the Dopa decarboxylase (Ddc) locus. Complementation tests to mutations show that Ddc is a positional candidate gene for life span in these strains. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping in a sample of 173 alleles from a single population shows that three common molecular polymorphisms in Ddc account for 15.5% of the genetic contribution to variance in life span from chromosome 2. The polymorphisms are in strong LD, and the effects of the haplotypes on longevity suggest that the polymorphisms are maintained by balancing selection. DDC catalyzes the final step in the synthesis of the neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. Thus, these data implicate variation in the synthesis of bioamines as a factor contributing to natural variation in individual life span.

  10. Identification of six new susceptibility loci for invasive epithelial ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B; Ramus, Susan J; Tyrer, Jonathan; Lee, Andrew; Shen, Howard C; Beesley, Jonathan; Lawrenson, Kate; McGuffog, Lesley; Healey, Sue; Lee, Janet M; Spindler, Tassja J; Lin, Yvonne G; Pejovic, Tanja; Bean, Yukie; Li, Qiyuan; Coetzee, Simon; Hazelett, Dennis; Miron, Alexander; Southey, Melissa; Terry, Mary Beth; Goldgar, David E; Buys, Saundra S; Janavicius, Ramunas; Dorfling, Cecilia M; van Rensburg, Elizabeth J; Neuhausen, Susan L; Ding, Yuan Chun; Hansen, Thomas V O; Jønson, Lars; Gerdes, Anne-Marie; Ejlertsen, Bent; Barrowdale, Daniel; Dennis, Joe; Benitez, Javier; Osorio, Ana; Garcia, Maria Jose; Komenaka, Ian; Weitzel, Jeffrey N; Ganschow, Pamela; Peterlongo, Paolo; Bernard, Loris; Viel, Alessandra; Bonanni, Bernardo; Peissel, Bernard; Manoukian, Siranoush; Radice, Paolo; Papi, Laura; Ottini, Laura; Fostira, Florentia; Konstantopoulou, Irene; Garber, Judy; Frost, Debra; Perkins, Jo; Platte, Radka; Ellis, Steve; Godwin, Andrew K; Schmutzler, Rita Katharina; Meindl, Alfons; Engel, Christoph; Sutter, Christian; Sinilnikova, Olga M; Damiola, Francesca; Mazoyer, Sylvie; Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique; Claes, Kathleen; De Leeneer, Kim; Kirk, Judy; Rodriguez, Gustavo C; Piedmonte, Marion; O'Malley, David M; de la Hoya, Miguel; Caldes, Trinidad; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Nevanlinna, Heli; Collée, J Margriet; Rookus, Matti A; Oosterwijk, Jan C; Tihomirova, Laima; Tung, Nadine; Hamann, Ute; Isaccs, Claudine; Tischkowitz, Marc; Imyanitov, Evgeny N; Caligo, Maria A; Campbell, Ian G; Hogervorst, Frans B L; Olah, Edith; Diez, Orland; Blanco, Ignacio; Brunet, Joan; Lazaro, Conxi; Pujana, Miquel Angel; Jakubowska, Anna; Gronwald, Jacek; Lubinski, Jan; Sukiennicki, Grzegorz; Barkardottir, Rosa B; Plante, Marie; Simard, Jacques; Soucy, Penny; Montagna, Marco; Tognazzo, Silvia; Teixeira, Manuel R; Pankratz, Vernon S; Wang, Xianshu; Lindor, Noralane; Szabo, Csilla I; Kauff, Noah; Vijai, Joseph; Aghajanian, Carol A; Pfeiler, Georg; Berger, Andreas; Singer, Christian F; Tea, Muy-Kheng; Phelan, Catherine M; Greene, Mark H; Mai, Phuong L; Rennert, Gad; Mulligan, Anna Marie; Tchatchou, Sandrine; Andrulis, Irene L; Glendon, Gord; Toland, Amanda Ewart; Jensen, Uffe Birk; Kruse, Torben A; Thomassen, Mads; Bojesen, Anders; Zidan, Jamal; Friedman, Eitan; Laitman, Yael; Soller, Maria; Liljegren, Annelie; Arver, Brita; Einbeigi, Zakaria; Stenmark-Askmalm, Marie; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I; Nussbaum, Robert L; Rebbeck, Timothy R; Nathanson, Katherine L; Domchek, Susan M; Lu, Karen H; Karlan, Beth Y; Walsh, Christine; Lester, Jenny; Hein, Alexander; Ekici, Arif B; Beckmann, Matthias W; Fasching, Peter A; Lambrechts, Diether; Van Nieuwenhuysen, Els; Vergote, Ignace; Lambrechts, Sandrina; Dicks, Ed; Doherty, Jennifer A; Wicklund, Kristine G; Rossing, Mary Anne; Rudolph, Anja; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Eilber, Ursula; Moysich, Kirsten B; Odunsi, Kunle; Sucheston, Lara; Lele, Shashi; Wilkens, Lynne R; Goodman, Marc T; Thompson, Pamela J; Shvetsov, Yurii B; Runnebaum, Ingo B; Dürst, Matthias; Hillemanns, Peter; Dörk, Thilo; Antonenkova, Natalia; Bogdanova, Natalia; Leminen, Arto; Pelttari, Liisa M; Butzow, Ralf; Modugno, Francesmary; Kelley, Joseph L; Edwards, Robert P; Ness, Roberta B; du Bois, Andreas; Heitz, Florian; Schwaab, Ira; Harter, Philipp; Matsuo, Keitaro; Hosono, Satoyo; Orsulic, Sandra; Jensen, Allan; Kjaer, Susanne Kruger; Hogdall, Estrid; Hasmad, Hanis Nazihah; Azmi, Mat Adenan Noor; Teo, Soo-Hwang; Woo, Yin-Ling; Fridley, Brooke L; Goode, Ellen L; Cunningham, Julie M; Vierkant, Robert A; Bruinsma, Fiona; Giles, Graham G; Liang, Dong; Hildebrandt, Michelle A T; Wu, Xifeng; Levine, Douglas A; Bisogna, Maria; Berchuck, Andrew; Iversen, Edwin S; Schildkraut, Joellen M; Concannon, Patrick; Weber, Rachel Palmieri; Cramer, Daniel W; Terry, Kathryn L; Poole, Elizabeth M; Tworoger, Shelley S; Bandera, Elisa V; Orlow, Irene; Olson, Sara H; Krakstad, Camilla; Salvesen, Helga B; Tangen, Ingvild L; Bjorge, Line; van Altena, Anne M; Aben, Katja K H; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Massuger, Leon F A G; Kellar, Melissa; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Kelemen, Linda E; Cook, Linda S; Le, Nhu D; Cybulski, Cezary; Yang, Hannah; Lissowska, Jolanta; Brinton, Louise A; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Hogdall, Claus; Lundvall, Lene; Nedergaard, Lotte; Baker, Helen; Song, Honglin; Eccles, Diana; McNeish, Ian; Paul, James; Carty, Karen; Siddiqui, Nadeem; Glasspool, Rosalind; Whittemore, Alice S; Rothstein, Joseph H; McGuire, Valerie; Sieh, Weiva; Ji, Bu-Tian; Zheng, Wei; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Gao, Yu-Tang; Rosen, Barry; Risch, Harvey A; McLaughlin, John R; Narod, Steven A; Monteiro, Alvaro N; Chen, Ann; Lin, Hui-Yi; Permuth-Wey, Jenny; Sellers, Thomas A; Tsai, Ya-Yu; Chen, Zhihua; Ziogas, Argyrios; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Menon, Usha; Harrington, Patricia; Lee, Alice W; Wu, Anna H; Pearce, Celeste L; Coetzee, Gerry; Pike, Malcolm C; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Timorek, Agnieszka; Rzepecka, Iwona K; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Freedman, Matt; Noushmehr, Houtan; Easton, Douglas F; Offit, Kenneth; Couch, Fergus J; Gayther, Simon; Pharoah, Paul P; Antoniou, Antonis C; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia

    2015-02-01

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 12 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility alleles. The pattern of association at these loci is consistent in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers who are at high risk of EOC. After imputation to 1000 Genomes Project data, we assessed associations of 11 million genetic variants with EOC risk from 15,437 cases unselected for family history and 30,845 controls and from 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 8,211 BRCA2 mutation carriers (3,096 with ovarian cancer), and we combined the results in a meta-analysis. This new study design yielded increased statistical power, leading to the discovery of six new EOC susceptibility loci. Variants at 1p36 (nearest gene, WNT4), 4q26 (SYNPO2), 9q34.2 (ABO) and 17q11.2 (ATAD5) were associated with EOC risk, and at 1p34.3 (RSPO1) and 6p22.1 (GPX6) variants were specifically associated with the serous EOC subtype, all with P < 5 × 10(-8). Incorporating these variants into risk assessment tools will improve clinical risk predictions for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.

  11. Characterization of small microsatellite loci isolated in endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) for use in non-invasive sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.

    2011-01-01

    Primers for 10 microsatellite loci were developed specifically to amplify low quantity and quality DNA in the endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis). In a screen of 20 individuals from a population in Missouri, the 10 loci were found to have levels of variability ranging from seven to 18 alleles. No loci were found to be linked, although two loci revealed significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These microsatellite loci will be applicable for population genetic analyses and for use in mark-recapture studies that utilize DNA collected non-invasively from fecal pellets, which will ultimately aid in management efforts.

  12. Genetic data for 15 STR loci in a Kadazan-Dusun population from East Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kee, B P; Lian, L H; Lee, P C; Lai, T X; Chua, K H

    2011-04-26

    Allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci, namely D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, D16S539, TH01, TPOX, Penta D, Penta E, D3S1358, D8S1179, D18S51, D21S11, CSF1PO, vWA, and FGA, were determined for 154 individuals from the Kadazan-Dusun tribe, an indigenous population of East Malaysia. All loci were amplified by polymerase chain reaction, using the Powerplex 16 system. Alleles were typed using a gene analyzer and the Genemapper ID software. Various statistical parameters were calculated and the combined power of discrimination for the 15 loci in the population was calculated as 0.999999999999999. These loci are thus, informative and can be used effectively in forensic and genetic studies of this indigenous population.

  13. Nonequivalence of classical MHC class I loci in ability to direct effective antiviral immunity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin D Pavelko

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Structural diversity in the peptide binding sites of the redundant classical MHC antigen presenting molecules is strongly selected in humans and mice. Although the encoded antigen presenting molecules overlap in antigen presenting function, differences in polymorphism at the MHC I A, B and C loci in humans and higher primates indicate these loci are not functionally equivalent. The structural basis of these differences is not known. We hypothesize that classical class I loci differ in their ability to direct effective immunity against intracellular pathogens. Using a picornavirus infection model and chimeric H-2 transgenes, we examined locus specific functional determinants distinguishing the ability of class I sister genes to direct effective anti viral immunity. Whereas, parental FVB and transgenic FVB mice expressing the H-2K(b gene are highly susceptible to persisting Theiler's virus infection within the CNS and subsequent demyelination, mice expressing the D(b transgene clear the virus and are protected from demyelination. Remarkably, animals expressing a chimeric transgene, comprised primarily of K(b but encoding the peptide binding domain of D(b, develop a robust anti viral CTL response yet fail to clear virus and develop significant demyelination. Differences in expression of the chimeric K(bα1α2D(b gene (low and D(b (high in the CNS of infected mice mirror expression levels of their endogenous H-2(q counterparts in FVB mice. These findings demonstrate that locus specific elements other than those specifying peptide binding and T cell receptor interaction can determine ability to clear virus infection. This finding provides a basis for understanding locus-specific differences in MHC polymorphism, characterized best in human populations.

  14. Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justice, Anne E; Winkler, Thomas W; Feitosa, Mary F

    2017-01-01

    Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87......% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent...... direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting...

  15. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.I. Berndt (Sonja); S. Gustafsson (Stefan); R. Mägi (Reedik); A. Ganna (Andrea); E. Wheeler (Eleanor); M.F. Feitosa (Mary Furlan); A.E. Justice (Anne); K.L. Monda (Keri); D.C. Croteau-Chonka (Damien); F.R. Day (Felix); T. Esko (Tõnu); M. Fall (Magnus); T. Ferreira (Teresa); D. Gentilini (Davide); A.U. Jackson (Anne); J. Luan; J.C. Randall (Joshua); S. Vedantam (Sailaja); C.J. Willer (Cristen); T.W. Winkler (Thomas); A.R. Wood (Andrew); T. Workalemahu (Tsegaselassie); Y.-J. Hu (Yi-Juan); S.H. Lee (Sang Hong); L. Liang (Liming); D.Y. Lin (Dan); J. Min (Josine); B.M. Neale (Benjamin); G. Thorleifsson (Gudmar); J. Yang (Jian); E. Albrecht (Eva); N. Amin (Najaf); J.L. Bragg-Gresham (Jennifer L.); G. Cadby (Gemma); M. den Heijer (Martin); N. Eklund (Niina); K. Fischer (Krista); A. Goel (Anuj); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); J.E. Huffman (Jennifer); I. Jarick (Ivonne); A. Johansson (Åsa); T. Johnson (Toby); S. Kanoni (Stavroula); M.E. Kleber (Marcus); I.R. König (Inke); K. Kristiansson (Kati); Z. Kutalik (Zoltán); C. Lamina (Claudia); C. Lecoeur (Cécile); G. Li (Guo); M. Mangino (Massimo); W.L. McArdle (Wendy); M.C. Medina-Gomez (Carolina); M. Müller-Nurasyid (Martina); J.S. Ngwa; I.M. Nolte (Ilja); L. Paternoster (Lavinia); S. Pechlivanis (Sonali); M. Perola (Markus); M.J. Peters (Marjolein); M. Preuss (Michael); L.M. Rose (Lynda); J. Shi (Jianxin); D. Shungin (Dmitry); G.D. Smith; R.J. Strawbridge (Rona); I. Surakka (Ida); A. Teumer (Alexander); M.D. Trip (Mieke); J.P. Tyrer (Jonathan); J.V. van Vliet-Ostaptchouk (Jana); L. Vandenput (Liesbeth); L. Waite (Lindsay); J.H. Zhao (Jing Hua); D. Absher (Devin); F.W. Asselbergs (Folkert); M. Atalay (Mustafa); A.P. Attwood (Antony); A.J. Balmforth (Anthony); D.C.G. Basart (Dick); J.P. Beilby (John); L.L. Bonnycastle (Lori); P. Brambilla (Paolo); M. Bruinenberg (M.); H. Campbell (Harry); D.I. Chasman (Daniel); P.S. Chines (Peter); F.S. Collins (Francis); J. Connell (John); W. O Cookson (William); U. de Faire (Ulf); F. de Vegt (Femmie); M. Dei (Mariano); M. Dimitriou (Maria); T. Edkins (Ted); K. Estrada Gil (Karol); D.M. Evans (David); M. Farrall (Martin); F. Ferrario (Franco); J. Ferrières (Jean); L. Franke (Lude); F. Frau (Francesca); P.V. Gejman (Pablo); H. Grallert (Harald); H. Grönberg (Henrik); V. Gudnason (Vilmundur); A. Hall (Anne); A.S. Hall (Alistair); A.L. Hartikainen; C. Hayward (Caroline); N.L. Heard-Costa (Nancy); A.C. Heath (Andrew); J. Hebebrand (Johannes); G. Homuth (Georg); F.B. Hu (Frank); S.E. Hunt (Sarah); E. Hyppönen (Elina); C. Iribarren (Carlos); K.B. Jacobs (Kevin); J.-O. Jansson (John-Olov); A. Jula (Antti); M. Kähönen (Mika); S. Kathiresan (Sekar); F. Kee (F.); K-T. Khaw (Kay-Tee); M. Kivimaki (Mika); W. Koenig (Wolfgang); A. Kraja (Aldi); M. Kumari (Meena); K. Kuulasmaa (Kari); J. Kuusisto (Johanna); J. Laitinen (Jaana); T.A. Lakka (Timo); C. Langenberg (Claudia); L.J. Launer (Lenore); L. Lind (Lars); J. Lindstrom (Jaana); J. Liu (Jianjun); A. Liuzzi (Antonio); M.L. Lokki; M. Lorentzon (Mattias); P.A. Madden (Pamela); P.K. Magnusson (Patrik); P. Manunta (Paolo); D. Marek (Diana); W. März (Winfried); I.M. Leach (Irene Mateo); B. McKnight (Barbara); S.E. Medland (Sarah Elizabeth); E. Mihailov (Evelin); L. Milani (Lili); G.W. Montgomery (Grant); V. Mooser (Vincent); T.W. Mühleisen (Thomas); P. Munroe (Patricia); A.W. Musk (Arthur); N. Narisu (Narisu); G. Navis (Gerjan); G. Nicholson (Ggeorge); C. Nohr (Christian); K. Ong (Ken); B.A. Oostra (Ben); C.N.A. Palmer (Colin); A. Palotie (Aarno); J. Peden (John); N. Pedersen; A. Peters (Annette); O. Polasek (Ozren); A. Pouta (Anneli); P.P. Pramstaller (Peter Paul); I. Prokopenko (Inga); C. Pütter (Carolin); A. Radhakrishnan (Aparna); O. Raitakari (Olli); A. Rendon (Augusto); F. Rivadeneira Ramirez (Fernando); I. Rudan (Igor); T. Saaristo (Timo); J.G. Sambrook (Jennifer); A.R. Sanders (Alan); S. Sanna (Serena); J. Saramies (Jouko); S. Schipf (Sabine); S. Schreiber (Stefan); H. Schunkert (Heribert); S.-Y. Shin; S. Signorini (Stefano); J. Sinisalo (Juha); B. Skrobek (Boris); N. Soranzo (Nicole); A. Stancáková (Alena); K. Stark (Klaus); J. Stephens (Jonathan); K. Stirrups (Kathy); R.P. Stolk (Ronald); M. Stumvoll (Michael); A.J. Swift (Amy); E.V. Theodoraki (Eirini); B. Thorand (Barbara); D.-A. Tregouet (David-Alexandre); E. Tremoli (Elena); M.M. van der Klauw (Melanie); J.B.J. van Meurs (Joyce); S.H.H.M. Vermeulen (Sita); J. Viikari (Jorma); J. Virtamo (Jarmo); V. Vitart (Veronique); G. Waeber (Gérard); Z. Wang (Zhaoming); E. Widen (Elisabeth); S.H. Wild (Sarah); G.A.H.M. Willemsen (Gonneke); B. Winkelmann; J.C.M. Witteman (Jacqueline); B.H.R. Wolffenbuttel (Bruce); A. Wong (Andrew); A.F. Wright (Alan); M.C. Zillikens (Carola); P. Amouyel (Philippe); B.O. Boehm (Bernhard); E.A. Boerwinkle (Eric); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); M. Caulfield (Mark); S.J. Chanock (Stephen); L.A. Cupples (Adrienne); D. Cusi (Daniele); G.V. Dedoussis (George); J. Erdmann (Jeanette); J.G. Eriksson (Johan); P.W. Franks (Paul); P. Froguel (Philippe); C. Gieger (Christian); U. Gyllensten (Ulf); A. Hamsten (Anders); T.B. Harris (Tamara); C. Hengstenberg (Christian); A.A. Hicks (Andrew); A. Hingorani (Aroon); A. Hinney (Anke); A. Hofman (Albert); G.K. Hovingh (Kees); K. Hveem (Kristian); T. Illig (Thomas); M.-R. Jarvelin (Marjo-Riitta); K.-H. Jöckel (Karl-Heinz); S. Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi (Sirkka); L.A.L.M. Kiemeney (Bart); D. Kuh (Diana); M. Laakso (Markku); T. Lehtimäki (Terho); D.F. Levinson (Douglas); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); A. Metspalu (Andres); A.D. Morris (Andrew); M.S. Nieminen (Markku); I. Njølstad (Inger); C. Ohlsson (Claes); A.J. Oldehinkel (Albertine); W.H. Ouwehand (Willem); C. Palmer (Cameron); B.W.J.H. Penninx (Brenda); C. Power (Christopher); M.A. Province (Mike); B.M. Psaty (Bruce); L. Qi (Lu); R. Rauramaa (Rainer); P.M. Ridker (Paul); S. Ripatti (Samuli); V. Salomaa (Veikko); N.J. Samani (Nilesh); H. Snieder (Harold); H.G. Sorensen; T.D. Spector (Timothy); J-A. Zwart (John-Anker); A. Tönjes (Anke); J. Tuomilehto (Jaakko); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); M. Uusitupa (Matti); P. van der Harst (Pim); P. Vollenweider (Peter); H. Wallaschofski (Henri); N.J. Wareham (Nick); H. Watkins (Hugh); H.E. Wichmann (Heinz Erich); J.F. Wilson (James F); G.R. Abecasis (Gonçalo); T.L. Assimes (Themistocles); I.E. Barroso (Inês); M. Boehnke (Michael); I.B. Borecki (Ingrid); P. Deloukas (Panagiotis); C. Fox (Craig); T.M. Frayling (Timothy); L. Groop (Leif); T. Haritunian (Talin); I.M. Heid (Iris); D. Hunter (David); R.C. Kaplan (Robert); F. Karpe (Fredrik); M.F. Moffatt (Miriam); K.L. Mohlke (Karen); J.R. O´Connell; Y. Pawitan (Yudi); E.E. Schadt (Eric); D. Schlessinger (David); V. Steinthorsdottir (Valgerdur); D.P. Strachan (David); U. Thorsteinsdottir (Unnur); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); P.M. Visscher (Peter); A.M. Di Blasio (Anna Maria); J.N. Hirschhorn (Joel); C.M. Lindgren (Cecilia); A.D. Morris (Andrew); D. Meyre (David); A. Scherag (Andre); M.I. McCarthy (Mark); E.K. Speliotes (Elizabeth); K.E. North (Kari); R.J.F. Loos (Ruth); E. Ingelsson (Erik)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractApproaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of

  16. GWAS identifies four novel eosinophilic esophagitis loci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sleiman, Patrick M. A.; Wang, Mei-Lun; Cianferoni, Antonella; Aceves, Seema; Gonsalves, Nirmala; Nadeau, Kari; Bredenoord, Albert J.; Furuta, Glenn T.; Spergel, Jonathan M.; Hakonarson, Hakon

    2014-01-01

    Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergic disorder characterized by infiltration of the oesophagus with eosinophils. We had previously reported association of the TSLP/WDR36 locus with EoE. Here we report genome-wide significant associations at four additional loci; c11orf30 and STAT6, which

  17. Genetic structure and gene flow among Komodo dragon populations inferred by microsatellite loci analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciofi, C; Bruford, M W

    1999-12-01

    A general concern for the conservation of endangered species is the maintenance of genetic variation within populations, particularly when they become isolated and reduced in size. Estimates of gene flow and effective population size are therefore important for any conservation initiative directed to the long-term persistence of a species in its natural habitat. In the present study, 10 microsatellite loci were used to assess the level of genetic variability among populations of the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis. Effective population size was calculated and gene flow estimates were compared with palaeogeographic data in order to assess the degree of vulnerability of four island populations. Rinca and Flores, currently separated by an isthmus of about 200 m, retained a high level of genetic diversity and showed a high degree of genetic similarity, with gene flow values close to one migrant per generation. The island of Komodo showed by far the highest levels of genetic divergence, and its allelic distinctiveness was considered of great importance in the maintenance of genetic variability within the species. A lack of distinct alleles and low levels of gene flow and genetic variability were found for the small population of Gili Motang island, which was identified as vulnerable to stochastic threats. Our results are potentially important for both the short- and long-term management of the Komodo dragon, and are critical in view of future re-introduction or augmentation in areas where the species is now extinct or depleted.

  18. Quantitative Trait Loci Analysis of Seed Quality Characteristics in Lentil using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. Fedoruk

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Seed shape, color, and pattern of lentil ( Medik. subsp. are important quality traits as they determine market class and possible end uses. A recombinant inbred line population was phenotyped for seed dimensions over multiple site–years and classified according to cotyledon and seed coat color and pattern. The objectives were to determine the heritability of seed dimensions, identify genomic regions controlling these dimensions, and map seed coat and cotyledon color genes. A genetic linkage map consisting of 563 single nucleotide polymorphisms, 10 simple sequence repeats, and four seed color loci was developed for quantitative trait loci (QTL analysis. Loci for seed coat color and pattern mapped to linkage groups 2 (, 3 (, and 6 ( while the cotyledon color locus ( mapped to linkage group 1. The broad sense heritability estimates were high for seed diameter (broad-sense heritability [] = 0.92 and seed plumpness ( = 0.94 while seed thickness ( = 0.60 and days to flowering ( = 0.45 were more moderate. There were significant seed dimension QTL on six of the seven linkage groups. The most significant QTL for diameter and plumpness was found at the cotyledon color locus (. The markers identified in this study can be used to help enrich breeding populations for desired seed quality characteristics, thereby increasing efficiency in the lentil breeding program.

  19. Linkage analysis: Inadequate for detecting susceptibility loci in complex disorders?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Field, L.L.; Nagatomi, J. [Univ. of Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

    1994-09-01

    Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) may provide valuable clues about approaches to detecting susceptibility loci in other oligogenic disorders. Numerous studies have demonstrated significant association between IDDM and a VNTR in the 5{prime} flanking region of the insulin (INS) gene. Paradoxically, all attempts to demonstrate linkage of IDDM to this VNTR have failed. Lack of linkage has been attributed to insufficient marker locus information, genetic heterogeneity, or high frequency of the IDDM-predisposing allele in the general population. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is located 2.7 kb from INS on the 5` side of the VNTR and shows linkage disequilibrium with INS region loci. We typed a highly polymorphic microsatellite within TH in 176 multiplex families, and performed parametric (lod score) linkage analysis using various intermediate reduced penetrance models for IDDM (including rare and common disease allele frequencies), as well as non-parametric (affected sib pair) linkage analysis. The scores significantly reject linkage for recombination values of .05 or less, excluding the entire 19 kb region containing TH, the 5{prime} VNTR, the INS gene, and IGF2 on the 3{prime} side of INS. Non-parametric linkage analysis also provided no significant evidence for linkage (mean TH allele sharing 52.5%, P=.12). These results have important implications for efforts to locate genes predisposing to complex disorders, strongly suggesting that regions which are significantly excluded by linkage methods may nevertheless contain predisposing genes readily detectable by association methods. We advocate that investigators routinely perform association analyses in addition to linkage analyses.

  20. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berndt, Sonja I; Gustafsson, Stefan; Mägi, Reedik; Ganna, Andrea; Wheeler, Eleanor; Feitosa, Mary F; Justice, Anne E; Monda, Keri L; Croteau-Chonka, Damien C; Day, Felix R; Esko, Tõnu; Fall, Tove; Ferreira, Teresa; Gentilini, Davide; Jackson, Anne U; Luan, Jian'an; Randall, Joshua C; Vedantam, Sailaja; Willer, Cristen J; Winkler, Thomas W; Wood, Andrew R; Workalemahu, Tsegaselassie; Hu, Yi-Juan; Lee, Sang Hong; Liang, Liming; Lin, Dan-Yu; Min, Josine L; Neale, Benjamin M; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Yang, Jian; Albrecht, Eva; Amin, Najaf; Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L; Cadby, Gemma; den Heijer, Martin; Eklund, Niina; Fischer, Krista; Goel, Anuj; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Huffman, Jennifer E; Jarick, Ivonne; Johansson, Åsa; Johnson, Toby; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kleber, Marcus E; König, Inke R; Kristiansson, Kati; Kutalik, Zoltán; Lamina, Claudia; Lecoeur, Cecile; Li, Guo; Mangino, Massimo; McArdle, Wendy L; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Ngwa, Julius S; Nolte, Ilja M; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pechlivanis, Sonali; Perola, Markus; Peters, Marjolein J; Preuss, Michael; Rose, Lynda M; Shi, Jianxin; Shungin, Dmitry; Smith, Albert Vernon; Strawbridge, Rona J; Surakka, Ida; Teumer, Alexander; Trip, Mieke D; Tyrer, Jonathan; Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Jana V; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Waite, Lindsay L; Zhao, Jing Hua; Absher, Devin; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Atalay, Mustafa; Attwood, Antony P; Balmforth, Anthony J; Basart, Hanneke; Beilby, John; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Brambilla, Paolo; Bruinenberg, Marcel; Campbell, Harry; Chasman, Daniel I; Chines, Peter S; Collins, Francis S; Connell, John M; Cookson, William O; de Faire, Ulf; de Vegt, Femmie; Dei, Mariano; Dimitriou, Maria; Edkins, Sarah; Estrada, Karol; Evans, David M; Farrall, Martin; Ferrario, Marco M; Ferrières, Jean; Franke, Lude; Frau, Francesca; Gejman, Pablo V; Grallert, Harald; Grönberg, Henrik; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hall, Alistair S; Hall, Per; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hayward, Caroline; Heard-Costa, Nancy L; Heath, Andrew C; Hebebrand, Johannes; Homuth, Georg; Hu, Frank B; Hunt, Sarah E; Hyppönen, Elina; Iribarren, Carlos; Jacobs, Kevin B; Jansson, John-Olov; Jula, Antti; Kähönen, Mika; Kathiresan, Sekar; Kee, Frank; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kivimäki, Mika; Koenig, Wolfgang; Kraja, Aldi T; Kumari, Meena; Kuulasmaa, Kari; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laitinen, Jaana H; Lakka, Timo A; Langenberg, Claudia; Launer, Lenore J; Lind, Lars; Lindström, Jaana; Liu, Jianjun; Liuzzi, Antonio; Lokki, Marja-Liisa; Lorentzon, Mattias; Madden, Pamela A; Magnusson, Patrik K; Manunta, Paolo; Marek, Diana; März, Winfried; Mateo Leach, Irene; McKnight, Barbara; Medland, Sarah E; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Montgomery, Grant W; Mooser, Vincent; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Munroe, Patricia B; Musk, Arthur W; Narisu, Narisu; Navis, Gerjan; Nicholson, George; Nohr, Ellen A; Ong, Ken K; Oostra, Ben A; Palmer, Colin N A; Palotie, Aarno; Peden, John F; Pedersen, Nancy; Peters, Annette; Polasek, Ozren; Pouta, Anneli; Pramstaller, Peter P; Prokopenko, Inga; Pütter, Carolin; Radhakrishnan, Aparna; Raitakari, Olli; Rendon, Augusto; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Rudan, Igor; Saaristo, Timo E; Sambrook, Jennifer G; Sanders, Alan R; Sanna, Serena; Saramies, Jouko; Schipf, Sabine; Schreiber, Stefan; Schunkert, Heribert; Shin, So-Youn; Signorini, Stefano; Sinisalo, Juha; Skrobek, Boris; Soranzo, Nicole; Stančáková, Alena; Stark, Klaus; Stephens, Jonathan C; Stirrups, Kathleen; Stolk, Ronald P; Stumvoll, Michael; Swift, Amy J; Theodoraki, Eirini V; Thorand, Barbara; Tregouet, David-Alexandre; Tremoli, Elena; Van der Klauw, Melanie M; van Meurs, Joyce B J; Vermeulen, Sita H; Viikari, Jorma; Virtamo, Jarmo; Vitart, Veronique; Waeber, Gérard; Wang, Zhaoming; Widén, Elisabeth; Wild, Sarah H; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winkelmann, Bernhard R; Witteman, Jacqueline C M; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R; Wong, Andrew; Wright, Alan F; Zillikens, M Carola; Amouyel, Philippe; Boehm, Bernhard O; Boerwinkle, Eric; Boomsma, Dorret I; Caulfield, Mark J; Chanock, Stephen J; Cupples, L Adrienne; Cusi, Daniele; Dedoussis, George V; Erdmann, Jeanette; Eriksson, Johan G; Franks, Paul W; Froguel, Philippe; Gieger, Christian; Gyllensten, Ulf; Hamsten, Anders; Harris, Tamara B; Hengstenberg, Christian; Hicks, Andrew A; Hingorani, Aroon; Hinney, Anke; Hofman, Albert; Hovingh, Kees G; Hveem, Kristian; Illig, Thomas; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka M; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Kuh, Diana; Laakso, Markku; Lehtimäki, Terho; Levinson, Douglas F; Martin, Nicholas G; Metspalu, Andres; Morris, Andrew D; Nieminen, Markku S; Njølstad, Inger; Ohlsson, Claes; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Ouwehand, Willem H; Palmer, Lyle J; Penninx, Brenda; Power, Chris; Province, Michael A; Psaty, Bruce M; Qi, Lu; Rauramaa, Rainer; Ridker, Paul M; Ripatti, Samuli; Salomaa, Veikko; Samani, Nilesh J; Snieder, Harold; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Spector, Timothy D; Stefansson, Kari; Tönjes, Anke; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, André G; Uusitupa, Matti; van der Harst, Pim; Vollenweider, Peter; Wallaschofski, Henri; Wareham, Nicholas J; Watkins, Hugh; Wichmann, H-Erich; Wilson, James F; Abecasis, Goncalo R; Assimes, Themistocles L; Barroso, Inês; Boehnke, Michael; Borecki, Ingrid B; Deloukas, Panos; Fox, Caroline S; Frayling, Timothy; Groop, Leif C; Haritunian, Talin; Heid, Iris M; Hunter, David; Kaplan, Robert C; Karpe, Fredrik; Moffatt, Miriam F; Mohlke, Karen L; O'Connell, Jeffrey R; Pawitan, Yudi; Schadt, Eric E; Schlessinger, David; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Strachan, David P; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Visscher, Peter M; Di Blasio, Anna Maria; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Morris, Andrew P; Meyre, David; Scherag, André; McCarthy, Mark I; Speliotes, Elizabeth K; North, Kari E; Loos, Ruth J F; Ingelsson, Erik

    Approaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass

  1. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berndt, Sonja I.; Gustafsson, Stefan; Mägi, Reedik; Ganna, Andrea; Wheeler, Eleanor; Feitosa, Mary F.; Justice, Anne E.; Monda, Keri L.; Croteau-Chonka, Damien C.; Day, Felix R.; Esko, Tõnu; Fall, Tove; Ferreira, Teresa; Gentilini, Davide; Jackson, Anne U.; Luan, Jian'an; Randall, Joshua C.; Vedantam, Sailaja; Willer, Cristen J.; Winkler, Thomas W.; Wood, Andrew R.; Workalemahu, Tsegaselassie; Hu, Yi-Juan; Lee, Sang Hong; Liang, Liming; Lin, Dan-Yu; Min, Josine L.; Neale, Benjamin M.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Yang, Jian; Albrecht, Eva; Amin, Najaf; Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L.; Cadby, Gemma; den Heijer, Martin; Eklund, Niina; Fischer, Krista; Goel, Anuj; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Jarick, Ivonne; Johansson, Asa; Johnson, Toby; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kleber, Marcus E.; König, Inke R.; Kristiansson, Kati; Kutalik, Zoltán; Lamina, Claudia; Lecoeur, Cecile; Li, Guo; Mangino, Massimo; McArdle, Wendy L.; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Ngwa, Julius S.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pechlivanis, Sonali; Perola, Markus; Peters, Marjolein J.; Preuss, Michael; Rose, Lynda M.; Shi, Jianxin; Shungin, Dmitry; Smith, Albert Vernon; Strawbridge, Rona J.; Surakka, Ida; Teumer, Alexander; Trip, Mieke D.; Tyrer, Jonathan; van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Jana V.; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Waite, Lindsay L.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Absher, Devin; Asselbergs, Folkert W.; Atalay, Mustafa; Attwood, Antony P.; Balmforth, Anthony J.; Basart, Hanneke; Beilby, John; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Brambilla, Paolo; Bruinenberg, Marcel; Campbell, Harry; Chasman, Daniel I.; Chines, Peter S.; Collins, Francis S.; Connell, John M.; Cookson, William O.; de Faire, Ulf; de Vegt, Femmie; dei, Mariano; Dimitriou, Maria; Edkins, Sarah; Estrada, Karol; Evans, David M.; Farrall, Martin; Ferrario, Marco M.; Ferrières, Jean; Franke, Lude; Frau, Francesca; Gejman, Pablo V.; Grallert, Harald; Grönberg, Henrik; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hall, Alistair S.; Hall, Per; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Hayward, Caroline; Heard-Costa, Nancy L.; Heath, Andrew C.; Hebebrand, Johannes; Homuth, Georg; Hu, Frank B.; Hunt, Sarah E.; Hyppönen, Elina; Iribarren, Carlos; Jacobs, Kevin B.; Jansson, John-Olov; Jula, Antti; Kähönen, Mika; Kathiresan, Sekar; Kee, Frank; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kivimäki, Mika; Koenig, Wolfgang; Kraja, Aldi T.; Kumari, Meena; Kuulasmaa, Kari; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laitinen, Jaana H.; Lakka, Timo A.; Langenberg, Claudia; Launer, Lenore J.; Lind, Lars; Lindström, Jaana; Liu, Jianjun; Liuzzi, Antonio; Lokki, Marja-Liisa; Lorentzon, Mattias; Madden, Pamela A.; Magnusson, Patrik K.; Manunta, Paolo; Marek, Diana; März, Winfried; Mateo Leach, Irene; McKnight, Barbara; Medland, Sarah E.; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mooser, Vincent; Mühleisen, Thomas W.; Munroe, Patricia B.; Musk, Arthur W.; Narisu, Narisu; Navis, Gerjan; Nicholson, George; Nohr, Ellen A.; Ong, Ken K.; Oostra, Ben A.; Palmer, Colin N. A.; Palotie, Aarno; Peden, John F.; Pedersen, Nancy; Peters, Annette; Polasek, Ozren; Pouta, Anneli; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Prokopenko, Inga; Pütter, Carolin; Radhakrishnan, Aparna; Raitakari, Olli; Rendon, Augusto; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Rudan, Igor; Saaristo, Timo E.; Sambrook, Jennifer G.; Sanders, Alan R.; Sanna, Serena; Saramies, Jouko; Schipf, Sabine; Schreiber, Stefan; Schunkert, Heribert; Shin, So-Youn; Signorini, Stefano; Sinisalo, Juha; Skrobek, Boris; Soranzo, Nicole; Stančáková, Alena; Stark, Klaus; Stephens, Jonathan C.; Stirrups, Kathleen; Stolk, Ronald P.; Stumvoll, Michael; Swift, Amy J.; Theodoraki, Eirini V.; Thorand, Barbara; Tregouet, David-Alexandre; Tremoli, Elena; van der Klauw, Melanie M.; van Meurs, Joyce B. J.; Vermeulen, Sita H.; Viikari, Jorma; Virtamo, Jarmo; Vitart, Veronique; Waeber, Gérard; Wang, Zhaoming; Widén, Elisabeth; Wild, Sarah H.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winkelmann, Bernhard R.; Witteman, Jacqueline C. M.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Wong, Andrew; Wright, Alan F.; Zillikens, M. Carola; Amouyel, Philippe; Boehm, Bernhard O.; Boerwinkle, Eric; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Caulfield, Mark J.; Chanock, Stephen J.; Cupples, L. Adrienne; Cusi, Daniele; Dedoussis, George V.; Erdmann, Jeanette; Eriksson, Johan G.; Franks, Paul W.; Froguel, Philippe; Gieger, Christian; Gyllensten, Ulf; Hamsten, Anders; Harris, Tamara B.; Hengstenberg, Christian; Hicks, Andrew A.; Hingorani, Aroon; Hinney, Anke; Hofman, Albert; Hovingh, Kees G.; Hveem, Kristian; Illig, Thomas; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka M.; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Kuh, Diana; Laakso, Markku; Lehtimäki, Terho; Levinson, Douglas F.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Metspalu, Andres; Morris, Andrew D.; Nieminen, Markku S.; Njølstad, Inger; Ohlsson, Claes; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Ouwehand, Willem H.; Palmer, Lyle J.; Penninx, Brenda; Power, Chris; Province, Michael A.; Psaty, Bruce M.; Qi, Lu; Rauramaa, Rainer; Ridker, Paul M.; Ripatti, Samuli; Salomaa, Veikko; Samani, Nilesh J.; Snieder, Harold; Sørensen, Thorkild I. A.; Spector, Timothy D.; Stefansson, Kari; Tönjes, Anke; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, André G.; Uusitupa, Matti; van der Harst, Pim; Vollenweider, Peter; Wallaschofski, Henri; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Watkins, Hugh; Wichmann, H.-Erich; Wilson, James F.; Abecasis, Goncalo R.; Assimes, Themistocles L.; Barroso, Inês; Boehnke, Michael; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Deloukas, Panos; Fox, Caroline S.; Frayling, Timothy; Groop, Leif C.; Haritunian, Talin; Heid, Iris M.; Hunter, David; Kaplan, Robert C.; Karpe, Fredrik; Moffatt, Miriam F.; Mohlke, Karen L.; O'Connell, Jeffrey R.; Pawitan, Yudi; Schadt, Eric E.; Schlessinger, David; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Strachan, David P.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Visscher, Peter M.; Di Blasio, Anna Maria; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Morris, Andrew P.; Meyre, David; Scherag, André; McCarthy, Mark I.; Speliotes, Elizabeth K.; North, Kari E.; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Ingelsson, Erik

    2013-01-01

    Approaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass

  2. Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berndt, Sonja I; Gustafsson, Stefan; Mägi, Reedik

    2013-01-01

    Approaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass ...

  3. Genetic variation of wild and hatchery populations of the catla Indian major carp (Catla catla Hamilton 1822: Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae revealed by RAPD markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.M. Zakiur Rahman

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Genetic variation is a key component for improving a stock through selective breeding programs. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD markers were used to assess genetic variation in three wild population of the catla carp (Catla catla Hamilton 1822 in the Halda, Jamuna and Padma rivers and one hatchery population in Bangladesh. Five decamer random primers were used to amplify RAPD markers from 30 fish from each population. Thirty of the 55 scorable bands were polymorphic, indicating some degree of genetic variation in all the populations. The proportion of polymorphic loci and gene diversity values reflected a relatively higher level of genetic variation in the Halda population. Sixteen of the 30 polymorphic loci showed a significant (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001 departure from homogeneity and the F ST values in the different populations indicated some degree of genetic differentiation in the population pairs. Estimated genetic distances between populations were directly correlated with geographical distances. The unweighted pair group method with averages (UPGMA dendrogram showed two clusters, the Halda population forming one cluster and the other populations the second cluster. Genetic variation of C. catla is a useful trait for developing a good management strategy for maintaining genetic quality of the species.

  4. Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E.K. Speliotes (Elizabeth); C.J. Willer (Cristen); S.I. Berndt (Sonja); K.L. Monda (Keri); G. Thorleifsson (Gudmar); A.U. Jackson (Anne); H.L. Allen; C.M. Lindgren (Cecilia); J. Luan; R. Mägi (Reedik); J.C. Randall (Joshua); S. Vedantam (Sailaja); T.W. Winkler (Thomas); L. Qi (Lu); T. Workalemahu (Tsegaselassie); I.M. Heid (Iris); V. Steinthorsdottir (Valgerdur); H.M. Stringham (Heather); E. Wheeler (Eleanor); A.R. Wood (Andrew); T. Ferreira (Teresa); R.J. Weyant (Robert); A.V. Segrè (Ayellet); K. Eestrada (Karol); L. Liang (Liming); J. Nemesh (James); J.H. Park; S. Gustafsson (Stefan); T.O. Kilpeläinen (Tuomas); J. Yang (Joanna); N. Bouatia-Naji (Nabila); T. Eesko (Tõnu); M.F. Feitosa (Mary Furlan); Z. Kutalik (Zoltán); M. Mangino (Massimo); S. Raychaudhuri (Soumya); A. Scherag (Andre); A.V. Smith (Albert Vernon); R.P. Welch (Ryan); J.H. Zhao (Jing Hua); K.K.H. Aben (Katja); D. Absher (Devin); N. Amin (Najaf); A.L. Dixon (Anna); E. Fisher (Eeva); N.L. Glazer (Nicole); M.E. Goddard (Michael); N.L. Heard-Costa (Nancy); V. Hoesel (Volker); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); A. Johansson (Åsa); T. Johnson (Toby); S. Ketkar (Shamika); C. Lamina (Claudia); S. Li (Shengxu); M.F. Moffatt (Miriam); R.H. Myers (Richard); N. Narisu (Narisu); J.R.B. Perry (John); M.J. Peters (Marjolein); M. Preuss (Michael); S. Ripatti (Samuli); F. Rivadeneira Ramirez (Fernando); C. Sandholt (Camilla); L.J. Scott (Laura); N.J. Timpson (Nicholas); J.P. Tyrer (Jonathan); S. van Wingerden (Sophie); C.C. White (Charles); F. Wiklund (Fredrik); C. Barlassina (Christina); D.I. Chasman (Daniel); M.N. Cooper (Matthew); J.O. Jansson; R.W. Lawrence (Robert); N. Pellikka (Niina); I. Prokopenko (Inga); J. Shi (Jianxin); E. Thiering (Eelisabeth); H. Alavere (Helene); M.T.S. Alibrandi (Maria); P. Almgren (Peter); A.M. Arnold (Alice); T. Aspelund (Thor); L.D. Atwood (Larry); B. Balkau (Beverley); A.J. Balmforth (Anthony); A.J. Bennett (Amanda); Y. Ben-Shlomo; R.N. Bergman (Richard); S.M. Bergmann (Sven); H. Biebermann (Heike); A.I.F. Blakemore (Alexandra); T. Boes (Tanja); L.L. Bonnycastle (Lori); S.R. Bornstein (Stefan); M.J. Brown (Morris); T.A. Buchanan (Thomas); F. Busonero; H. Campbell (Harry); F.P. Cappuccio (Francesco); C. Cavalcanti-Proença (Christine); Y.D.I. Chen (Yii-Der Ida); C.-M. Chen (Chih-Mei); P.S. Chines (Peter); R. Clarke; L. Coin (Lachlan); J. Connell (John); I.N.M. Day (Ian); M. den Heijer (Martin); J. Duan (Jubao); S. Eebrahim (Shah); P. Eelliott (Paul); R. Eelosua (Roberto); G. Eeiriksdottir (Gudny); M.R. Eerdos (Micheal); J.G. Eeriksson (Johan); M.F. Facheris (Maurizio); S.B. Felix (Stephan); P. Fischer-Posovszky (Pamela); A.R. Folsom (Aaron); N. Friedrich (Nele); N.B. Freimer (Nelson); M. Fu (Mao); S. Gaget (Stefan); P.V. Gejman (Pablo); E.J.C. de Geus (Eco); C. Gieger (Christian); A.P. Gjesing (Anette); A. Goel (Anuj); P. Goyette (Philippe); H. Grallert (Harald); J. Gräßler (Jürgen); D. Greenawalt (Danielle); C.J. Groves (Christopher); V. Gudnason (Vilmundur); C. Guiducci (Candace); A.L. Hartikainen; N. Hassanali (Neelam); A.S. Hall (Alistair); A.S. Havulinna (Aki); C. Hayward (Caroline); A.C. Heath (Andrew); C. Hengstenberg (Christian); A.A. Hicks (Andrew); A. Hinney (Anke); A. Hofman (Albert); G. Homuth (Georg); J. Hui (Jennie); W. Igl (Wilmar); C. Iribarren (Carlos); B. Isomaa (Bo); K.B. Jacobs (Kevin); I. Jarick (Ivonne); E. Jewell (Eelizabeth); U. John (Ulrich); T. Jørgensen (Torben); P. Jousilahti (Pekka); A. Jula (Antti); M. Kaakinen (Marika); E. Kajantie (Eero); R.C. Kaplan (Robert); S. Kathiresan (Sekar); J. Kettunen (Johannes); L. Kinnunen (Leena); J.W. Knowles (Joshua); I. Kolcic (Ivana); I.R. König (Inke); S. Koskinen (Seppo); P. Kovacs (Peter); J. Kusisto (Johanna); P. Kraft (Peter); K. Kvaløy (Kirsti); J. Laitinen (Jaana); O. Lantieri (Olivier); C. Lanzani (Chiara); L.J. Launer (Lenore); C. Lecoeur (Cécile); T. Lehtimäki (Terho); G. Lettre (Guillaume); J. Liu (Jianjun); M.L. Lokki; M. Lorentzon (Mattias); R.N. Luben (Robert); B. Ludwig (Barbara); P. Manunta (Paolo); D. Marek (Diana); M. Marre (Michel); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); W.L. McArdle (Wendy); M.I. McCarthy (Mark); B. McKnight (Barbara); T. Meitinger (Thomas); O. Melander (Olle); D. Meyre (David); K. Midthjell (Kristian); G.W. Montgomery (Grant); M.A. Morken (Mario); A.D. Morris (Andrew); R. Mulic (Rosanda); J.S. Ngwa; M. Nelis (Mari); M.J. Neville (Matthew); D.R. Nyholt (Dale); C.J. O'Ddonnell (Christopher); S. O'Rahilly (Stephen); K. Ong (Ken); B.A. Oostra (Ben); G. Paré (Guillaume); A.N. Parker (Alex); M. Perola (Markus); I. Pichler (Irene); K.H. Pietilainen (Kirsi Hannele); C.P. Platou (Carl); O. Polasek (Ozren); A. Pouta (Anneli); S. Rafelt (Suzanne); O. Raitakari (Olli); N.W. Rayner (Nigel William); M. Ridderstråle (Martin); W. Rief (Winfried); A. Ruokonen (Aimo); N.R. Robertson (Neil); P. Rzehak (Peter); V. Salomaa (Veikko); A.R. Sanders (Alan); M.S. Sandhu (Manjinder); S. Sanna (Serena); J. Saramies (Jouko); M.J. Savolainen (Markku); S. Schipf (Sabine); S. Schreiber (Stefan); H. Schunkert (Heribert); K. Silander (Kaisa); J. Sinisalo (Juha); D.S. Siscovick (David); J.H. Smit (Jan); N. Soranzo (Nicole); U. Sovio (Ulla); J. Stephens (Jonathan); I. Surakka (Ida); A.J. Swift (Amy); M.L. Tammesoo; J.-C. Tardif (Jean-Claude); M. Teder-Laving (Maris); T.M. Teslovich (Tanya); J.R. Thompson (John); B. Thomson (Brian); A. Tönjes (Anke); T. Tuomi (Tiinamaija); J.B.J. van Meurs (Joyce); G.J. van OMen; V. Vatin (Vincent); J. Viikari (Jorma); S. Visvikis-Siest (Sophie); V. Vitart (Veronique); C.I. Vogel (Carla); B.F. Voight (Benjamin); L. Waite (Lindsay); H. Wallaschofski (Henri); G.B. Walters (Bragi); E. Widen (Elisabeth); S. Wiegand (Susanna); S.H. Wild (Sarah); G.A.H.M. Willemsen (Gonneke); D.R. Witte (Deniel); J.C.M. Witteman (Jacqueline); J. Xu (Jianfeng); Q. Zhang (Qunyuan); L. Zgaga (Lina); A. Ziegler (Andreas); P. Zitting (Paavo); J.P. Beilby (John); I.S. FarOqi (Ssadaf); J. Hebebrand (Johannes); H.V. Huikuri (Heikki); A. James (Alan); M. Kähönen (Mika); D.F. Levinson (Douglas); F. MacCiardi (Fabio); M.S. Nieminen (Markku); C. Ohlsson (Claes); C. Palmer (Cameron); P.M. Ridker (Paul); M. Stumvoll (Michael); J.S. Beckmann (Jacques); H. Boeing (Heiner); E.A. Boerwinkle (Eric); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); M. Caulfield (Mark); S.J. Chanock (Stephen); F.S. Collins (Francis); L.A. Cupples (Adrienne); J. Eerdmann (Jeanette); P. Frogue (Philippe); H. Grönberg (Henrik); U. Gyllensten (Ulf); T. Hansen (Torben); T.B. Harris (Tamara); A.T. Hattersley (Andrew); R.B. Hayes (Richard); J. Heinrich (Joachim); F.B. Hu (Frank); K. Hveem (Kristian); T. Illig (Thomas); M.R. Järvelin; J. Kaprio (Jaakko); F. Karpe (Fredrik); K-T. Khaw (Kay-Tee); L.A.L.M. Kiemeney (Bart); H. Krude; M. Laakso (Markku); D.A. Lawlor (Debbie); A. Metspalu (Andres); P. Munroe (Patricia); W.H. Ouwehand (Willem); O. Pedersen (Oluf); B.W.J.H. Penninx (Brenda); P.P. Pramstaller (Peter Paul); T. Quertermous (Thomas); T. Reinehr (Thomas); A. Rissanen (Aila); I. Rudan (Igor); N.J. Samani (Nilesh); P.E.H. Schwarz (Peter); A.R. Shuldiner (Alan); T.D. Spector (Timothy); J. Tuomilehto (Jaakko); M. Uda (Manuela); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); T.T. Valle (Timo); M. Wabitsch (Martin); G. Waeber (Gérard); N.J. Wareham (Nick); H. Watkins (Hugh); J.F. Wilson (James); A.F. Wright (Alan); M.C. Zillikens (Carola); N. ChatterjE (Nilanjan); S.A. McCarroll (Steve); S. Purcell (Shaun); E.E. Schadt (Eric); P.M. Visscher (Peter); T.L. Assimes (Themistocles); I.B. Borecki (Ingrid); P. Deloukas (Panagiotis); C.S. Fox (Caroline); L. Groop (Leif); T. Haritunians (Talin); D.J. Hunter (David); K.L. Mohlke (Karen); J.R. O'ConneL (Jeffrey); L. Peltonen (Leena Johanna); D. SchleSinger (David); D.P. Strachan (David); R.M. Watanabe (Richard); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); H.E. Wichmann (Heinz Erich); T.M. Frayling (Timothy); U. Thorsteinsdottir (Unnur); G.R. Abecasis (Gonçalo); M. Boehnke (Michael); K. StefanSon (Kari); K.E. North (Kari); M.I. McArthy (Mark); J.N. Hirschhorn (Joel); E. IngelSon (Erik); R.J.F. Loos (Ruth); M.N. Weedon (Michael)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractObesity is globaLy prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined aSociations betwEn body maS index and ĝ̂1/42.8 miLion SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted foLow up of

  5. Shared susceptibility loci at 2q33 region for lung and esophageal cancers in high-incidence areas of esophageal cancer in northern China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue Ke Zhao

    Full Text Available Cancers from lung and esophagus are the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in China and share many similarities in terms of histological type, risk factors and genetic variants. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS in Chinese esophageal cancer patients have demonstrated six high-risk candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the risk of these SNPs predisposing to lung cancer in Chinese population.A total of 1170 lung cancer patients and 1530 normal subjects were enrolled in this study from high-incidence areas for esophageal cancer in Henan, northern China. Five milliliters of blood were collected from all subjects for genotyping. Genotyping of 20 high-risk SNP loci identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS on esophageal, lung and gastric cancers was performed using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays. Polymorphisms were examined for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE using Х2 test. Bonferroni correction was performed to correct the statistical significance of 20 SNPs with the risk of lung cancer. The Pearson's Х2 test was used to compare the distributions of gender, TNM stage, histopathological type, smoking and family history by lung susceptibility genotypes. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the associations between genetic variants and overall survival.Four of the 20 SNPs identified as high-risk SNPs in Chinese esophageal cancer showed increased risk for Chinese lung cancer, which included rs3769823 (OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.107-1.509; P = 0.02, rs10931936 (OR = 1.283; 95% CI = 1.100-1.495; P = 0.04, rs2244438 (OR = 1.294; 95% CI = 1.098-1.525; P = 0.04 and rs13016963 (OR = 1.268; 95% CI = 1.089-1.447; P = 0.04. All these SNPs were located at 2q33 region harboringgenes of CASP8, ALS2CR12 and TRAK2. However, none of these susceptibility SNPs was observed to be significantly associated with gender, TNM stage

  6. Shared susceptibility loci at 2q33 region for lung and esophageal cancers in high-incidence areas of esophageal cancer in northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xue Ke; Mao, Yi Min; Meng, Hui; Song, Xin; Hu, Shou Jia; Lv, Shuang; Cheng, Rang; Zhang, Tang Juan; Han, Xue Na; Ren, Jing Li; Qi, Yi Jun; Wang, Li Dong

    2017-01-01

    Cancers from lung and esophagus are the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in China and share many similarities in terms of histological type, risk factors and genetic variants. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Chinese esophageal cancer patients have demonstrated six high-risk candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Thus, the present study aimed to determine the risk of these SNPs predisposing to lung cancer in Chinese population. A total of 1170 lung cancer patients and 1530 normal subjects were enrolled in this study from high-incidence areas for esophageal cancer in Henan, northern China. Five milliliters of blood were collected from all subjects for genotyping. Genotyping of 20 high-risk SNP loci identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on esophageal, lung and gastric cancers was performed using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays. Polymorphisms were examined for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) using Х2 test. Bonferroni correction was performed to correct the statistical significance of 20 SNPs with the risk of lung cancer. The Pearson's Х2 test was used to compare the distributions of gender, TNM stage, histopathological type, smoking and family history by lung susceptibility genotypes. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the associations between genetic variants and overall survival. Four of the 20 SNPs identified as high-risk SNPs in Chinese esophageal cancer showed increased risk for Chinese lung cancer, which included rs3769823 (OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.107-1.509; P = 0.02), rs10931936 (OR = 1.283; 95% CI = 1.100-1.495; P = 0.04), rs2244438 (OR = 1.294; 95% CI = 1.098-1.525; P = 0.04) and rs13016963 (OR = 1.268; 95% CI = 1.089-1.447; P = 0.04). All these SNPs were located at 2q33 region harboringgenes of CASP8, ALS2CR12 and TRAK2. However, none of these susceptibility SNPs was observed to be significantly associated with gender, TNM stage, histopathological type

  7. Identification of heart rate–associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders

    OpenAIRE

    den Hoed, Marcel; Eijgelsheim, Mark; Esko, Tõnu; Brundel, Bianca J J M; Peal, David S; Evans, David M; Nolte, Ilja M; Segrè, Ayellet V; Holm, Hilma; Handsaker, Robert E; Westra, Harm-Jan; Johnson, Toby; Isaacs, Aaron; Yang, Jian; Lundby, Alicia

    2013-01-01

    Elevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with all 7 previously established loci. Experimental downregulation of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio identified 20 genes at 11 loci that are relevant for heart rate regulation and highlight a rol...

  8. Causal Genetic Variation Underlying Metabolome Differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swain-Lenz, Devjanee; Nikolskiy, Igor; Cheng, Jiye; Sudarsanam, Priya; Nayler, Darcy; Staller, Max V; Cohen, Barak A

    2017-08-01

    An ongoing challenge in biology is to predict the phenotypes of individuals from their genotypes. Genetic variants that cause disease often change an individual's total metabolite profile, or metabolome. In light of our extensive knowledge of metabolic pathways, genetic variants that alter the metabolome may help predict novel phenotypes. To link genetic variants to changes in the metabolome, we studied natural variation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae We used an untargeted mass spectrometry method to identify dozens of metabolite Quantitative Trait Loci (mQTL), genomic regions containing genetic variation that control differences in metabolite levels between individuals. We mapped differences in urea cycle metabolites to genetic variation in specific genes known to regulate amino acid biosynthesis. Our functional assays reveal that genetic variation in two genes, AUA1 and ARG81 , cause the differences in the abundance of several urea cycle metabolites. Based on knowledge of the urea cycle, we predicted and then validated a new phenotype: sensitivity to a particular class of amino acid isomers. Our results are a proof-of-concept that untargeted mass spectrometry can reveal links between natural genetic variants and metabolome diversity. The interpretability of our results demonstrates the promise of using genetic variants underlying natural differences in the metabolome to predict novel phenotypes from genotype. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  9. Large-scale association analysis identifies new lung cancer susceptibility loci and heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across histological subtypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, James D; Hung, Rayjean J; Han, Younghun; Zong, Xuchen; Carreras-Torres, Robert; Christiani, David C; Caporaso, Neil E; Johansson, Mattias; Xiao, Xiangjun; Li, Yafang; Byun, Jinyoung; Dunning, Alison; Pooley, Karen A; Qian, David C; Ji, Xuemei; Liu, Geoffrey; Timofeeva, Maria N; Bojesen, Stig E; Wu, Xifeng; Le Marchand, Loic; Albanes, Demetrios; Bickeböller, Heike; Aldrich, Melinda C; Bush, William S; Tardon, Adonina; Rennert, Gad; Teare, M Dawn; Field, John K; Kiemeney, Lambertus A; Lazarus, Philip; Haugen, Aage; Lam, Stephen; Schabath, Matthew B; Andrew, Angeline S; Shen, Hongbing; Hong, Yun-Chul; Yuan, Jian-Min; Bertazzi, Pier Alberto; Pesatori, Angela C; Ye, Yuanqing; Diao, Nancy; Su, Li; Zhang, Ruyang; Brhane, Yonathan; Leighl, Natasha; Johansen, Jakob S; Mellemgaard, Anders; Saliba, Walid; Haiman, Christopher A; Wilkens, Lynne R; Fernandez-Somoano, Ana; Fernandez-Tardon, Guillermo; van der Heijden, Henricus F M; Kim, Jin Hee; Dai, Juncheng; Hu, Zhibin; Davies, Michael P A; Marcus, Michael W; Brunnström, Hans; Manjer, Jonas; Melander, Olle; Muller, David C; Overvad, Kim; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Tumino, Rosario; Doherty, Jennifer A; Barnett, Matt P; Chen, Chu; Goodman, Gary E; Cox, Angela; Taylor, Fiona; Woll, Penella; Brüske, Irene; Wichmann, H-Erich; Manz, Judith; Muley, Thomas R; Risch, Angela; Rosenberger, Albert; Grankvist, Kjell; Johansson, Mikael; Shepherd, Frances A; Tsao, Ming-Sound; Arnold, Susanne M; Haura, Eric B; Bolca, Ciprian; Holcatova, Ivana; Janout, Vladimir; Kontic, Milica; Lissowska, Jolanta; Mukeria, Anush; Ognjanovic, Simona; Orlowski, Tadeusz M; Scelo, Ghislaine; Swiatkowska, Beata; Zaridze, David; Bakke, Per; Skaug, Vidar; Zienolddiny, Shanbeh; Duell, Eric J; Butler, Lesley M; Koh, Woon-Puay; Gao, Yu-Tang; Houlston, Richard S; McLaughlin, John; Stevens, Victoria L; Joubert, Philippe; Lamontagne, Maxime; Nickle, David C; Obeidat, Ma'en; Timens, Wim; Zhu, Bin; Song, Lei; Kachuri, Linda; Artigas, María Soler; Tobin, Martin D; Wain, Louise V; Rafnar, Thorunn; Thorgeirsson, Thorgeir E; Reginsson, Gunnar W; Stefansson, Kari; Hancock, Dana B; Bierut, Laura J; Spitz, Margaret R; Gaddis, Nathan C; Lutz, Sharon M; Gu, Fangyi; Johnson, Eric O; Kamal, Ahsan; Pikielny, Claudio; Zhu, Dakai; Lindströem, Sara; Jiang, Xia; Tyndale, Rachel F; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Beesley, Jonathan; Bossé, Yohan; Chanock, Stephen; Brennan, Paul; Landi, Maria Teresa; Amos, Christopher I

    2017-07-01

    Although several lung cancer susceptibility loci have been identified, much of the heritability for lung cancer remains unexplained. Here 14,803 cases and 12,262 controls of European descent were genotyped on the OncoArray and combined with existing data for an aggregated genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis of lung cancer in 29,266 cases and 56,450 controls. We identified 18 susceptibility loci achieving genome-wide significance, including 10 new loci. The new loci highlight the striking heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across the histological subtypes of lung cancer, with four loci associated with lung cancer overall and six loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma. Gene expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis in 1,425 normal lung tissue samples highlights RNASET2, SECISBP2L and NRG1 as candidate genes. Other loci include genes such as a cholinergic nicotinic receptor, CHRNA2, and the telomere-related genes OFBC1 and RTEL1. Further exploration of the target genes will continue to provide new insights into the etiology of lung cancer.

  10. Coincidence in map positions between pathogen-induced defense-responsive genes and quantitative resistance loci in rice

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    熊敏; 王石平; 张启发

    2002-01-01

    Quantitative disease resistance conferred by quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is presumably of wider spectrum and durable. Forty-four cDNA clones, representing 44 defense-responsive genes, were fine mapped to 56 loci distributed on 9 of the 12 rice chromosomes. The locations of 32 loci detected by 27 cDNA clones were associated with previously identified resistance QTLs for different rice diseases, including blast, bacterial blight, sheath blight and yellow mottle virus. The loci detected by the same multiple-copy cDNA clones were frequently located on similar locations of different chromosomes. Some of the multiple loci detected by the same clones were all associated with resistance QTLs. These results suggest that some of the genes may be important components in regulation of defense responses against pathogen invasion and they may be the candidates for studying the mechanism of quantitative disease resistance in rice.

  11. Utilization during mitotic cell division of loci controlling meiotic recombination and disjunction in Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, B.S.; Carpenter, A.T.C.; Ripoll, P.

    1978-01-01

    To inquire whether the loci identified by recombination-defective and disjunction-defective meiotic mutants in Drosophila are also utilized during mitotic cell division, the effects of 18 meiotic mutants (representing 13 loci) on mitotic chromosome stability have been examined genetically. To do this, meiotic-mutant-bearing flies heterozygous for recessive somatic cell markers were examined for the frequencies and types of spontaneous clones expressing the cell markers. In such flies, marked clones can arise via mitotic recombination, mutation, chromosome breakage, nondisjunction or chromosome loss, and clones from these different origins can be distinguished. In addition, meiotic mutants at nine loci have been examined for their effects on sensitivity to killing by uv and x rays. Mutants at six of the seven recombination-defective loci examined (mei-9, mei-41, c(3)G, mei-W68, mei-S282, mei-352, mei-218) cause mitotic chromosome instability in both sexes, whereas mutants at one locus (mei-218) do not affect mitotic chromosome stability. Thus many of the loci utilized during meiotic recombination also function in the chromosomal economy of mitotic cells

  12. Combining high-throughput phenotyping and genome-wide association studies to reveal natural genetic variation in rice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wanneng; Guo, Zilong; Huang, Chenglong; Duan, Lingfeng; Chen, Guoxing; Jiang, Ni; Fang, Wei; Feng, Hui; Xie, Weibo; Lian, Xingming; Wang, Gongwei; Luo, Qingming; Zhang, Qifa; Liu, Qian; Xiong, Lizhong

    2014-01-01

    Even as the study of plant genomics rapidly develops through the use of high-throughput sequencing techniques, traditional plant phenotyping lags far behind. Here we develop a high-throughput rice phenotyping facility (HRPF) to monitor 13 traditional agronomic traits and 2 newly defined traits during the rice growth period. Using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the 15 traits, we identify 141 associated loci, 25 of which contain known genes such as the Green Revolution semi-dwarf gene, SD1. Based on a performance evaluation of the HRPF and GWAS results, we demonstrate that high-throughput phenotyping has the potential to replace traditional phenotyping techniques and can provide valuable gene identification information. The combination of the multifunctional phenotyping tools HRPF and GWAS provides deep insights into the genetic architecture of important traits. PMID:25295980

  13. Application of Novel Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci Identified in the Korean Pacific Abalone (Haliotis diversicolor supertexta (Haliotidae in the Genetic Characterization of Wild and Released Populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seong Wan Hong

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The small abalone, Haliotis diversicolor supertexta, of the family Haliotidae, is one of the most important species of marine shellfish in eastern Asia. Over the past few decades, this species has drastically declined in Korea. Thus, hatchery-bred seeds have been released into natural coastal areas to compensate for the reduced fishery resources. However, information on the genetic background of the small abalone is scarce. In this study, 20 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were identified using next-generation sequencing techniques and used to compare allelic variation between wild and released abalone populations in Korea. Using high-throughput genomic sequencing, a total of 1516 (2.26%; average length of 385 bp reads containing simple sequence repeats were obtained from 86,011 raw reads. Among the 99 loci screened, 28 amplified successfully, and 20 were polymorphic. When comparing allelic variation between wild and released abalone populations, a total of 243 different alleles were observed, with 18.7 alleles per locus. High genetic diversity (mean heterozygosity = 0.81; mean allelic number = 15.5 was observed in both populations. A statistical analysis of the fixation index (FST and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA indicated limited genetic differences between the two populations (FST = 0.002, p > 0.05. Although no significant reductions in the genetic diversity were found in the released population compared with the wild population (p > 0.05, the genetic diversity parameters revealed that the seeds released for stock abundance had a different genetic composition. These differences are likely a result of hatchery selection and inbreeding. Additionally, all the primer pair sets were effectively amplified in another congeneric species, H. diversicolor diversicolor, indicating that these primers are useful for both abalone species. These microsatellite loci

  14. Identification of genomic regions associated with phenotypic variation between dog breeds using selection mapping.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amaury Vaysse

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The extraordinary phenotypic diversity of dog breeds has been sculpted by a unique population history accompanied by selection for novel and desirable traits. Here we perform a comprehensive analysis using multiple test statistics to identify regions under selection in 509 dogs from 46 diverse breeds using a newly developed high-density genotyping array consisting of >170,000 evenly spaced SNPs. We first identify 44 genomic regions exhibiting extreme differentiation across multiple breeds. Genetic variation in these regions correlates with variation in several phenotypic traits that vary between breeds, and we identify novel associations with both morphological and behavioral traits. We next scan the genome for signatures of selective sweeps in single breeds, characterized by long regions of reduced heterozygosity and fixation of extended haplotypes. These scans identify hundreds of regions, including 22 blocks of homozygosity longer than one megabase in certain breeds. Candidate selection loci are strongly enriched for developmental genes. We chose one highly differentiated region, associated with body size and ear morphology, and characterized it using high-throughput sequencing to provide a list of variants that may directly affect these traits. This study provides a catalogue of genomic regions showing extreme reduction in genetic variation or population differentiation in dogs, including many linked to phenotypic variation. The many blocks of reduced haplotype diversity observed across the genome in dog breeds are the result of both selection and genetic drift, but extended blocks of homozygosity on a megabase scale appear to be best explained by selection. Further elucidation of the variants under selection will help to uncover the genetic basis of complex traits and disease.

  15. GENETIC VARIATION IN RED RASPBERRIES (RUBUS IDAEUS L.; ROSACEAE) FROM SITES DIFFERING IN ORGANIC POLLUTANTS COMPARED WITH SYNTHETIC TANDEM REPEAT DNA PROBES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Two synthetic tandem repetitive DNA probes were used to compare genetic variation at variable-number-tandem-repeat (VNTR) loci among Rubus idaeus L. var. strigosus (Michx.) Maxim. (Rosaceae) individuals sampled at eight sites contaminated by pollutants (N = 39) and eight adjacent...

  16. New microsatellite loci for Prosopis alba and P. chilensis (Fabaceae)1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessega, Cecilia F.; Pometti, Carolina L.; Miller, Joe T.; Watts, Richard; Saidman, Beatriz O.; Vilardi, Juan C.

    2013-01-01

    • Premise of the study: As only six useful microsatellite loci that exhibit broad cross-amplification are so far available for Prosopis species, it is necessary to develop a larger number of codominant markers for population genetic studies. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers obtained for Prosopis species from a 454 pyrosequencing run were optimized and characterized for studies in P. alba and P. chilensis. • Methods and Results: Twelve markers that were successfully amplified showed polymorphism in P. alba and P. chilensis. The number of alleles per locus ranged between two and seven and heterozygosity estimates ranged from 0.2 to 0.8. Most of these loci cross-amplify in P. ruscifolia, P. flexuosa, P. kuntzei, P. glandulosa, and P. pallida. • Conclusions: These loci will enable genetic diversity studies of P. alba and P. chilensis and contribute to fine-scale population structure, indirect estimation of relatedness among individuals, and marker-assisted selection. PMID:25202541

  17. Induction of epigenetic variation in Arabidopsis by over-expression of DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1 (MET1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Brocklehurst

    Full Text Available Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation and histone modification can vary among plant accessions creating epi-alleles with different levels of expression competence. Mutations in epigenetic pathway functions are powerful tools to induce epigenetic variation. As an alternative approach, we investigated the potential of over-expressing an epigenetic function, using DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1 (MET1 for proof-of-concept. In Arabidopsis thaliana, MET1 controls maintenance of cytosine methylation at symmetrical CG positions. At some loci, which contain dense DNA methylation in CG- and non-CG context, loss of MET1 causes joint loss of all cytosines methylation marks. We find that over-expression of both catalytically active and inactive versions of MET1 stochastically generates new epi-alleles at loci encoding transposable elements, non-coding RNAs and proteins, which results for most loci in an increase in expression. Individual transformants share some common phenotypes and genes with altered gene expression. Altered expression states can be transmitted to the next generation, which does not require the continuous presence of the MET1 transgene. Long-term stability and epigenetic features differ for individual loci. Our data show that over-expression of MET1, and potentially of other genes encoding epigenetic factors, offers an alternative strategy to identify epigenetic target genes and to create novel epi-alleles.

  18. ChickVD: a sequence variation database for the chicken genome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Jing; He, Ximiao; Ruan, Jue

    2005-01-01

    Working in parallel with the efforts to sequence the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome, the Beijing Genomics Institute led an international team of scientists from China, USA, UK, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany to map extensive DNA sequence variation throughout the chicken genome by sampling DN...... on quantitative trait loci using data from collaborating institutions and public resources. Our data can be queried by search engine and homology-based BLAST searches. ChickVD is publicly accessible at http://chicken.genomics.org.cn. Udgivelsesdato: 2005-Jan-1...

  19. Annotation of loci from genome-wide association studies using tissue-specific quantitative interaction proteomics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lundby, Alicia; Rossin, Elizabeth J.; Steffensen, Annette B.; Acha, Moshe Ray; Newton-Cheh, Christopher; Pfeufer, Arne; Lyneh, Stacey N.; Olesen, Soren-Peter; Brunak, Soren; Ellinor, Patrick T.; Jukema, J. Wouter; Trompet, Stella; Ford, Ian; Macfarlane, Peter W.; Krijthe, Bouwe P.; Hofman, Albert; Uitterlinden, Andre G.; Stricker, Bruno H.; Nathoe, Hendrik M.; Spiering, Wilko; Daly, Mark J.; Asselbergs, Ikea W.; van der Harst, Pim; Milan, David J.; de Bakker, Paul I. W.; Lage, Kasper; Olsen, Jesper V.

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of loci associated with complex traits, but it is challenging to pinpoint causal genes in these loci and to exploit subtle association signals. We used tissue-specific quantitative interaction proteomics to map a network of five genes

  20. Anomalously high variation in postnatal development is ancestral for dinosaurs but lost in birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, Christopher T.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.

    2016-12-01

    Compared with all other living reptiles, birds grow extremely fast and possess unusually low levels of intraspecific variation during postnatal development. It is now clear that birds inherited their high rates of growth from their dinosaurian ancestors, but the origin of the avian condition of low variation during development is poorly constrained. The most well-understood growth trajectories of later Mesozoic theropods (e.g., Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus) show similarly low variation to birds, contrasting with higher variation in extant crocodylians. Here, we show that deep within Dinosauria, among the earliest-diverging dinosaurs, anomalously high intraspecific variation is widespread but then is lost in more derived theropods. This style of development is ancestral for dinosaurs and their closest relatives, and, surprisingly, this level of variation is far higher than in living crocodylians. Among early dinosaurs, this variation is widespread across Pangaea in the Triassic and Early Jurassic, and among early-diverging theropods (ceratosaurs), this variation is maintained for 165 million years to the end of the Cretaceous. Because the Late Triassic environment across Pangaea was volatile and heterogeneous, this variation may have contributed to the rise of dinosaurian dominance through the end of the Triassic Period.

  1. Microsatellite loci in Japanese quail and cross-species amplification in chicken and guinea fowl

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mizutani Makoto

    2002-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In line with the Gifu University's initiative to map the Japanese quail genome, a total of 100 Japanese quail microsatellite markers isolated in our laboratory were evaluated in a population of 20 unrelated quails randomly sampled from a colony of wild quail origin. Ninety-eight markers were polymorphic with an average of 3.7 alleles per locus and a mean heterozygosity of 0.423. To determine the utility of these markers for comparative genome mapping in Phasianidae, cross-species amplification of all the markers was tested with chicken and guinea fowl DNA. Amplification products similar in size to the orthologous loci in quail were observed in 42 loci in chicken and 20 loci in guinea fowl. Of the cross-reactive markers, 57.1% in chicken and 55.0% in guinea fowl were polymorphic when tested in 20 birds from their respective populations. Five of 15 markers that could cross-amplify Japanese quail, chicken, and guinea fowl DNA were polymorphic in all three species. Amplification of orthologous loci was confirmed by sequencing 10 loci each from chicken and guinea fowl and comparing with them the corresponding quail sequence. The microsatellite markers reported would serve as a useful resource base for genetic mapping in quail and comparative mapping in Phasianidae.

  2. In-silico analysis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD GWAS loci to novel connections.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Mesbah-Uddin

    Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWASs for many complex diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, produced hundreds of disease-associated loci-the majority of which are noncoding. The number of GWAS loci is increasing very rapidly, but the process of translating single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs from these loci to genomic medicine is lagging. In this study, we investigated 4,734 variants from 152 IBD associated GWAS loci (IBD associated 152 lead noncoding SNPs identified from pooled GWAS results + 4,582 variants in strong linkage-disequilibrium (LD (r2 ≥0.8 for EUR population of 1K Genomes Project using four publicly available bioinformatics tools, e.g. dbPSHP, CADD, GWAVA, and RegulomeDB, to annotate and prioritize putative regulatory variants. Of the 152 lead noncoding SNPs, around 11% are under strong negative selection (GERP++ RS ≥2; and ~30% are under balancing selection (Tajima's D score >2 in CEU population (1K Genomes Project--though these regions are positively selected (GERP++ RS <0 in mammalian evolution. The analysis of 4,734 variants using three integrative annotation tools produced 929 putative functional SNPs, of which 18 SNPs (from 15 GWAS loci are in concordance with all three classifiers. These prioritized noncoding SNPs may contribute to IBD pathogenesis by dysregulating the expression of nearby genes. This study showed the usefulness of integrative annotation for prioritizing fewer functional variants from a large number of GWAS markers.

  3. Molecular basis of adaptation to high soil boron in wheat landraces and elite cultivars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallotta, Margaret; Schnurbusch, Thorsten; Hayes, Julie; Hay, Alison; Baumann, Ute; Paull, Jeff; Langridge, Peter; Sutton, Tim

    2014-10-02

    Environmental constraints severely restrict crop yields in most production environments, and expanding the use of variation will underpin future progress in breeding. In semi-arid environments boron toxicity constrains productivity, and genetic improvement is the only effective strategy for addressing the problem. Wheat breeders have sought and used available genetic diversity from landraces to maintain yield in these environments; however, the identity of the genes at the major tolerance loci was unknown. Here we describe the identification of near-identical, root-specific boron transporter genes underlying the two major-effect quantitative trait loci for boron tolerance in wheat, Bo1 and Bo4 (ref. 2). We show that tolerance to a high concentration of boron is associated with multiple genomic changes including tetraploid introgression, dispersed gene duplication, and variation in gene structure and transcript level. An allelic series was identified from a panel of bread and durum wheat cultivars and landraces originating from diverse agronomic zones. Our results demonstrate that, during selection, breeders have matched functionally different boron tolerance alleles to specific environments. The characterization of boron tolerance in wheat illustrates the power of the new wheat genomic resources to define key adaptive processes that have underpinned crop improvement.

  4. Evaluation of six candidate DNA barcode loci for identification of five important invasive grasses in eastern Australia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aisuo Wang

    Full Text Available Invasive grass weeds reduce farm productivity, threaten biodiversity, and increase weed control costs. Identification of invasive grasses from native grasses has generally relied on the morphological examination of grass floral material. DNA barcoding may provide an alternative means to identify co-occurring native and invasive grasses, particularly during early growth stages when floral characters are unavailable for analysis. However, there are no universal loci available for grass barcoding. We herein evaluated the utility of six candidate loci (atpF intron, matK, ndhK-ndhC, psbE-petL, ETS and ITS for barcode identification of several economically important invasive grass species frequently found among native grasses in eastern Australia. We evaluated these loci in 66 specimens representing five invasive grass species (Chloris gayana, Eragrostis curvula, Hyparrhenia hirta, Nassella neesiana, Nassella trichotoma and seven native grass species. Our results indicated that, while no single locus can be universally used as a DNA barcode for distinguishing the grass species examined in this study, two plastid loci (atpF and matK showed good distinguishing power to separate most of the taxa examined, and could be used as a dual locus to distinguish several of the invasive from the native species. Low PCR success rates were evidenced among two nuclear loci (ETS and ITS, and few species were amplified at these loci, however ETS was able to genetically distinguish the two important invasive Nassella species. Multiple loci analyses also suggested that ETS played a crucial role in allowing identification of the two Nassella species in the multiple loci combinations.

  5. Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Speliotes, Elizabeth K; Willer, Cristen J; Berndt, Sonja I

    2010-01-01

    in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators...

  6. Identification and genetic mapping of highly polymorphic microsatellite loci from an EST database of the septoria tritici blotch pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goodwin, S.B.; Lee, van der T.A.J.; Cavaletto, J.R.; Lintel Hekkert, te B.; Crane, C.F.; Kema, G.H.J.

    2007-01-01

    A database of 30,137 EST sequences from Mycosphaerella graminicola, the septoria tritici blotch fungus of wheat, was scanned with a custom software pipeline for di- and trinucleotide units repeated tandemly six or more times. The bioinformatics analysis identified 109 putative SSR loci, and for 99

  7. Isolation and characterization of macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) microsatellite loci and their utility in other penguin species (Spheniscidae, AVES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Sophia; Hart, Tom; Dawson, Deborah A; Horsburgh, Gavin J; Trathan, Philip N; Rogers, Alex D

    2009-11-01

    We report the characterization of 25 microsatellite loci isolated from the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus). Thirteen loci were arranged into four multiplex sets for future genetic studies of macaroni penguin populations. All 25 loci were tested separately in each of four other penguin species [Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica), gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) and king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)]. Between eight and 12 loci were polymorphic per species. These loci are expected to be useful for studies of population genetic structure in a range of penguin species. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  8. Length and repeat-sequence variation in 58 STRs and 94 SNPs in two Spanish populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casals, Ferran; Anglada, Roger; Bonet, Núria; Rasal, Raquel; van der Gaag, Kristiaan J; Hoogenboom, Jerry; Solé-Morata, Neus; Comas, David; Calafell, Francesc

    2017-09-01

    We have genotyped the 58 STRs (27 autosomal, 24 Y-STRs and 7 X-STRs) and 94 autosomal SNPs in Illumina ForenSeq™ Primer Mix A in 88 Spanish Roma (Gypsy) samples and 143 Catalans. Since this platform is based in massive parallel sequencing, we have used simple R scripts to uncover the sequence variation in the repeat region. Thus, we have found, across 58 STRs, 541 length-based alleles, which, after considering repeat-sequence variation, became 804 different alleles. All loci in both populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. F ST between both populations was 0.0178 for autosomal SNPs, 0.0146 for autosomal STRs, 0.0101 for X-STRs and 0.1866 for Y-STRs. Combined a priori statistics showed quite large; for instance, pooling all the autosomal loci, the a priori probabilities of discriminating a suspect become 1-(2.3×10 -70 ) and 1-(5.9×10 -73 ), for Roma and Catalans respectively, and the chances of excluding a false father in a trio are 1-(2.6×10 -20 ) and 1-(2.0×10 -21 ). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Using Genotyping by Sequencing to Map Two Novel Anthracnose Resistance Loci in Sorghum bicolor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    J Felderhoff, Terry; M McIntyre, Lauren; Saballos, Ana; Vermerris, Wilfred

    2016-07-07

    Colletotrichum sublineola is an aggressive fungal pathogen that causes anthracnose in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. The obvious symptoms of anthracnose are leaf blight and stem rot. Sorghum, the fifth most widely grown cereal crop in the world, can be highly susceptible to the disease, most notably in hot and humid environments. In the southeastern United States the acreage of sorghum has been increasing steadily in recent years, spurred by growing interest in producing biofuels, bio-based products, and animal feed. Resistance to anthracnose is, therefore, of paramount importance for successful sorghum production in this region. To identify anthracnose resistance loci present in the highly resistant cultivar 'Bk7', a biparental mapping population of F3:4 and F4:5 sorghum lines was generated by crossing 'Bk7' with the susceptible inbred 'Early Hegari-Sart'. Lines were phenotyped in three environments and in two different years following natural infection. The population was genotyped by sequencing. Following a stringent custom filtering protocol, totals of 5186 and 2759 informative SNP markers were identified in the two populations. Segregation data and association analysis identified resistance loci on chromosomes 7 and 9, with the resistance alleles derived from 'Bk7'. Both loci contain multiple classes of defense-related genes based on sequence similarity and gene ontologies. Genetic analysis following an independent selection experiment of lines derived from a cross between 'Bk7' and sweet sorghum 'Mer81-4' narrowed the resistance locus on chromosome 9 substantially, validating this QTL. As observed in other species, sorghum appears to have regions of clustered resistance genes. Further characterization of these regions will facilitate the development of novel germplasm with resistance to anthracnose and other diseases. Copyright © 2016 Felderhoff et al.

  10. Testing independence of fragment lengths within VNTR loci

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geisser, S. (Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)); Johnson, W. (Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States))

    1993-11-01

    Methods that were devised to test independence of the bivariate fragment lengths obtained from VNTR loci are applied to several population databases. It is shown that for many of the probes independence (Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium) cannot be sustained. 3 refs., 3 tabs.

  11. Biological insights from 108 schizophrenia-associated genetic loci

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ripke, Stephan; Neale, Benjamin M.; Corvin, Aiden

    2014-01-01

    and 113,075 controls. We identify 128 independent associations spanning 108 conservatively defined loci that meet genome-wide significance, 83 of which have not been previously reported. Associations were enriched among genes expressed in brain, providing biological plausibility for the findings. Many...

  12. Exploring Variation in Glycemic Control Across and Within Eight High-Income Countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Charalampopoulos, Dimitrios; Hermann, Julia M; Svensson, Jannet

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: International studies on childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) have focused on whole-country mean HbA1c levels, thereby concealing potential variations within countries. We aimed to explore the variations in HbA1c across and within eight high-income countries to best inform international ben...

  13. Meta-analysis identifies 29 additional ulcerative colitis risk loci, increasing the number of confirmed associations to 47

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anderson, Carl A; Boucher, Gabrielle; Lees, Charlie W

    2011-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies and candidate gene studies in ulcerative colitis have identified 18 susceptibility loci. We conducted a meta-analysis of six ulcerative colitis genome-wide association study datasets, comprising 6,687 cases and 19,718 controls, and followed up the top association...... signals in 9,628 cases and 12,917 controls. We identified 29 additional risk loci (P associated loci to 47. After annotating associated regions using GRAIL, expression quantitative trait loci data and correlations with non-synonymous SNPs, we...... identified many candidate genes that provide potentially important insights into disease pathogenesis, including IL1R2, IL8RA-IL8RB, IL7R, IL12B, DAP, PRDM1, JAK2, IRF5, GNA12 and LSP1. The total number of confirmed inflammatory bowel disease risk loci is now 99, including a minimum of 28 shared association...

  14. Deciphering molecular circuits from genetic variation underlying transcriptional responsiveness to stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gat-Viks, Irit; Chevrier, Nicolas; Wilentzik, Roni; Eisenhaure, Thomas; Raychowdhury, Raktima; Steuerman, Yael; Shalek, Alex K; Hacohen, Nir; Amit, Ido; Regev, Aviv

    2013-04-01

    Individual genetic variation affects gene responsiveness to stimuli, often by influencing complex molecular circuits. Here we combine genomic and intermediate-scale transcriptional profiling with computational methods to identify variants that affect the responsiveness of genes to stimuli (responsiveness quantitative trait loci or reQTLs) and to position these variants in molecular circuit diagrams. We apply this approach to study variation in transcriptional responsiveness to pathogen components in dendritic cells from recombinant inbred mouse strains. We identify reQTLs that correlate with particular stimuli and position them in known pathways. For example, in response to a virus-like stimulus, a trans-acting variant responds as an activator of the antiviral response; using RNA interference, we identify Rgs16 as the likely causal gene. Our approach charts an experimental and analytic path to decipher the mechanisms underlying genetic variation in circuits that control responses to stimuli.

  15. Estimating phylogenetic relationships despite discordant gene trees across loci: the species tree of a diverse species group of feather mites (Acari: Proctophyllodidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knowles, Lacey L; Klimov, Pavel B

    2011-11-01

    With the increased availability of multilocus sequence data, the lack of concordance of gene trees estimated for independent loci has focused attention on both the biological processes producing the discord and the methodologies used to estimate phylogenetic relationships. What has emerged is a suite of new analytical tools for phylogenetic inference--species tree approaches. In contrast to traditional phylogenetic methods that are stymied by the idiosyncrasies of gene trees, approaches for estimating species trees explicitly take into account the cause of discord among loci and, in the process, provides a direct estimate of phylogenetic history (i.e. the history of species divergence, not divergence of specific loci). We illustrate the utility of species tree estimates with an analysis of a diverse group of feather mites, the pinnatus species group (genus Proctophyllodes). Discord among four sequenced nuclear loci is consistent with theoretical expectations, given the short time separating speciation events (as evident by short internodes relative to terminal branch lengths in the trees). Nevertheless, many of the relationships are well resolved in a Bayesian estimate of the species tree; the analysis also highlights ambiguous aspects of the phylogeny that require additional loci. The broad utility of species tree approaches is discussed, and specifically, their application to groups with high speciation rates--a history of diversification with particular prevalence in host/parasite systems where species interactions can drive rapid diversification.

  16. Genome-wide association study identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Easton, Douglas F.; Pooley, Karen A.; Dunning, Alison M.; Pharoah, Paul D. P.; Thompson, Deborah; Ballinger, Dennis G.; Struewing, Jeffery P.; Morrison, Jonathan; Field, Helen; Luben, Robert; Wareham, Nicholas; Ahmed, Shahana; Healey, Catherine S.; Bowman, Richard; Meyer, Kerstin B.; Haiman, Christopher A.; Kolonel, Laurence K.; Henderson, Brian E.; Marchand, Loic Le; Brennan, Paul; Sangrajrang, Suleeporn; Gaborieau, Valerie; Odefrey, Fabrice; Shen, Chen-Yang; Wu, Pei-Ei; Wang, Hui-Chun; Eccles, Diana; Evans, D. Gareth; Peto, Julian; Fletcher, Olivia; Johnson, Nichola; Seal, Sheila; Stratton, Michael R.; Rahman, Nazneen; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Bojesen, Stig E.; Nordestgaard, Børge G.; Axelsson, Christen K.; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Brinton, Louise; Chanock, Stephen; Lissowska, Jolanta; Peplonska, Beata; Nevanlinna, Heli; Fagerholm, Rainer; Eerola, Hannaleena; Kang, Daehee; Yoo, Keun-Young; Noh, Dong-Young; Ahn, Sei-Hyun; Hunter, David J.; Hankinson, Susan E.; Cox, David G.; Hall, Per; Wedren, Sara; Liu, Jianjun; Low, Yen-Ling; Bogdanova, Natalia; Schürmann, Peter; Dörk, Thilo; Tollenaar, Rob A. E. M.; Jacobi, Catharina E.; Devilee, Peter; Klijn, Jan G. M.; Sigurdson, Alice J.; Doody, Michele M.; Alexander, Bruce H.; Zhang, Jinghui; Cox, Angela; Brock, Ian W.; MacPherson, Gordon; Reed, Malcolm W. R.; Couch, Fergus J.; Goode, Ellen L.; Olson, Janet E.; Meijers-Heijboer, Hanne; van den Ouweland, Ans; Uitterlinden, André; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Milne, Roger L.; Ribas, Gloria; Gonzalez-Neira, Anna; Benitez, Javier; Hopper, John L.; McCredie, Margaret; Southey, Melissa; Giles, Graham G.; Schroen, Chris; Justenhoven, Christina; Brauch, Hiltrud; Hamann, Ute; Ko, Yon-Dschun; Spurdle, Amanda B.; Beesley, Jonathan; Chen, Xiaoqing; Mannermaa, Arto; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Kataja, Vesa; Hartikainen, Jaana; Day, Nicholas E.; Cox, David R.; Ponder, Bruce A. J.; Luccarini, Craig; Conroy, Don; Shah, Mitul; Munday, Hannah; Jordan, Clare; Perkins, Barbara; West, Judy; Redman, Karen; Driver, Kristy; Aghmesheh, Morteza; Amor, David; Andrews, Lesley; Antill, Yoland; Armes, Jane; Armitage, Shane; Arnold, Leanne; Balleine, Rosemary; Begley, Glenn; Beilby, John; Bennett, Ian; Bennett, Barbara; Berry, Geoffrey; Blackburn, Anneke; Brennan, Meagan; Brown, Melissa; Buckley, Michael; Burke, Jo; Butow, Phyllis; Byron, Keith; Callen, David; Campbell, Ian; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Clarke, Christine; Colley, Alison; Cotton, Dick; Cui, Jisheng; Culling, Bronwyn; Cummings, Margaret; Dawson, Sarah-Jane; Dixon, Joanne; Dobrovic, Alexander; Dudding, Tracy; Edkins, Ted; Eisenbruch, Maurice; Farshid, Gelareh; Fawcett, Susan; Field, Michael; Firgaira, Frank; Fleming, Jean; Forbes, John; Friedlander, Michael; Gaff, Clara; Gardner, Mac; Gattas, Mike; George, Peter; Giles, Graham; Gill, Grantley; Goldblatt, Jack; Greening, Sian; Grist, Scott; Haan, Eric; Harris, Marion; Hart, Stewart; Hayward, Nick; Hopper, John; Humphrey, Evelyn; Jenkins, Mark; Jones, Alison; Kefford, Rick; Kirk, Judy; Kollias, James; Kovalenko, Sergey; Lakhani, Sunil; Leary, Jennifer; Lim, Jacqueline; Lindeman, Geoff; Lipton, Lara; Lobb, Liz; Maclurcan, Mariette; Mann, Graham; Marsh, Deborah; McCredie, Margaret; McKay, Michael; McLachlan, Sue Anne; Meiser, Bettina; Milne, Roger; Mitchell, Gillian; Newman, Beth; O'Loughlin, Imelda; Osborne, Richard; Peters, Lester; Phillips, Kelly; Price, Melanie; Reeve, Jeanne; Reeve, Tony; Richards, Robert; Rinehart, Gina; Robinson, Bridget; Rudzki, Barney; Salisbury, Elizabeth; Sambrook, Joe; Saunders, Christobel; Scott, Clare; Scott, Elizabeth; Scott, Rodney; Seshadri, Ram; Shelling, Andrew; Southey, Melissa; Spurdle, Amanda; Suthers, Graeme; Taylor, Donna; Tennant, Christopher; Thorne, Heather; Townshend, Sharron; Tucker, Kathy; Tyler, Janet; Venter, Deon; Visvader, Jane; Walpole, Ian; Ward, Robin; Waring, Paul; Warner, Bev; Warren, Graham; Watson, Elizabeth; Williams, Rachael; Wilson, Judy; Winship, Ingrid; Young, Mary Ann; Bowtell, David; Green, Adele; deFazio, Anna; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Gertig, Dorota; Webb, Penny

    2009-01-01

    Breast cancer exhibits familial aggregation, consistent with variation in genetic susceptibility to the disease. Known susceptibility genes account for less than 25% of the familial risk of breast cancer, and the residual genetic variance is likely to be due to variants conferring more moderate risks. To identify further susceptibility alleles, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study in 4,398 breast cancer cases and 4,316 controls, followed by a third stage in which 30 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were tested for confirmation in 21,860 cases and 22,578 controls from 22 studies. We used 227,876 SNPs that were estimated to correlate with 77% of known common SNPs in Europeans at r2>0.5. SNPs in five novel independent loci exhibited strong and consistent evidence of association with breast cancer (P<10−7). Four of these contain plausible causative genes (FGFR2, TNRC9, MAP3K1 and LSP1). At the second stage, 1,792 SNPs were significant at the P<0.05 level compared with an estimated 1,343 that would be expected by chance, indicating that many additional common susceptibility alleles may be identifiable by this approach. PMID:17529967

  17. Nonrandom Distribution of miRNAs Genes and Single Nucleotide Variants in Keratoconus Loci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorota M Nowak

    Full Text Available Despite numerous studies, the causes of both development and progression of keratoconus remain elusive. Previous studies of this disorder focused mainly on one or two genetic factors only. However, in the analysis of such complex diseases all potential factors should be taken into consideration. The purpose of this study was a comprehensive analysis of known keratoconus loci to uncover genetic factors involved in this disease causation in the general population, which could be omitted in the original studies. In this investigation genomic data available in various databases and experimental own data were assessed. The lists of single nucleotide variants and miRNA genes localized in reported keratoconus loci were obtained from Ensembl and miRBase, respectively. The potential impact of nonsynonymous amino acid substitutions on protein structure and function was assessed with PolyPhen-2 and SIFT. For selected protein genes the ranking was made to choose those most promising for keratoconus development. Ranking results were based on topological features in the protein-protein interaction network. High specificity for the populations in which the causative sequence variants have been identified was found. In addition, the possibility of links between previously analyzed keratoconus loci was confirmed including miRNA-gene interactions. Identified number of genes associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory agents corroborated the hypothesis of their effect on the disease etiology. Distribution of the numerous sequences variants within both exons and mature miRNA which forces you to search for a broader look at the determinants of keratoconus. Our findings highlight the complexity of the keratoconus genetics.

  18. Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justice, Anne E; Winkler, Thomas W; Feitosa, Mary F; Graff, Misa; Fisher, Virginia A; Young, Kristin; Barata, Llilda; Deng, Xuan; Czajkowski, Jacek; Hadley, David; Ngwa, Julius S; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S; Chu, Audrey Y; Heard-Costa, Nancy L; Lim, Elise; Perez, Jeremiah; Eicher, John D; Kutalik, Zoltán; Xue, Luting; Mahajan, Anubha; Renström, Frida; Wu, Joseph; Qi, Qibin; Ahmad, Shafqat; Alfred, Tamuno; Amin, Najaf; Bielak, Lawrence F; Bonnefond, Amelie; Bragg, Jennifer; Cadby, Gemma; Chittani, Martina; Coggeshall, Scott; Corre, Tanguy; Direk, Nese; Eriksson, Joel; Fischer, Krista; Gorski, Mathias; Neergaard Harder, Marie; Horikoshi, Momoko; Huang, Tao; Huffman, Jennifer E; Jackson, Anne U; Justesen, Johanne Marie; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kinnunen, Leena; Kleber, Marcus E; Komulainen, Pirjo; Kumari, Meena; Lim, Unhee; Luan, Jian'an; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Mangino, Massimo; Manichaikul, Ani; Marten, Jonathan; Middelberg, Rita P S; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Navarro, Pau; Pérusse, Louis; Pervjakova, Natalia; Sarti, Cinzia; Smith, Albert Vernon; Smith, Jennifer A; Stančáková, Alena; Strawbridge, Rona J; Stringham, Heather M; Sung, Yun Ju; Tanaka, Toshiko; Teumer, Alexander; Trompet, Stella; van der Laan, Sander W; van der Most, Peter J; Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Jana V; Vedantam, Sailaja L; Verweij, Niek; Vink, Jacqueline M; Vitart, Veronique; Wu, Ying; Yengo, Loic; Zhang, Weihua; Hua Zhao, Jing; Zimmermann, Martina E; Zubair, Niha; Abecasis, Gonçalo R; Adair, Linda S; Afaq, Saima; Afzal, Uzma; Bakker, Stephan J L; Bartz, Traci M; Beilby, John; Bergman, Richard N; Bergmann, Sven; Biffar, Reiner; Blangero, John; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Bottinger, Erwin; Braga, Daniele; Buckley, Brendan M; Buyske, Steve; Campbell, Harry; Chambers, John C; Collins, Francis S; Curran, Joanne E; de Borst, Gert J; de Craen, Anton J M; de Geus, Eco J C; Dedoussis, George; Delgado, Graciela E; den Ruijter, Hester M; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Eriksson, Anna L; Esko, Tõnu; Faul, Jessica D; Ford, Ian; Forrester, Terrence; Gertow, Karl; Gigante, Bruna; Glorioso, Nicola; Gong, Jian; Grallert, Harald; Grammer, Tanja B; Grarup, Niels; Haitjema, Saskia; Hallmans, Göran; Hamsten, Anders; Hansen, Torben; Harris, Tamara B; Hartman, Catharina A; Hassinen, Maija; Hastie, Nicholas D; Heath, Andrew C; Hernandez, Dena; Hindorff, Lucia; Hocking, Lynne J; Hollensted, Mette; Holmen, Oddgeir L; Homuth, Georg; Jan Hottenga, Jouke; Huang, Jie; Hung, Joseph; Hutri-Kähönen, Nina; Ingelsson, Erik; James, Alan L; Jansson, John-Olov; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jhun, Min A; Jørgensen, Marit E; Juonala, Markus; Kähönen, Mika; Karlsson, Magnus; Koistinen, Heikki A; Kolcic, Ivana; Kolovou, Genovefa; Kooperberg, Charles; Krämer, Bernhard K; Kuusisto, Johanna; Kvaløy, Kirsti; Lakka, Timo A; Langenberg, Claudia; Launer, Lenore J; Leander, Karin; Lee, Nanette R; Lind, Lars; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Linneberg, Allan; Lobbens, Stephane; Loh, Marie; Lorentzon, Mattias; Luben, Robert; Lubke, Gitta; Ludolph-Donislawski, Anja; Lupoli, Sara; Madden, Pamela A F; Männikkö, Reija; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Martin, Nicholas G; McKenzie, Colin A; McKnight, Barbara; Mellström, Dan; Menni, Cristina; Montgomery, Grant W; Musk, Aw Bill; Narisu, Narisu; Nauck, Matthias; Nolte, Ilja M; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Olden, Matthias; Ong, Ken K; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Peyser, Patricia A; Pisinger, Charlotta; Porteous, David J; Raitakari, Olli T; Rankinen, Tuomo; Rao, D C; Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J; Rawal, Rajesh; Rice, Treva; Ridker, Paul M; Rose, Lynda M; Bien, Stephanie A; Rudan, Igor; Sanna, Serena; Sarzynski, Mark A; Sattar, Naveed; Savonen, Kai; Schlessinger, David; Scholtens, Salome; Schurmann, Claudia; Scott, Robert A; Sennblad, Bengt; Siemelink, Marten A; Silbernagel, Günther; Slagboom, P Eline; Snieder, Harold; Staessen, Jan A; Stott, David J; Swertz, Morris A; Swift, Amy J; Taylor, Kent D; Tayo, Bamidele O; Thorand, Barbara; Thuillier, Dorothee; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Vohl, Marie-Claude; Völzke, Henry; Vonk, Judith M; Waeber, Gérard; Waldenberger, Melanie; Westendorp, R G J; Wild, Sarah; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R; Wong, Andrew; Wright, Alan F; Zhao, Wei; Zillikens, M Carola; Baldassarre, Damiano; Balkau, Beverley; Bandinelli, Stefania; Böger, Carsten A; Boomsma, Dorret I; Bouchard, Claude; Bruinenberg, Marcel; Chasman, Daniel I; Chen, Yii-DerIda; Chines, Peter S; Cooper, Richard S; Cucca, Francesco; Cusi, Daniele; Faire, Ulf de; Ferrucci, Luigi; Franks, Paul W; Froguel, Philippe; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Haiman, Christopher A; Hayward, Caroline; Hveem, Kristian; Johnson, Andrew D; Wouter Jukema, J; Kardia, Sharon L R; Kivimaki, Mika; Kooner, Jaspal S; Kuh, Diana; Laakso, Markku; Lehtimäki, Terho; Marchand, Loic Le; März, Winfried; McCarthy, Mark I; Metspalu, Andres; Morris, Andrew P; Ohlsson, Claes; Palmer, Lyle J; Pasterkamp, Gerard; Pedersen, Oluf; Peters, Annette; Peters, Ulrike; Polasek, Ozren; Psaty, Bruce M; Qi, Lu; Rauramaa, Rainer; Smith, Blair H; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Strauch, Konstantin; Tiemeier, Henning; Tremoli, Elena; van der Harst, Pim; Vestergaard, Henrik; Vollenweider, Peter; Wareham, Nicholas J; Weir, David R; Whitfield, John B; Wilson, James F; Tyrrell, Jessica; Frayling, Timothy M; Barroso, Inês; Boehnke, Michael; Deloukas, Panagiotis; Fox, Caroline S; Hirschhorn, Joel N; Hunter, David J; Spector, Tim D; Strachan, David P; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Heid, Iris M; Mohlke, Karen L; Marchini, Jonathan; Loos, Ruth J F; Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O; Liu, Ching-Ti; Borecki, Ingrid B; North, Kari E; Cupples, L Adrienne

    2017-04-26

    Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting for environment in genetic analyses. Our results suggest that tobacco smoking may alter the genetic susceptibility to overall adiposity and body fat distribution.

  19. Large-scale association analysis identifies new lung cancer susceptibility loci and heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across histological subtypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, James D.; Hung, Rayjean J.; Han, Younghun; Zong, Xuchen; Carreras-Torres, Robert; Christiani, David C.; Caporaso, Neil E.; Johansson, Mattias; Xiao, Xiangjun; Li, Yafang; Byun, Jinyoung; Dunning, Alison; Pooley, Karen A.; Qian, David C.; Ji, Xuemei; Liu, Geoffrey; Timofeeva, Maria N.; Bojesen, Stig E.; Wu, Xifeng; Le Marchand, Loic; Albanes, Demetrios; Bickeböller, Heike; Aldrich, Melinda C.; Bush, William S.; Tardon, Adonina; Rennert, Gad; Teare, M. Dawn; Field, John K.; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Lazarus, Philip; Haugen, Aage; Lam, Stephen; Schabath, Matthew B.; Andrew, Angeline S.; Shen, Hongbing; Hong, Yun-Chul; Yuan, Jian-Min; Bertazzi, Pier Alberto; Pesatori, Angela C.; Ye, Yuanqing; Diao, Nancy; Su, Li; Zhang, Ruyang; Brhane, Yonathan; Leighl, Natasha; Johansen, Jakob S.; Mellemgaard, Anders; Saliba, Walid; Haiman, Christopher A.; Wilkens, Lynne R.; Fernandez-Somoano, Ana; Fernandez-Tardon, Guillermo; van der Heijden, Henricus F.M.; Kim, Jin Hee; Dai, Juncheng; Hu, Zhibin; Davies, Michael PA; Marcus, Michael W.; Brunnström, Hans; Manjer, Jonas; Melander, Olle; Muller, David C.; Overvad, Kim; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Tumino, Rosario; Doherty, Jennifer A.; Barnett, Matt P.; Chen, Chu; Goodman, Gary E.; Cox, Angela; Taylor, Fiona; Woll, Penella; Brüske, Irene; Wichmann, H.-Erich; Manz, Judith; Muley, Thomas R.; Risch, Angela; Rosenberger, Albert; Grankvist, Kjell; Johansson, Mikael; Shepherd, Frances A.; Tsao, Ming-Sound; Arnold, Susanne M.; Haura, Eric B.; Bolca, Ciprian; Holcatova, Ivana; Janout, Vladimir; Kontic, Milica; Lissowska, Jolanta; Mukeria, Anush; Ognjanovic, Simona; Orlowski, Tadeusz M.; Scelo, Ghislaine; Swiatkowska, Beata; Zaridze, David; Bakke, Per; Skaug, Vidar; Zienolddiny, Shanbeh; Duell, Eric J.; Butler, Lesley M.; Koh, Woon-Puay; Gao, Yu-Tang; Houlston, Richard S.; McLaughlin, John; Stevens, Victoria L.; Joubert, Philippe; Lamontagne, Maxime; Nickle, David C.; Obeidat, Ma’en; Timens, Wim; Zhu, Bin; Song, Lei; Kachuri, Linda; Artigas, María Soler; Tobin, Martin D.; Wain, Louise V.; Rafnar, Thorunn; Thorgeirsson, Thorgeir E.; Reginsson, Gunnar W.; Stefansson, Kari; Hancock, Dana B.; Bierut, Laura J.; Spitz, Margaret R.; Gaddis, Nathan C.; Lutz, Sharon M.; Gu, Fangyi; Johnson, Eric O.; Kamal, Ahsan; Pikielny, Claudio; Zhu, Dakai; Lindströem, Sara; Jiang, Xia; Tyndale, Rachel F.; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Beesley, Jonathan; Bossé, Yohan; Chanock, Stephen; Brennan, Paul; Landi, Maria Teresa; Amos, Christopher I.

    2017-01-01

    Summary While several lung cancer susceptibility loci have been identified, much of lung cancer heritability remains unexplained. Here, 14,803 cases and 12,262 controls of European descent were genotyped on the OncoArray and combined with existing data for an aggregated GWAS analysis of lung cancer on 29,266 patients and 56,450 controls. We identified 18 susceptibility loci achieving genome wide significance, including 10 novel loci. The novel loci highlighted the striking heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility across lung cancer histological subtypes, with four loci associated with lung cancer overall and six with lung adenocarcinoma. Gene expression quantitative trait analysis (eQTL) in 1,425 normal lung tissues highlighted RNASET2, SECISBP2L and NRG1 as candidate genes. Other loci include genes such as a cholinergic nicotinic receptor, CHRNA2, and the telomere-related genes, OFBC1 and RTEL1. Further exploration of the target genes will continue to provide new insights into the etiology of lung cancer. PMID:28604730

  20. iLOCi: a SNP interaction prioritization technique for detecting epistasis in genome-wide association studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piriyapongsa Jittima

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS do not provide a full account of the heritability of genetic diseases since gene-gene interactions, also known as epistasis are not considered in single locus GWAS. To address this problem, a considerable number of methods have been developed for identifying disease-associated gene-gene interactions. However, these methods typically fail to identify interacting markers explaining more of the disease heritability over single locus GWAS, since many of the interactions significant for disease are obscured by uninformative marker interactions e.g., linkage disequilibrium (LD. Results In this study, we present a novel SNP interaction prioritization algorithm, named iLOCi (Interacting Loci. This algorithm accounts for marker dependencies separately in case and control groups. Disease-associated interactions are then prioritized according to a novel ranking score calculated from the difference in marker dependencies for every possible pair between case and control groups. The analysis of a typical GWAS dataset can be completed in less than a day on a standard workstation with parallel processing capability. The proposed framework was validated using simulated data and applied to real GWAS datasets using the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC data. The results from simulated data showed the ability of iLOCi to identify various types of gene-gene interactions, especially for high-order interaction. From the WTCCC data, we found that among the top ranked interacting SNP pairs, several mapped to genes previously known to be associated with disease, and interestingly, other previously unreported genes with biologically related roles. Conclusion iLOCi is a powerful tool for uncovering true disease interacting markers and thus can provide a more complete understanding of the genetic basis underlying complex disease. The program is available for download at http://www4a.biotec.or.th/GI/tools/iloci.