Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “statistical genetics”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 685 records · Page 38Linked to original sources

Diet and the frequency of the alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase Pro11Leu polymorphism in different human populations.

The intermediary metabolic enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) contains a Pro11Leu polymorphism that decreases its catalytic activity by a factor of three and causes a small proportion to be mistargeted from its normal intracellular location in the peroxisomes to the mitochondria. These changes are predicted to have significant effects on the synthesis and excretion of the metabolic end-product oxalate and the deposition of insoluble calcium oxalate in the kidney and urinary tract. Based on the evolution of AGT targeting in mammals, we have previously hypothesised that this polymorphism would be advantageous for individuals who have a meat-rich diet, but disadvantageous for those who do not. If true, the frequency distribution of Pro11Leu in different extant human populations should have been shaped by their dietary history so that it should be more common in populations with predominantly meat-eating ancestral diets than it is in populations in which the ancestral diets were predominantly vegetarian. In the present study, we have determined frequency of Pro11Leu in 11 different human populations with divergent ancestral dietary lifestyles. We show that the Pro11Leu allelic frequency varies widely from 27.9% in the Saami, a population with a very meat-rich ancestral diet, to 2.3% in Chinese, who are likely to have had a more mixed ancestral diet. FST analysis shows that the differences in Pro11Leu frequency between some populations (particularly Saami vs Chinese) was very high when compared with neutral loci, suggesting that its frequency might have been shaped by dietary selection pressure.

Alleles↗

Power of association test for detecting minor histocompatibility gene causing graft-versus-host disease following bone marrow transplantation [correction].

Incompatibility of minor histocompatibility antigen (mHa) is a major cause of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following bone marrow transplantation in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donor-recipient pairs. To avoid acute GVHD, as many mHa genes as possible need to be identified. In this study, we introduce a comparison of two proportions as an association test for detecting mHa genes in HLA-matched pairs with and without GVHD. Assuming multiple mHa loci, each with two alleles, we evaluated the effects of (1). minor allele frequency of the mHa locus of interest (denoted by p), and (2). probability of GVHD developing in a donor-recipient pair being incompatible at an mHa locus (denoted by r) on the powers of association tests for unrelated pairs and for sib pairs. Our results showed that based on a candidate gene approach, an mHa gene with high p and r values can be detected by the association test with a small sample size. Application of the present method to the Japanese population revealed that the association test for unrelated pairs is more suitable for detecting an mHa gene with a high r value than that for sib pairs. The present method will be helpful to researchers who evaluate the power of association study in advance.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗

Bimodal distribution of flowering time in a natural hybrid population of daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) and nightlily (Hemerocallis citrina).

Time of flower anthesis in a day is thought to evolve in response to the time of pollinator activities. We studied blooming and withering time in natural populations of daylily (Hemerocallis fulva), nightlily (Hemerocallis citrina) and their hybrids, and also in an artificially obtained array of the F1 hybrids. Blooming time of H. fulva varied from 4:30 to 7:30 and H. citrina varied from 16:30 to 20:30. In a natural hybrid population, blooming time and withering time showed discontinuous bimodal distribution in spite that morphological traits of flowers showed continuous unimodal variation. Most F1 hybrids showed diurnal flowering. These findings indicate that only a few genes have strong phenotypic effect on the determination of flowering time in Hemerocallis, and suggest that the evolution from a H. fulva-like ancestor to H. citrina was not a continuous process by accumulation of minute mutations.

Circadian Rhythm↗

Associations of the -174 G/C interleukin-6 gene promoter polymorphism with serum interleukin 6 and mortality in the elderly.

Serum interleukin-6 (sIL6) is an acknowledged predictor of all-cause mortality in older age. A common G/C polymorphism has been identified at position -174 of the IL6 gene promoter (IL6-174G>C), but its associations with sIL6 and mortality are still unclear. Data from a population-based elderly cohort (n=824) were used to study the associations of baseline sIL6 with the IL6-174 C-allele (C+) carrier status and all-cause mortality at 4 years, in the presence and absence of preexisting major diseases (PMD). Analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic factors and body-mass-index. Three-hundred-eighty-eight participants (47.1%) had PMD. Compared to the bottom sIL6 quartile, mortality increased both in presence [Hazard Ratio (HR)=3.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.48-6.25] and absence of PMD [HR=3.91; 95%CI: 1.42-10.72] for the third higher sIL6 quartile, but only in presence of PMD for the top sIL6 quartile [HR=2.30; 95%CI: 1.09-4.83]. In absence of PMD, C+ carrier status did not affect both sIL6 and mortality. In presence of PMD, C+ carrier status was associated with increased baseline sIL6 [odds ratio 2.01; 95%CI: 1.25-3.22, for all sIL6 quartiles above the bottom] but not with increased mortality risk. A survival advantage was even found for C+ carriers with PMD and sIL6 in the top quartile [HR=0.31, 95%CI: 0.13-0.76]. In conclusion, although associated with increased sIL6 levels in presence of major diseases, the IL6-174 C-allele does not seem to have direct detrimental effects on survival in older age.

Aged↗

An evolutionary heterogeneity model of late-life fecundity in Drosophila.

There is now a significant body of research that establishes the deceleration of mortality rates in late life and their ultimate leveling off on a late-life plateau. Natural selection has been offered as one mechanism responsible for these plateaus. The force of natural selection should also exert such effects on female fecundity. We have already developed a model of female fecundity in late life that incorporates the general predictions of the evolutionary model. The original evolutionary model predicts a decline in fecundity from a peak in early life, followed by a plateau with non-zero fecundity in late life. However, in Drosophila there is also a well-defined decline in fecundity among dying flies, here called the "death spiral". This effect produces heterogeneity between dying and non-dying flies. Here a hybrid evolutionary heterogeneity model is developed to accommodate both the evolutionary plateau prediction and the death spiral. It is shown that this evolutionary heterogeneity model gives a much better fit to late-life fecundity data.

Aging↗

Glacial effects on sequence divergence of mitochondrial COII of Polyura eudamippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in China.

Sequence divergence of mitochondrial COII was analyzed in 50 specimens belonging to five subspecies of Polyura eudamippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) collected from southern China. There were nine haplotypes in the 405 bp of partial COII sequence. Distribution of the five subspecies was primarily consistent with the spatial distribution of haplotypes. The K (st) statistic showed genetic differentiation among these subspecies, except between the pair of P. e. kuangtungensis and P. e. formosana, which were separated by the Taiwan Strait. This is consistent with the 10,000-year history of the Taiwan Strait, not long enough for detectable differentiation. The present distribution pattern of COII haplotypes of P. eudamippus should be shaped by the alteration of Pleistocene glaciations, and Yunnan might be the refugium of P. eudamippus in the ice age, judging from the abundant haplotypes remaining. There were two routes for P. eudamippus in the postglacial expansion, one northward to Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hubei and another eastward to the southeastern coast of mainland China and Taiwan Island. Because the haplotype of butterflies on Hainan Island (P. e. whiteheadi) was completely different from that of mainland China, it was estimated that butterflies on Hainan Island might be from the Indo-China Peninsula rather than from mainland China.

Animals↗

Polymorphisms in the IGF-1 and IGFBP 3 promoter and the risk of breast cancer.

Binding of IGF-1 to the type I IGF receptor starts a signalling cascade that plays an important role in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The interaction between the IGF-1 and its receptor is mainly regulated by a binding protein, IGFBP 3. We studied a CA repeat polymorphism 969 bp upstream of the transcription start site in the IGF-1 gene and an A-202 C polymorphism in the IGFBP 3 gene and tested their association with breast cancer risk using four case-control series with a total of 787 cases and 900 controls. We did not find any association between the breast cancer risk and the IGF-1 repeat length (19 versus non-19) or the IGFBP 3 A-202 C polymorphism in the postmenopausal breast cancer series or in women diagnosed for breast cancer under the age of 50. In the familial breast cancer series we observed a non-significantly increased odds-ratio (OR) in homozygotes for the non-19 alleles of the IGF-1 gene (OR 1.51, 95% CI 0.96-2.39, p=0.07). Similarly, in the familial breast cancer series we detected an increased frequency of the IGFBP 3 -202 C allele carriers (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.05--2.14, p=0.03). The association was stronger in individuals homozygous for these alleles (OR 3.76, 95% CI 1.44-v-9.81, p=0.006). Thus, the polymorphisms in the IGF-1 and IGFBP 3 genes associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in familial cases carrying the variant alleles.

Adult↗

Mitochondrial functioning of constitutive iron uptake mutations in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Randomly obtained, constitutive plasma membrane ferric reductase/ferrous uptake mutants of Cryptococcus neoformans were mapped to four distinct loci by meiotic analysis. One of those loci, FRR1 , was previously found homologous to MRS3 and MRS4 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , which determine proteins involved in mitochondrial transport of iron. We were able to complement, clone, sequence and thereby identify two of the three remaining constitutive uptake loci. FRR3 was found to be homologous to ISU1 and ISU2 of S. cerevisiae, which form mitochondrial iron-sulfur complexes; FRR4 was found to be homologous to YFH1, the yeast frataxin homologue, which also participates in iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis. Because of the constitutive iron uptake seen in these mutants, mitochondria appear to have a central role in the cellular iron economy; moreover, as judged by our mutational statistics, the genetic machinery for mitochondrial iron accumulation may be more complex than that of the cytoplasm.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Analysis of mitotic recombination induced by several mono- and bifunctional alkylating agents in the Drosophila wing-spot test.

Mitotic recombination induced by six alkylating agents has been studied in the wing-spot test of Drosophila melanogaster. The model mutagens chosen have different models of action at the DNA level. These are: the direct-acting small alkylating agent methylmethanesulfonate (MMS), the small promutagens N-dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) and N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN), the bifunctional cross-linking alkylating agents mitomycin C (MMC), chlorambucil (CLA) and monocrotaline (MCT). Flies of the standard cross (flr3 / TM3, Bds females and mwh males) were used to produce the larvae to be treated. Three-day old Drosophila larvae were exposed by chronic feeding for 48 h to three different concentrations of all six alkylating agents. Acute feeding for only 2 h was used in addition with DEN and MMC. Wings of the marker-heterozygous (mwh+ / + flr3) as well as of the balancer-heterozygous (mwh+ / TM3, Bds) progeny were analysed. The ranking of the compounds with respect to their genotoxic potency, based on mwh clone formation frequency in marker-heterozygous wings was: MMS > MNC > DMN > CLA approximately MCT > DEN. The ranking with respect to the induction of twin spots, which are produced by mitotic recombination exclusively, was: MMS > DMN > MMC > MCT > CLA > DEN. The quantitative determination of recombinagenic activity, based on mwh clone formation frequencies obtained in both types of wings, gave the following values: MMS, 93%; MCT, 87%; CLA, 80%; MMC, 73%; DMN, 67%; DEN, 22%. A clear relationship exists between the extent of N-alkylation of DNA and the efficiency of the monofunctional agents MMS and DMN as well of the bifunctional agents MCT, CLA and MMC to induce mitotic recombination. This contrasts with the ethylation of base oxygen atoms and the resulting lower efficiency of DEN to produce mitotic recombination.

Alkylating Agents↗