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Patterns of nucleotide polymorphism distinguish temperate and tropical wild isolates of Caenorhabditis briggsae.

Caenorhabditis briggsae provides a natural comparison species for the model nematode C. elegans, given their similar morphology, life history, and hermaphroditic mode of reproduction. Despite C. briggsae boasting a published genome sequence and establishing Caenorhabditis as a model genus for genetics and development, little is known about genetic variation across the geographic range of this species. In this study, we greatly expand the collection of natural isolates and characterize patterns of nucleotide variation for six loci in 63 strains from three continents. The pattern of polymorphisms reveals differentiation between C. briggsae strains found in temperate localities in the northern hemisphere from those sampled near the Tropic of Cancer, with diversity within the tropical region comparable to what is found for C. elegans in Europe. As in C. elegans, linkage disequilibrium is pervasive, although recombination is evident among some variant sites, indicating that outcrossing has occurred at a low rate in the history of the sample. In contrast to C. elegans, temperate regions harbor extremely little variation, perhaps reflecting colonization and recent expansion of C. briggsae into northern latitudes. We discuss these findings in relation to their implications for selection, demographic history, and the persistence of self-fertilization.

Animals↗

Patterns of nucleotide polymorphism and divergence in the odorant-binding protein genes OS-E and OS-F: analysis in the melanogaster species subgroup of Drosophila.

The Olfactory Specific-E and -F genes (OS-E and OS-F) belong to the odorant-binding protein gene family, which includes the general odorant-binding proteins and the pheromone-binding proteins. In Drosophila melanogaster, these genes are arranged in tandem in a genomic region near the centromere of chromosome arm 3R. We examined the pattern of DNA sequence variation in an approximately 7-kb genomic region encompassing the two OS genes in four species of the melanogaster subgroup of Drosophila and in a population sample of D. melanogaster. We found that both the OS-E and the OS-F gene are present in all surveyed species. Nucleotide divergence estimates would support that the two genes are functional, although they diverge in their functional constraint. The pattern of nucleotide variation in D. melanogaster also differed between genes. Variation in the OS-E gene region exhibited an unusual and distinctive pattern: (i) a relatively high number of fixed amino acid replacements in the encoded protein and (ii) a peak of nucleotide polymorphism around the OS-E gene. These results are unlikely under the neutral model and suggest the action of natural selection in the evolution of the two odorant-binding protein genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Contrasting patterns of nucleotide polymorphism at the alcohol dehydrogenase locus in the outcrossing Arabidopsis lyrata and the selfing Arabidopsis thaliana.

Nucleotide variation at the alcohol dehydrogenase locus (Adh) was studied in the outcrossing Arabidopsis lyrata, a close relative of the selfing Arabidopsis thaliana. Overall, estimated nucleotide diversity in the North American ssp. lyrata and two European ssp. petraea populations was 0.0038, lower than the corresponding specieswide estimate for A. thaliana at the same set of nucleotide sites. The distribution of segregating sites across the gene differed between the two species. Estimated sequence diversity within an A. lyrata population with a large sample size (0.0023) was much higher than has previously been observed for A. thaliana. This North American population has an excess of sites at intermediate frequencies compared with neutral expectation (Tajima's D = 2.3, P < 0.005), suggestive of linked balancing selection or a recent population bottleneck. In contrast, an excess of rare polymorphisms has been found in A. thaliana. Polymorphism within A. lyrata and divergence from A. thaliana appear to be correlated across the Adh gene sequence. The geographic distribution of polymorphism was quite different from that of A. thaliana, for which earlier studies of several genes found low within-population nucleotide site polymorphism and no overall continental differentiation of variation despite large differences in site frequencies between local populations. Differences between the outcrossing A. lyrata and the selfing A. thaliana reflect the impact of differences in mating system and the influence of bottlenecks in A. thaliana during rapid colonization on DNA sequence polymorphism. The influence of additional variability-reducing mechanisms, such as background selection or hitchhiking, may not be discernible.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Ectopic Gene Conversion Causing Quantitative Trait Variation.

Why is there so much non-neutral genetic variation segregating in natural populations? We dissect function and evolution of a near-cryptic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for defense metabolites in Arabidopsis using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and nucleotide polymorphism patterns. The QTL is explained by genetic variation in a family of 4 tightly linked indole-glucosinolate O-methyltransferase genes. Some of this variation appears to be maintained by balancing selection, some appears to be generated by non-reciprocal transfer of sequence, also known as ectopic gene conversion (EGC), between functionally diverged gene copies. Here, we elucidate how EGC, as an inevitable consequence of gene duplication, could be a general mechanism for generating genetic variation for fitness traits.

Quantitative Trait Loci↗

Interspecific and intraspecific comparisons of the period locus in the Drosophila willistoni sibling species.

The period (per) locus has received much attention in molecular evolution studies because it is one of the best studied "behavioral genes" and because it offers insight into the evolution of repetitive sequences. We studied most of the coding region of per in Drosophila willistoni and confirmed previously observed patterns of conservation and divergence among distantly related species. Five regions are so highly diverged that they cannot be aligned, whereas a region encompassing the PAS domain is very conserved. Structural and nucleotide polymorphism patterns in the willistoni group are not the same as those observed in previously studied species. We sequenced the region homologous to the highly polymorphic threonine-glycine repeat of D. melanogaster in multiple strains of D. willistoni, as well as in other members of willistoni group, and found an unusual amount of conservation in this region. However, the next nonconserved region downstream in the sequence is quite variable and polymorphic for the number of repeated glycines. The glycine codon usage is significantly different in this glycine repeat as compared to other parts of the gene. We were able to plot the directionality of change in the glycine repeat region onto a phylogeny and find that the addition of glycines is the general trend with the diversification of the willistoni group.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Unusual pattern of single nucleotide polymorphism at the exuperantia2 locus of Drosophila pseudoobscura.

We have investigated the pattern of DNA sequence variation at the exuperantia2 locus in Drosophila pseudoobscura. This adds to the increasing dataset of genetic variation in D. pseudoobscura, a useful model species for evolutionary genetic studies. The level of silent site nucleotide diversity and the divergence from an outgroup Drosophila miranda are comparable with those for other X-linked loci. One peculiar pattern at the exu2 locus of D. pseudoobscura is a complete linkage disequilibrium between two SNPs, one of which is a replacement site. As a result, there are two distinct haplotype groups in our dataset. Based upon the comparisons with the outgroup sequences from D. miranda and Drosophila persimilis, we show that the newly derived haplotype group has lower diversity than the ancestral haplotype group. The pattern of protein evolution at exu2 shows some deviation from the neutral model. Together, these and other characteristics of the exu2 locus suggest the action of selection on the pattern of SNP variation, consistent with a partial selective sweep associated with the newly derived haplotype.

Animals↗

Demonstration of the genetic stability and temporal expression of select members of the lyme disease spirochete OspF protein family during infection in mice.

Infection with Lyme disease spirochetes can be chronic. This suggests that the spirochetes are capable of immune evasion. In a previous study we demonstrated that the ospE gene family, which is one of three gene families whose members are flanked at their 5' end by the highly conserved upstream homology box (UHB) element, undergoes mutation and rearrangement during infection. This results in the generation of antigenically distinct variants that may contribute to immune evasion. In this study we have assessed the genetic stability of the UHB-flanked ospF gene family during infection in mice. Using postinfection clonal populations of Borrelia burgdorferi B31MI, PCR amplicons were generated for three members of the ospF gene family after a 3-month infection time frame. The amplicons were analyzed by single-nucleotide polymorphism pattern analysis and DNA sequencing. Members of the ospF gene family were found to be stable during infection, as no mutations or rearrangements were detected. An analysis of the humoral immune response to these proteins during infection revealed that the immune response to each is specific and that there is a delayed humoral immune response to some OspF protein family members. These analyses suggest that there is a temporal component to the expression of these genes during infection. In addition to a possible contribution to immune evasion, members of the OspF protein family may play specific roles at different stages of infection.

Animals↗

Genotyping as a tool to predict adverse drug reactions.

During the last decades, the rapid development in molecular biology has contributed to the understanding of genetic factors underlying many adverse drug reactions. Until recently, most research in this area has focused on genes coding for drug-metabolizing enzymes. Inactivating mutations have been found in genes coding for enzymes belonging to the cytochrome P-450 system, which is the major system for drug metabolism in humans, but also in genes coding for other enzymes. Subjects with a lack of functional activity in these enzymes should be treated with very low doses of drugs metabolized by the same enzyme in order to avoid excessive drug levels and thereby toxic effects. In the last years, increasing attention has been directed towards genes coding for drug targets. Hitherto, most studies have been carried out on single genes known to be or assumed to be functionally related to a given adverse drug reaction. Another approach, which may become more common in the future, is testing for complex single nucleotide polymorphism patterns that may be associated with adverse drug reactions, although the functional relationship between them may be completely unknown. Due to the influence of non-genetic factors in the development of adverse drug reactions, the association between a specific genotype and an adverse drug reaction will always be lower than 100%. Therefore, there is a need for prospective large-scale studies in order to elucidate the extent of environmental influences on the adverse drug reactions for which a genetic basis has been suggested. Despite these obstacles, pharmacogenetic testing will hopefully in the future identify at least some clear-cut situations where a drug should be avoided in certain individuals in order to reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions.

Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System↗

Genotyping using single nucleotide polymorphism, fluorescence spectroscopy and pattern recognition.

This paper describes a method for genetic screening using single nucleotide polymorphism. Fluorescence spectra with an excitation frequency of 488 nm are recorded over a range of 550 to 660 nm of fragments of human DNA together with two fluorescent probe dyes attached to specific primers, one for each type of allele and a background dye, prepared using the Taqman reaction. The fluorescence spectra are monitored and principal components analysis used to separate spectra into three groups, which are visually identified as allele 1 (wild type), allele 2 (mutant) and mixed allele by comparison to reference samples. Malahanobis distance using 4 principal components are used to correctly classify samples into groups.

DNA↗

A new method for locating changes in a tree reveals distinct nucleotide polymorphism vs. divergence patterns in mouse mitochondrial control region.

A new, model-based method was devised to locate nucleotide changes in a given phylogenetic tree. For each site, the posterior probability of any possible change in each branch of the tree is computed. This probabilistic method is a valuable alternative to the maximum parsimony method when base composition is skewed (i.e., different from 25% A, 25% C, 25% G, 25% T): computer simulations showed that parsimony misses more rare --> common than common --> rare changes, resulting in biased inferred change matrices, whereas the new method appeared unbiased. The probabilistic method was applied to the analysis of the mutation and substitution processes in the mitochondrial control region of mouse. Distinct change patterns were found at the polymorphism (within species) and divergence (between species) levels, rejecting the hypothesis of a neutral evolution of base composition in mitochondrial DNA.

Animals↗

Similarity of the allele frequency and linkage disequilibrium pattern of single nucleotide polymorphisms in drug-related gene loci between Thai and northern East Asian populations: implications for tagging SNP selection in Thais.

The similarity of the marker allele frequency and linkage disequilibrium structure between two populations are major factors for the determination of the transferability and efficiency of haplotype tagging SNP derived from one population to use for an indirect association study in another population. To prove the similarity between northern East Asian populations in Hapmap and Thais, 861 SNP in 166 drug-related genes shared between Thais, Han Chinese and Japanese were analyzed for their correlation statistics. Allele frequency, Fst statistics and linkage disequilibrium statistics (r (2)) showed a high correlation between these populations. TagSNP sets derived by an aggressive tagging algorithm from these 861 SNP in Japanese and Chinese were used to test the coverage of East Asia-derived tagSNP in Thais. TagSNP derived from Japanese and Chinese are comparable in the percentage of coverage of the alleles captured with tagSNP at r (2)>or=0.8 (93% vs. 93%) in these drug-related gene loci. Additional tagSNP sets derived from the combination of Japanese- and Chinese-derived tagging SNP sets were used to test the coverage in Thais. The later set improved the percentage of coverage of alleles captured with tagSNP at r (2)>or=0.8-98% for these sites. High similarity between Thais and northern East Asian allele frequency and linkage disequilibrium statistics supported that tagSNPs derived from the northern East Asian population should be useful for an indirect association study in Thais. The combination of non-overlapping Japanese derived tagSNP and Chinese-derived tagSNP improved the percentage of genomic coverage in Thais, at least in these drug-related gene loci.

Algorithms↗

The effect of single-nucleotide polymorphism marker selection on patterns of haplotype blocks and haplotype frequency estimates.

The definition of haplotype blocks of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been proposed so that the haplotypes can be used as markers in association studies and to efficiently describe human genetic variation. The International Haplotype Map (HapMap) project to construct a comprehensive catalog of haplotypic variation in humans is underway. However, a number of factors have already been shown to influence the definition of blocks, including the population studied and the sample SNP density. Here, we examine the effect that marker selection has on the definition of blocks and the pattern of haplotypes by using comparable but complementary SNP sets and a number of block definition methods in various genomic regions and populations that were provided by the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project. We find that the chosen SNP set has a profound effect on the block-covered sequence and block borders, even at high marker densities. Our results question the very concept of discrete haplotype blocks and the possibility of generalizing block findings from the HapMap project. We comparatively apply the block-free tagging-SNP approach and discuss both the haplotype approach and the tagging-SNP approach as means to efficiently catalog genetic variation.

Algorithms↗

Large number of replacement polymorphisms in rapidly evolving genes of Drosophila. Implications for genome-wide surveys of DNA polymorphism.

We present a survey of nucleotide polymorphism of three novel, rapidly evolving genes in populations of Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Levels of silent polymorphism are comparable to other loci, but the number of replacement polymorphisms is higher than that in most other genes surveyed in D. melanogaster and D. simulans. Tests of neutrality fail to reject neutral evolution with one exception. This concerns a gene located in a region of high recombination rate in D. simulans and in a region of low recombination rate in D. melanogaster, due to an inversion. In the latter case it shows a very low number of polymorphisms, presumably due to selective sweeps in the region. Patterns of nucleotide polymorphism suggest that most substitutions are neutral or nearly neutral and that weak (positive and purifying) selection plays a significant role in the evolution of these genes. At all three loci, purifying selection of slightly deleterious replacement mutations appears to be more efficient in D. simulans than in D. melanogaster, presumably due to different effective population sizes. Our analysis suggests that current knowledge about genome-wide patterns of nucleotide polymorphism is far from complete with respect to the types and range of nucleotide substitutions and that further analysis of differences between local populations will be required to understand the forces more completely. We note that rapidly diverging and nearly neutrally evolving genes cannot be expected only in the genome of Drosophila, but are likely to occur in large numbers also in other organisms and that their function and evolution are little understood so far.

Animals↗

Nucleotide variation in the tinman and bagpipe homeobox genes of Drosophila melanogaster.

The tinman (tin) and bagpipe (bap) genes are members of the NK homeobox gene family of Drosophila, so that tin occupies a higher position than bap in the regulatory hierarchy. Little is known about the level and pattern of genetic polymorphism in homeobox genes. We have analyzed nucleotide polymorphism in 27 strains of Drosophila melanogaster and one each of D. simulans and D. sechellia, within two closely linked regions encompassing a partial sequence of tin and the complete sequence of bap. The two genes exhibit different levels and patterns of nucleotide diversity. Two sets of sharply divergent sequence types are detected for tin. The haplotype structure of bap is more complex: about half of the sequences are identical (or virtually so), while the rest are fairly heterogeneous. The level of silent nucleotide variability is 0.0063 for tin but significantly higher, 0.0141, for bap, a level of polymorphism comparable to the most polymorphic structural genes of D. melanogaster. Recombination rate and gene conversion are also higher for bap than for tin. There is strong linkage disequilibrium, with the highest values in the introns of both genes and exon II of bap. The patterns of polymorphism in tin and bap are not compatible with an equilibrium model of selective neutrality. We suggest that negative selection and demographic history are the major factors shaping the pattern of nucleotide polymorphism in the tin and bap genes; moreover, there are clear indications of positive selection in the bap gene.

Animals↗

Complex high-resolution linkage disequilibrium and haplotype patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 2.5 Mb of sequence on human chromosome 21.

One approach to identify potentially important segments of the human genome is to search for DNA regions with nonrandom patterns of human sequence variation. Previous studies have investigated these patterns primarily in and around candidate gene regions. Here, we determined patterns of DNA sequence variation in 2.5 Mb of finished sequence from five regions on human chromosome 21. By sequencing 13 individual chromosomes, we identified 1460 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and obtained unambiguous haplotypes for all chromosomes. For all five chromosomal regions, we observed segments with high linkage disequilibrium (LD), extending from 1.7 to>81 kb (average 21.7 kb), disrupted by segments of similar or larger size with no significant LD between SNPs. At least 25% of the contig sequences consisted of segments with high LD between SNPs. Each of these segments was characterized by a restricted number of observed haplotypes,with the major haplotype found in over 60% of all chromosomes. In contrast, the interspersed segments with low LD showed significantly more haplotype patterns. The position and extent of the segments of high LD with restricted haplotype variability did not coincide with the location of coding sequences. Our results indicate that LD and haplotype patterns need to be investigated with closely spaced SNPs throughout the human genome, independent of the location of coding sequences, to reliably identify regions with significant LD useful for disease association studies.

Animals↗

Latitudinal clines for nucleotide polymorphisms in the Esterase 6 gene of Drosophila melanogaster.

Previous studies have found non-neutral patterns of nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter and coding regions of Est6 in D. melanogaster. Coding region polymorphism peaks around two closely linked replacement differences associated with the EST6-F/EST6-S allozyme polymorphism. The promoter contains two common, highly diverged haplotype groups, P1 and P7, that differentially affect Est6 expression. Allozyme studies have also revealed latitudinal clines in EST6-F and EST6-S frequencies that recur across continents. Here we analyse nucleotide polymorphisms across the promoter and the region of peak coding sequence polymorphism in 10 Australian populations along a 25 degrees latitudinal gradient in order to examine the basis for the allozyme clines. As with the earlier studies, we find an excess of intermediate to high frequency variants in both the P1/P7 region and around the two EST6-F/EST6-S replacements in some populations. The two EST6-F/EST6-S replacement polymorphisms show latitudinal clines whereas the P1 and P7 groups of promoter haplotypes do not. However the strongest clines are for three co-segregating silent site polymorphisms in a 4 bp stretch at the 3' end of the sequenced region. Monte Carlo simulations show that the clines for those three sites can explain all others in the data but none of the others can explain those three. Thus the allozyme clines may not reflect selection on either the P1/P7 polymorphism or the two replacements previously associated with the EST6-F/EST-S difference.

Animals↗

Gene-based single nucleotide polymorphisms and linkage disequilibrium patterns of 29 asthma candidate genes in the chromosome 5q31-33 region in Koreans.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Numerous genetic studies have mapped asthma susceptibility genes to a region on chromosome 5q31-33 in several populations. This region contains a cluster of cytokines and other immune-related genes important in immune response. In the present study, to determine the genetic variations and patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD), we resequenced all the exons and promoter regions of the 29 asthma candidate genes in the chromosome 5q31-33 region. RESULTS: We identified a total of 314 genetic variants, including 289 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 22 insertion/deletion polymorphisms and 3 microsatellites. Standardized variance data for allele frequency revealed substantial differences in SNP allele frequencies among different ethnic groups. Interestingly, significant ethnic differences were observed mainly in intron SNPs. LD block analysis using 174 common SNPs with a frequency of >10% disclosed strong LD within most candidate genes. No significant LD was observed across genes, except for one LD block (CD14-IK block). Gene-based haplotype analyses showed that 1-5 haplotype-tagging SNPs may be used to define the six or fewer common haplotypes with a frequency of >5%, regardless of the number of SNPs. CONCLUSION: Overall, our results provide useful information for the identification of immune-mediated disease genes in the chromosome 5q31-33 region, as well as valuable evidence for gene-based haplotype analysis in disease association studies.

Alleles↗

Patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes for blood-pressure homeostasis.

Sequence variation in human genes is largely confined to single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and is valuable in tests of association with common diseases and pharmacogenetic traits. We performed a systematic and comprehensive survey of molecular variation to assess the nature, pattern and frequency of SNPs in 75 candidate human genes for blood-pressure homeostasis and hypertension. We assayed 28 Mb (190 kb in 148 alleles) of genomic sequence, comprising the 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs), introns and coding sequence of these genes, for sequence differences in individuals of African and Northern European descent using high-density variant detection arrays (VDAs). We identified 874 candidate human SNPs, of which 22% were confirmed by DNA sequencing to reveal a discordancy rate of 21% for VDA detection. The SNPs detected have an average minor allele frequency of 11%, and 387 are within the coding sequence (cSNPs). Of all cSNPs, 54% lead to a predicted change in the protein sequence, implying a high level of human protein diversity. These protein-altering SNPs are 38% of the total number of such SNPs expected, are more likely to be population-specific and are rarer in the human population, directly demonstrating the effects of natural selection on human genes. Overall, the degree of nucleotide polymorphism across these human genes, and orthologous great ape sequences, is highly variable and is correlated with the effects of functional conservation on gene sequences.

3' Untranslated Regions↗