A population genetics model of linkage disequilibrium in admixed populations

Understanding linkage disequilibrium (LD) created in admixed population and the rate of decay in the disequilibrium over evolution is an important subject in population genetics theory and in disease gene mapping in human populations. The present study represents the theoretical investigation of effects of gene frequencies, levels of LD and admixture proportions of donor populations on the evolutionary dynamics of the LD of the admixed population. We examined the conditions under which the admixed population reached linkage equilibrium or the peak level of the LD. The study reveals the inappropriateness in approximating the dynamics of the LD generated by population admixture by the commonly used formula in literature. An appropriate equation for the dynamics is proposed. The distinct feature of the newly suggested formula is that the value of the nonlinear component of the LD remains constant in the first generation of the population evolution. Comparison between the predicted disequilibrium dynamics shows that the error will be caused by using the old formula, and thus resulting in a misguidance in using the evolutionary information of the admixed population in gene mapping.     

High-resolution gene mapping using admixture linkage disequilibrium

This note reports simulation study on the rate of decay in linkage dis equilibrium (LD) in mixed populations over multiple discrete generations and explores the usefulness of the LD analysis in high-resolution gene mapping. The results indicate that the smaller the recombination fraction and the fewer generati ons since admixtureevent, the higher power of the approach in gene mapping. The expected estimate of recombination fraction would give an estimate that is slig htly biased upwards, if relevant genes are in tight linkage. The estimated recom bination fraction is usually larger than the true value within 2-5 generations. From generations 10-20, the mean estimates are in good agreement with the true value. The method presented here enables estimation of means and corresponding confidence intervals of the recombination fraction at any number of generations.     

复杂遗传性状连锁不平衡基因定位的理论基础(英)

复杂遗传疾病基因的定位克隆要求首先获得疾病位点与遗传标记位点间的高分辨率连锁图谱．研究表明,这一目标可通过建立和筛选适当的候选标记位点与目标性状位点间的连锁不平衡的理论分析模型而实现．但这些模型只适用于位点基因型可以通过实验而准确分型的范围．本文报道在不可测基因型复杂遗传疾病的细微定位理论与方法方面所取得的研究成果．     

LOD score exclusion analyses for candidate disease susceptibility genes using case-parents design

The focus of almost all the association studies of candidate genes is to test for their importance. We recently developed a LOD score approach that can be used to test against the importance of candidate genes for complex diseases and quantitative traits in random samples. As a complementary method to regular association analyses, our LOD score approach is powerful but still affected by the population admixture, though it is more conservative. To control the confounding effect of population heterogeneity, we develop here a LOD score exclusion analysis using case?parents design, the basic design of the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) approach that is immune to population admixture. In the analysis, specific genetic effects and inheritance models at candidate genes can be analyzed and if a LOD score is ≤-2.0, the locus can be excluded from having an effect larger than that specified. Simulations show that this approach has reasonable power to exclude a candidate gene having small genetic effects if it is not a disease susceptibility locus (DSL) with sample size often employed in TDT studies. Similar to association analyses with the TDT in nuclear families, our exclusion analyses are generally not affected by population admixture. The exclusion analyses may be implemented to rule out candidate genes with no or minor genetic effects as supplemental analyses for the TDT. The utility of the approach is illustrated with an application to test the importance of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene underlying the differential risk to osteoporosis.     

小麦雌性育性双向极端群体QTL定位策略初探

在极端不育群体中计算重组频率(c值)初步筛选QTL位点的基础之上,利用普通小麦中育性正常的良种藁城8901(P1)与雌性不育系XND126(P2)杂交F2群体中的189株隐性极端不育株和63株极端可育株组成的双向极端群体为定位群体,构建了连锁图,分析定位了小麦雌性育性位点taf1,获得了与F2平衡群体相同的定位位点.分析发现与taf1位点连锁较紧密的标记,其c值较小.利用极端群体的策略能快速有效的定位小麦雌性育性QTL在染色体上的位置.     

Fine-scale recombination rate differences between sexes, populations and individuals

Meiotic recombinations contribute to genetic diversity by yielding new combinations of alleles. Recently, high-resolution recombination maps were inferred from high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data using linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns that capture historical recombination events. The use of these maps has been demonstrated by the identification of recombination hotspots and associated motifs, and the discovery that the PRDM9 gene affects the proportion of recombinations occurring at hotspots. However, these maps provide no information about individual or sex differences. Moreover, locus-specific demographic factors like natural selection can bias LD-based estimates of recombination rate. Existing genetic maps based on family data avoid these shortcomings, but their resolution is limited by relatively few meioses and a low density of markers. Here we used genome-wide SNP data from 15,257 parent-offspring pairs to construct the first recombination maps based on directly observed recombinations with a resolution that is effective down to 10 kilobases (kb). Comparing male and female maps reveals that about 15% of hotspots in one sex are specific to that sex. Although male recombinations result in more shuffling of exons within genes, female recombinations generate more new combinations of nearby genes. We discover novel associations between recombination characteristics of individuals and variants in the PRDM9 gene and we identify new recombination hotspots. Comparisons of our maps with two LD-based maps inferred from data of HapMap populations of Utah residents with ancestry from northern and western Europe (CEU) and Yoruba in Ibadan, Nigeria (YRI) reveal population differences previously masked by noise and map differences at regions previously described as targets of natural selection.     

Chromosomal rearrangements maintain a polymorphic supergene controlling butterfly mimicry

Supergenes are tight clusters of loci that facilitate the co-segregation of adaptive variation, providing integrated control of complex adaptive phenotypes. Polymorphic supergenes, in which specific combinations of traits are maintained within a single population, were first described for 'pin' and 'thrum' floral types in Primula and Fagopyrum, but classic examples are also found in insect mimicry and snail morphology. Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that generate these co-adapted gene sets, as well as the mode of limiting the production of unfit recombinant forms, remains a substantial challenge. Here we show that individual wing-pattern morphs in the polymorphic mimetic butterfly Heliconius numata are associated with different genomic rearrangements at the supergene locus P. These rearrangements tighten the genetic linkage between at least two colour-pattern loci that are known to recombine in closely related species, with complete suppression of recombination being observed in experimental crosses across a 400-kilobase interval containing at least 18 genes. In natural populations, notable patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) are observed across the entire P region. The resulting divergent haplotype clades and inversion breakpoints are found in complete association with wing-pattern morphs. Our results indicate that allelic combinations at known wing-patterning loci have become locked together in a polymorphic rearrangement at the P locus, forming a supergene that acts as a simple switch between complex adaptive phenotypes found in sympatry. These findings highlight how genomic rearrangements can have a central role in the coexistence of adaptive phenotypes involving several genes acting in concert, by locally limiting recombination and gene flow.     

Identification of susceptibility loci for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus by trans-racial gene mapping

INSULIN-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) follows an autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta-cells of the pancreas. Family and population studies indicate that predisposition is probably polygenic. At least one susceptibility gene lies within the major histocompatibility complex and is closely linked to the genes encoding the class II antigens, HLA-DR and HLA-DQ (refs 3, 4). Fine mapping of susceptibility genes by linkage analysis in families is not feasible because of infrequent recombination (linkage disequilibrium) between the DR and DQ genes. Recombination events in the past, however, have occurred and generated distinct DR-DQ haplotypes, whose frequencies vary between races. DNA sequencing and oligonucleotide dot-blot analysis of class II genes from two race-specific haplotypes indicate that susceptibility to IDDM is closely linked to the DQA1 locus and suggest that both the DQB1 (ref. 7) and DQA1 genes contribute to disease predisposition.     

Theoretical strategies for high-resolution mapping of complex genetic disorders in humans

Positional cloning of gene(s) underlying a complex disease trait poses requirement of a highresolution linkage map between the disease locus and genetic marker loci. Recent researches have shown that this may be achieved through appropriately modeling and screening linkage disequilibrium between the candidate marker locus and the major trait locus. However, these models were restricted to the circumstances where genotyping at the disease locus was feasible. The major limitations of pedigree-based linkage analyses were addressed in the light of positional cloning and positional candidate gene identification in humans. It summarizes the recent efforts in developing theories for fine-scale mapping of genes underlying complex genetic variations where the one-to-one relationship no longer exists between phenotype of the genetic disorders and the corresponding genotype. Dedicated to Dr. C. C. Tan for his 90th birthday.     

Identification of reciprocal translocation sites within the c-myc oncogene and immunoglobulin mu locus in a Burkitt lymphoma

The association between certain human tumours and characteristic chromosomal abnormalities has led to the hypothesis that specific cellular oncogenes may be involved and consequently 'activated' in these genetic recombinations. This hypothesis has found strong support in the recent findings that some cellular homologues of retroviral onc genes are located in chromosomal segments which are affected by specific tumour-related abnormalities (see ref. 4 for review). In the case of human undifferentiated B-cell lymphoma (UBL) and mouse plasmacytomas, cytogenetic and chromosomal mapping data have identified characteristic chromosomal recombinations directly involving different immunoglobulin genes and the c-myc oncogene (for review see refs 5, 6). In UBLs carrying the t(8:14) translocation it has been shown that the human c-myc gene is located on the region of chromosome 8 (8q24) which is translocated to the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus (IHC) on chromosome 14. Although it is known that the chromosomal breakpoints can be variably located within or outside the c-myc locus and within the IHC mu (refs 9, 11) or IHC gamma locus, the recombination sites have not been exactly identified and mapped in relation to the functional domains of these loci. We report here the identification and characterization of two reciprocal recombination sites between c-myc and IHC mu in a Burkitt lymphoma. Nucleotide sequencing of the cross-over point joining chromosomes 8 and 14 on chromosome 14q--shows that the onc gene is interrupted within its first intron and joined to the heavy-chain mu switch region. This recombination predicts that the translocated onc gene would code for a rearranged mRNA but a normal c-myc polypeptide.     

High resolution linkage disequilibrium and haplotype maps for the genes in the centromeric region of chromosome 15 in Tibetans and comparisons with Han population

WITH THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE HUMAN GE- NOME PROJECT, ONE OF THE SCIENTIFIC MILESTONES, GENETIC VARIATIONS AND THEIR FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS, HAVE BE- COME ONE OF THE FOCUSES IN GENOME RESEARCH. IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THAT GENETIC VARIATIONS, TOGETHER WITH ENVI- RONMENT, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN COMPLEX TRAITS IN INDIVIDUALS: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, DISE…     

小麦taf1位点的连锁不平衡分析

利用遍布全基因组的21个SSR分子标记,对小麦雌性不育系XND126与1201、802、60个普通小麦品种(系)组成的三个品种(系)群体进行群体结构的评估,发现在三个群体中都存在群体结构.对消除群体结构后的三个亚群体中各标记的连锁不平衡值(linkage disequilibrium value)进行比较.结果表明,群体大小影响标记与雌性育性位点间的LD值.基于对小麦雌性育性taf1位点初步定位的信息.对2DS染色体上30个SSR分子标记的LD研究显示,Xgwm71、Xwmc25、Xgwm515、Xcfd36同样与原标记Xgdm35等具有较大的LD值,可能与taf1密切相关.获得这些较大LD值的标记(Xgwm71、Xwmc25等),为taf1位点的精细定位做出了充分的准备.     

全基因组关联研究中的遗传位点分析方法

提出多种模型方法,对高维位点数据进行分析,为基因定位和复杂疾病性状遗传等方面的研究提供新的技术支持。为了实现关联位点在基因中的定位,首先建立映射模型,对每个位点的碱基对重新编码;然后,提出将质量控制模型与关联分析模型相结合的方法,确定位点的关联程度;随后利用基于随机森林的重要性排序,筛选与该遗传疾病最相关的致病位点;最后,设计出高维RBF神经网络,得到每个位点对性状的相关性系数,探索出与疾病多类性状相关的位点。结合多种检验方式,验证所建模型能够较为准确地定位与疾病相关的位点及基因。各类模型具有极强的推广性,广泛适用于筛选占有各自权值的大样本数据。     

Assignment of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A to chromosome 10 by linkage

Multiple endocrine neoplasis type 2A (MEN2A) is one of several kinds of cancers that appear to be inherited in an autosomally dominant fashion. We have assigned the MEN2A locus to chromosome 10 by linkage with a new DNA marker (D10S5). The linkage led us to investigate other chromosome 10 markers and demonstrate linkage between the disease locus and the interstitial retinol-binding protein (IRBP) gene. The D10S5 locus was sublocalized to 10q21.1 by hybridization in situ and the IRBP gene to p11.2----q11.2 with a secondary site at q24----q25. The linkages were established using 292 members of five families, three different restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) at D10S5 and two RFLPs recognized by the IRBP probe. The recombination frequencies from pairwise linkage analysis between the disease and two marker loci D10S5 and IRBP were 0.19 and 0.11, with maximum lod scores of 3.6 and 8.0 respectively. Ordering of the three loci by multipoint analysis placed the IRBP gene approximately midway between the disease and D10S5 loci.     

Linkage of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility locus to the HLA region

The frequency of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is nearly 100-fold higher in southern Chinese than in most European populations. Earlier studies have suggested that an increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is associated with specific haplotypes in the HLA region: relative risks slightly over twofold were found for haplotypes A2, Bw46 and the antigen B17. We now report a linkage study based on affected sib pairs which suggests that a gene closely linked to the HLA locus confers a greatly increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The maximum likelihood estimate is of a relative risk of approximately 21. The relationship between this suspected disease susceptibility gene (or genes) and known viral and environmental aetiological factors remains to be elucidated.     

Statistical method for mapping QTLs for complex traits based on two backcross populations

Most important agronomic and quality traits of crops are quantitative in nature.The genetic variations in such traits are usually controlled by sets of genes called quantitative trait loci (QTLs),and the interactions between QTLs and the environment.It is crucial to understand the genetic architecture of complex traits to design efficient strategies for plant breeding.In the present study,a new experimental design and the corresponding statistical method are presented for QTL mapping.The proposed mapping population is composed of double backcross populations derived from backcrossing both homozygous parents to DH (double haploid) or RI (recombinant inbreeding) lines separately.Such an immortal mapping population allows for across-environment replications,and can be used to estimate dominance effects,epistatic effects,and QTL-environment interactions,remedying the drawbacks of a single backcross population.In this method,the mixed linear model approach is used to estimate the positions of QTLs and their various effects including the QTL additive,dominance,and epistatic effects,and QTL-environment interaction effects (QE).Monte Carlo simulations were conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed method and to assess the accuracy and efficiency of its estimations.The results showed that the proposed method could estimate the positions and the genetic effects of QTLs with high efficiency.     

A closely linked genetic marker for cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disorder, characterized clinically by chronic obstructive lung disease, pancreatic insufficiency and elevated sweat electrolytes; affected individuals rarely live past their early twenties. Cystic fibrosis is also one of the most common genetic diseases in the northern European population. The frequency of carriers of mutant alleles in some populations is estimated to be as high as 1 in 20, carrying a concomitant burden of about one affected child in 1,500 births. Because little is known of the essential biochemical defect caused by the mutant gene, a genetic linkage approach based on arbitrary genetic markers and family studies is indicated to determine the chromosomal location of the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene. We have now obtained evidence for tight linkage between the CF locus and a DNA sequence polymorphism at the met oncogene locus. This evidence, combined with the physical localization data for the met locus presented in the accompanying paper, places the CF locus in the middle third of the long arm of chromosome 7, probably between bands q21 and q31.     

Genetic mechanisms of floral trait correlations in a natural population

Genetic correlations among traits are important in evolution, as they can constrain evolutionary change or reflect past selection for combinations of traits. Constraints and integration depend on whether the correlations are caused by pleiotropy or linkage disequilibrium, but these genetic mechanisms underlying correlations remain largely unknown in natural populations. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping studies do not adequately address the mechanisms of within-population genetic correlations because they rely on crosses between distinct species, inbred lines or selected lines (see ref. 5), and they cannot distinguish moderate linkage disequilibrium from pleiotropy because they commonly rely on only one or two episodes of recombination. Here I report that after nine generations of enforced random mating (nine episodes of recombination), correlations between six floral traits in wild radish plants are unchanged, showing that pleiotropy generates the correlations. There is no evidence for linkage disequilibrium despite previous correlational selection acting on one functionally integrated pair of traits. This study provides direct evidence of the genetic mechanisms underlying correlations between quantitative traits in a natural population and suggests that there may be constraints on the independent evolution of pairs of highly correlated traits.     

基于MHCⅡ类B基因的凹耳臭蛙(Odorrana tormota)种群遗传分化模式

利用II类MHC基因单基因座位Odto-A作为分子标记,对皖南山区凹耳臭蛙6个种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化进行研究.结果显示,皖南凹耳臭蛙总的基因多样性为0.812,核苷酸多样性为0.018.局域种群单倍型多样性变化范围为0.531-0.864,香溪种群单倍型多样性最高,最低的是漳河种群.与线粒体cyt b基因所揭示的单倍型多样性差别不大,但B基因的核苷酸多样性较之线粒体cyt b基因的高达一个数量级.暗示MHC基因丰富的核苷酸多态性可能与其病原体抗性多样性密切相关.分子变异分析结果显示,皖南山区凹耳臭蛙种群MHC II类B基因遗传变异主要来源于种群内,种群间发生了显著的遗传分化(Fst=0.05644,P=0.00391).成对种群间的遗传分化分析结果显示,直线距离最近的浮溪和香溪种群间也发生了显著的遗传分化,暗示这两个种群经历了不同的选择压力.受平衡选择的作用,MHC基因与基于中性分子标记所揭示的遗传格局不同,基于MHC基因的种群遗传分化与水系和直线地理距离均没有明显的相关性,而与种群所经历的选择压力密切相关.结果表明皖南凹耳臭蛙不同局域种群所经历的环境病原体的选择压力存在时空变异.     

A first-generation linkage disequilibrium map of human chromosome 22

DNA sequence variants in specific genes or regions of the human genome are responsible for a variety of phenotypes such as disease risk or variable drug response. These variants can be investigated directly, or through their non-random associations with neighbouring markers (called linkage disequilibrium (LD)). Here we report measurement of LD along the complete sequence of human chromosome 22. Duplicate genotyping and analysis of 1,504 markers in Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) reference families at a median spacing of 15 kilobases (kb) reveals a highly variable pattern of LD along the chromosome, in which extensive regions of nearly complete LD up to 804 kb in length are interspersed with regions of little or no detectable LD. The LD patterns are replicated in a panel of unrelated UK Caucasians. There is a strong correlation between high LD and low recombination frequency in the extant genetic map, suggesting that historical and contemporary recombination rates are similar. This study demonstrates the feasibility of developing genome-wide maps of LD.