Genetic diversity and the structure of linkage disequilibrium in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase locus

Investigation of linkage disequilibrium block architecture in human genome is modern, intensely investigated field of molecular genetics. In the present study, genetic differentiation and linkage disequilibrium pattern in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) locus was examined in the populations of Russians, Tuvinians, and Northern and Southern Kyrgyzes. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase is the key enzyme of folate cycle, responsible for reduction of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Decreased enzymatic activity of this protein often caused by certain associations of MTHFR alleles results in the increased plasma homocysteine levels. In the population groups examined, genotype and allele frequencies at five polymorphic MTHFR loci: rs17037397, rs4846052, rs1801133, rs1801131, and rs1537516 were evaluated. Statistically significant genetic differences between the population group of Southern Kyrgyzes and the other groups, as well as between Russians and Tuvinians, were demonstrated. In the MTHFR gene from the population of Southern Kyrgyzes one block was revealed; in the populations of Russians, Tuvinians, and Northern Kyrgyzes two blocks were detected. Thus, the structure of linkage disequilibrium in the MTHFR locus demonstrated population-specific pattern.     

Identification of mutations in cystatin B, the gene responsible for the Unverricht-Lundborg type of progressive myoclonus epilepsy (EPM1).

Progressive myoclonus epilepsy (EPM1) is an autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by severe, stimulus-sensitive myoclonus and tonic-clonic seizures. The EPM1 locus was mapped to within 0.3 cM from PFKL in chromosome 21q22.3. The gene for the proteinase inhibitor cystatin B was recently localized in the EPM1 critical region, and mutations were identified in two EPM1 families. We have identified six nucleotide changes in the cystatin B gene of non-Finnish EPM1 families from northern Africa and Europe. The 426G-->C change in exon 1 results in a Gly4Arg substitution and is the first missense mutation described that is associated with EPM1. Molecular modeling predicts that this substitution severely affects the contact of cystatin B with papain. Mutations in the invariant AG dinucleotides of the acceptor sites of introns 1 and 2 probably result in abnormal splicing. A deletion of two nucleotides in exon 3 produces a frameshift and truncates the protein. Therefore, these four mutations are all predicted to impair the production of functional protein. These mutations were found in 7 of the 29 unrelated EPM1 patients analyzed, in homozygosity in 1, and in heterozygosity in the others. The remaining two sequence changes, 431G-->T and 2575A-->G, probably represent polymorphic variants. In addition, a tandem repeat in the 5' UTR (CCCCGCCCCGCG) is present two or three times in normal alleles. It is peculiar that in the majority of patients no mutations exist within the exons and splice sites of the cystatin B gene.     

Inferring linkage disequilibrium between a polymorphic marker locus and a trait locus in natural populations

Three approaches are proposed in this study for detecting or estimating linkage disequilibrium between a polymorphic marker locus and a locus affecting quantitative genetic variation using the sample from random mating populations. It is shown that the disequilibrium over a wide range of circumstances may be detected with a power of 80% by using phenotypic records and marker genotypes of a few hundred individuals. Comparison of ANOVA and regression methods in this article to the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) shows that, given the genetic variance explained by the trait locus, the power of TDT depends on the trait allele frequency, whereas the power of ANOVA and regression analyses is relatively independent from the allelic frequency. The TDT method is more powerful when the trait allele frequency is low, but much less powerful when it is high. The likelihood analysis provides reliable estimation of the model parameters when the QTL variance is at least 10% of the phenotypic variance and the sample size of a few hundred is used. Potential use of these estimates in mapping the trait locus is also discussed.     

PKU locus: Genetic linkage with human amylase (Amy) loci and assignment to linkage group I

Summary The linked alpha-amylase loci Amy 1 and Amy 2 were evaluated for their linkage relationship to the PKU locus using data collected from two (one Czech and one Polish) groups of families. The five sibships informative for Amy 1: PKU give a score of 1.505 at =0.00 and the eight sibships informative for Amy 2: PKU give a score of 2.709 at =0.00. Due to the tandem position of Amy 1 and Amy 2 loci, these data could be combined, and linkage between Amy and PKU loci established with a score 4.214 at =0.00. The practical significance of the linkage, especially for identifying PKU allele carriers, is emphasized.     

Complex patterns of linkage disequilibrium in the Huntington disease region.

The genetic defect causing Huntington disease (HD) has been mapped to 4p16.3 by linkage analysis using DNA markers. Two apparently contradictory classes of recombination events in HD kindreds preclude precise targeting of efforts to clone the disease gene. Here, we report a new recombination event that increases support for an internal candidate region of 2.5 Mb between D4S10 and D4S168. Analysis of 23 DNA polymorphisms in 4p16.3 revealed a complex pattern of association with the disease gene that failed to narrow the size of the candidate region. The degree of linkage disequilibrium did not show a continuous increase across the physical map, nor was a region of extreme disequilibrium identified. Markers displaying no association with the disorder were interspersed with and, in many cases, close to markers displaying significant disequilibrium. Comparison of closely spaced marker pairs on normal and HD chromosomes, as well as analysis of haplotypes across the HD region, suggest that simple recombination subsequent to a single original HD mutation cannot easily explain the pool of HD chromosomes seen today. A number of different mechanisms could contribute to the diversity of haplotypes observed on HD chromosomes, but it is likely that there has been more than one and possibly several independent origins of the HD mutation.     

Linkage disequilibrium between the pseudoautosomal PEPB-1 locus and the sex-determining region of chinook salmon

Allele frequency differences between sexes and an excess of heterozygotes in males had suggested that the PEPB-1 locus is sex-linked in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). We here estimate less than 1% recombination between PEPB-1 and a growth hormone pseudogene known to be in the sex-determining region (SEX) in 374 progeny from eight experimental matings. We present modified maximum likelihood methods for estimating haplotype frequencies from population samples at a sex-linked locus in which functional alleles occur on both the X and Y chromosomes (pseudoautosomal loci). We find nearly complete linkage disequilibrium between PEPB-1 and SEX in 20 population samples from the Puget Sound region of Washington and southern British Columbia. However, allele frequencies at PEPB-1 were similar in males and females in 35 population samples from the coast of Washington and the Columbia River basin. Pseudoautosomal regions have been described in a broad taxonomic array of vertebrates and invertebrates, and they are likely candidate regions to find genes associated with differences in life history, morphology, or behavior between males and females.     

Estimating linkage disequilibrium between a polymorphic marker locus and a trait locus in natural populations.

Positional cloning of gene(s) underlying a complex trait requires a high-resolution linkage map between the trait locus and genetic marker loci. Recent research has shown that this may be achieved through appropriately modeling and screening linkage disequilibrium between the candidate marker locus and the major trait locus. A quantitative genetics model was developed in the present study to estimate the coefficient of linkage disequilibrium between a polymorphic genetic marker locus and a locus underlying a quantitative trait as well as the relevant genetic parameters using the sample from randomly mating populations. Asymptotic covariances of the maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters were formulated. Convergence of the EM-based statistical algorithm for calculating the maximum-likelihood estimates was confirmed and its utility to analyze practical data was exploited by use of extensive Monte-Carlo simulations. Appropriateness of calculating the asymptotic covariance matrix in the present model was investigated for three different approaches. Numerical analyses based on simulation data indicated that accurate estimation of the genetic parameters may be achieved if a sample size of 500 is used and if segregation at the trait locus explains not less than a quarter of phenotypic variation of the trait, but the study reveals difficulties in predicting the asymptotic variances of these maximum-likelihood estimates. A comparison was made between the statistical powers of the maximum-likelihood analysis and the previously proposed regression analysis for detecting the disequilibrium.     

Design and sample-size considerations in the detection of linkage disequilibrium with a disease locus.

The presence of linkage disequilibrium between closely linked loci can aid in the fine mapping of disease loci. We investigate the power of several designs for sampling individuals with different disease genotypes. As expected, haplotype data provide the greatest power for detecting disequilibrium, but, in the absence of parental information to resolve the phase of double heterozygotes, the most powerful design samples only individuals homozygous at the trait locus. For rare diseases, such a scheme is generally not feasible, and we also provide power and sample-size calculations for designs that sample heterozygotes. The results provide information useful in planning disequilibrium studies.     

A haplotype and linkage disequilibrium analysis of the hereditary hemochromatosis gene region

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a recessive disease of iron metabolism widely distributed among people of European descent. Most patients have inherited the causative mutation from a single ancestor. In the course of cloning the hemochromatosis gene, genotypes were generated for these samples at 43 microsatellite repeat markers that span the 6.5-Mb hemochromatosis gene region. The data used to reconstruct the ancestral haplotype across the hemochromatosis gene region are presented in this paper. Portions of the ancestral haplotype were present on 85% of patient chromosomes in this sample and ranged in size from approximately 500 kb to greater than 6.5 Mb. Only one marker, D6S2239, was identical by descent on all of the patient chromosomes containing the ancestral mutation. In contrast, only 3 of the 128 control chromosomes, or 2.3%, carried the ancestral mutation and the surrounding ancestral haplotype. To test new methods for gene finding using linkage disequilibrium we analyzed the genotypic data with a multilocus maximum likelihood method (DISMULT) and a single point method (DISLAMB), both written to analyze data generated from multi-allelic markers. The maximum value from DISLAMB analysis occurred at marker D6S2239, which is less than 20 kb from the hemochromatosis gene HFE, consistent with the haplotype analysis. The peak of the multi-point analysis was 700 kb from HFE, possibly due to the nonuniform recombination rates within this large region. The recombination rate appears to be lower than expected centromeric of the HFE gene. Received: 10 June 1997 / Accepted: 4 December 1997     

A global survey of haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium at the DRD2 locus

A four-site haplotype system at the dopamine D2 receptor locus (DRD2) has been studied in a global sample of 28 distinct populations. The haplotype system spans about 25 kb, encompassing the coding region of the gene. The four individual markers include three TaqI restriction site polymorphisms (RSPs) – TaqI “A”, “B”, and “D” sites – and one dinucleotide short tandem repeat polymorphism (STRP). All four of the marker systems are polymorphic in all regions of the world and in most individual populations. The haplotype system shows the highest average heterozygosity in Africa, a slightly lower average heterozygosity in Europe, and the lowest average heterozygosities in East Asia and the Americas. Across all populations, 20 of the 48 possible haplotypes reached a frequency of at least 5% in at least one population sample. However, no single population had more than six haplotypes reaching that frequency. In general, African populations had more haplotypes present in each population and more haplotypes occurring at a frequency of at least 5% in that population. Permutation tests for significance of overall disequilibrium (all sites considered simultaneously) were highly significant (P<0.001) in all 28 populations. Except for three African samples, the pairwise disequilibrium between the outermost RSP markers, TaqI “B” and “A”, was highly significant with D’ values greater than 0.8; in two of those exceptions the RSP marker was not polymorphic. Except for those same two African populations, the 16-repeat allele at the STRP also showed highly significant disequilibrium with the TaqI “B” site in all populations, with D’ values usually greater than 0.7. Only four haplotypes account for more than 70% of all chromosomes in virtually all non-African populations, and two of those haplotypes account for more than 70% of all chromosomes in most East Asian and Amerindian populations. A new measure of the amount of overall disequilibrium shows least disequilibrium in African populations, somewhat more in European populations, and the greatest amount in East Asian and Amerindian populations. This pattern seems best explained by random genetic drift with low levels of recombination, a low mutation rate at the STRP, and essentially no recurrent mutation at the RSP sites, all in conjunction with an “Out of Africa” model for recent human evolution. Received: 14 January 1998 / Accepted 19 March 1998     

Accuracy of haplotype estimation in a region of low linkage disequilibrium

We compared the accuracy of haplotype inferences at a 6 Mb region on chromosome 7 where significant linkage between a brain oscillation phenotype and a cholinergic muscarinic receptor gene was previously reported. Individual haplotype assignments and haplotype frequencies were estimated using 5, 10, and 14 consecutive Illumina single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the 1-LOD unit support interval of the chromosome 7 linkage peak. Initially, haplotypes were constructed incorporating phase information provided by relatives using the pedigree analysis package MERLIN. Population-based haplotypes were inferred using the haplotype estimation software HAPLO.STATS and PHASE, using unrelated individuals. The 14 SNPs within this region exhibited markedly low linkage disequilibrium, and the average D' estimate between SNPs was 0.18 (range: 0.01-0.97). In comparison to the family-based haplotypes calculated in MERLIN, the computational inferences of individual haplotype assignments were most accurate when considering 5 consecutive SNPs, but decayed dramatically when considering 10 or 14 SNPs in both PHASE and HAPLO.STATS. When comparing the two haplotype inference methods, both PHASE and HAPLO.STATS performed poorly. These analyses underscore the difficulties of haplotype estimation in the presence of low linkage disequilibrium and stress the importance of careful consideration of confidence measures when using estimated haplotype frequencies and individual assignments in biomedical research.     

Population variation in linkage disequilibrium across the COMT gene considering promoter region and coding region variation

Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) catalyzes the first step in one of the major pathways in the degradation of catecholamines. The COMT gene on chromosome 22 has been considered a candidate gene for many neuropsychiatric disorders, in part because an exon 4 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in COMT causes an amino acid substitution associated with significantly altered enzyme activity. This functional variant, detected as an NlaIII restriction site polymorphism (RSP), is polymorphic in populations from around the world. A four-site haplotype spanning 28 kb effectively encompasses COMT. This haplotype is comprised of two novel polymorphisms [a tetranucleotide short tandem repeat polymorphism (STRP) in intron 1 and a HindIII RSP at the 5' end of COMT], the NlaIII site, and another previously published site - a BglI RSP at the 3' end of the gene. Overall linkage disequilibrium (LD) for this haplotype is strong and significant in 32 population samples from around the world. Conditional probabilities indicate that, in spite of moderate to strong disequilibrium in most non-African populations, the NlaIII site, although often used for prediction, would not always be a reliable predictor of allelic variation at the other sites. Because other functional variation might exist, especially regulatory variation, these findings indicate that haplotypes would be more effective indicators of possible involvement of COMT in disease etiology.     

Fine mapping of a quantitative trait locus for twinning rate using combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium mapping

A novel and robust method for the fine-scale mapping of genes affecting complex traits, which combines linkage and linkage-disequilibrium information, is proposed. Linkage information refers to recombinations within the marker-genotyped generations and linkage disequilibrium to historical recombinations before genotyping started. The identity-by-descent (IBD) probabilities at the quantitative trait locus (QTL) between first generation haplotypes were obtained from the similarity of the marker alleles surrounding the QTL, whereas IBD probabilities at the QTL between later generation haplotypes were obtained by using the markers to trace the inheritance of the QTL. The variance explained by the QTL is estimated by residual maximum likelihood using the correlation structure defined by the IBD probabilities. Unlinked background genes were accounted for by fitting a polygenic variance component. The method was used to fine map a QTL for twinning rate in cattle, previously mapped on chromosome 5 by linkage analysis. The data consisted of large half-sib families, but the method could also handle more complex pedigrees. The likelihood of the putative QTL was very small along most of the chromosome, except for a sharp likelihood peak in the ninth marker bracket, which positioned the QTL within a region <1 cM in the middle part of bovine chromosome 5. The method was expected to be robust against multiple genes affecting the trait, multiple mutations at the QTL, and relatively low marker density.     

Significant admixture linkage disequilibrium across 30 cM around the FY locus in African Americans

Scientists, to understand the importance of allelic polymorphisms on phenotypes that are quantitative and environmentally interacting, are now turning to population-association screens, especially in instances in which pedigree analysis is difficult. Because association screens require linkage disequilibrium between markers and disease loci, maximizing the degree of linkage disequilibrium increases the chances of discovering functional gene-marker associations. One theoretically valid approach-mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium (MALD), using recently admixed African Americans-is empirically evaluated here by measurement of marker associations with 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) and an insertion/deletion polymorphism of the AT3 locus in a 70-cM segment at 1q22-23, around the FY (Duffy) locus. The FY polymorphism (-46T-->C) disrupts the GATA promoter motif, specifically blocking FY erythroid expression and has a nearly fixed allele-frequency difference between European Americans and native Africans that is likely a consequence of a selective advantage of FY-/- in malaria infections. Analysis of linkage disequilibrium around the FY gene has indicated that there is strong and consistent linkage disequilibrium between FY and three flanking loci (D1S303, SPTA1, and D1S484) spanning 8 cM. We observed significant linkage-disequilibrium signals over a 30-cM region from -4.4 to 16.3 cM (from D1S2777 to D1S196) for STRs and at 26.4 cM (AT3), which provided quantitative estimates of centimorgan limits, by MALD assessment in African American population-association analyses, of 5-10 cM.     

Linkage detection adaptive to linkage disequilibrium: the disequilibrium maximum-likelihood-binomial test for affected-sibship data

It has been demonstrated in the literature that the transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) has higher power than the affected-sib-pair (ASP) mean test when linkage disequilibrium (LD) is strong but that the mean test has higher power when LD is weak. Thus, for ASP data, it seems clear that the TDT should be used when LD is strong but that the mean test or other linkage tests should be used when LD is weak or absent. However, in practice, it may be difficult to follow such a guideline, because the extent of LD is often unknown. Even with a highly dense genetic-marker map, in which some markers should be located near the disease-predisposing mutation, strong LD is not inevitable. Besides the genetic distance, LD is also affected by many factors, such as the allelic heterogeneity at the disease locus, the initial LD, the allelic frequencies at both disease locus and marker locus, and the age of the mutation. Therefore, it is of interest to develop methods that are adaptive to the extent of LD. In this report, we propose a disequilibrium maximum-binomial-likelihood (DMLB) test that incorporates LD in the maximum-binomial-likelihood (MLB) test. Examination of the corresponding score statistics shows that this method adaptively combines two sources of information: (a) the identity-by-descent (IBD) sharing score, which is informative for linkage regardless of the existence of LD, and (b) the contrast between allele-specific IBD sharing score, which is informative for linkage only in the presence of LD. For ASP data, the proposed test has higher power than either the TDT or the mean test when the extent of LD ranges from moderate to strong. Only when LD is very weak or absent is the DMLB slightly less powerful than the mean test; in such cases, the TDT has essentially no power to detect linkage. Therefore, the DMLB test is an interesting approach to linkage detection when the extent of LD is unknown.     

Patterns of linkage disequilibrium in the MHC region on human chromosome 6p

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome are thought to be organised into blocks of high internal linkage disequilibrium (LD), separated by intermittent recombination hotspots. Since understanding haplotype structure is critical for an accurate assessment of inter-individual genetic differences, we investigated up to 968 SNPs from a 10-Mb region on chromosome 6p21, including the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC), in five different population samples (45–550 individuals). Regions of well-defined block structure were found to coexist alongside large areas lacking any clear structure; occasional long-range LD was observed in all five samples. The four white populations analysed were remarkably similar in terms of the extend and spatial distribution of local LD. In US African Americans, the distribution of LD was similar to that in the white populations but the observed haplotype diversity was higher. The existence of large regions without any clear block structure renders the systematic and thorough construction of SNP haplotype maps a crucial prerequisite for disease-association studies.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Electronic database information: URLs for the data in this article are as follows:     

The score statistic of the LD-lod analysis: detecting linkage adaptive to linkage disequilibrium

We study the properties of a modified lod score method for testing linkage that incorporates linkage disequilibrium (LD-lod). By examination of its score statistic, we show that the LD-lod score method adaptively combines two sources of information: (a) the IBD sharing score which is informative for linkage regardless of the existence of LD and (b) the contrast between allele-specific IBD sharing scores which is informative for linkage only in the presence of LD. We also consider the connection between the LD-lod score method and the transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) for triad data and the mean test for affected sib pair (ASP) data. We show that, for triad data, the recessive LD-lod test is asymptotically equivalent to the TDT; and for ASP data, it is an adaptive combination of the TDT and the ASP mean test. We demonstrate that the LD-lod score method has relatively good statistical efficiency in comparison with the ASP mean test and the TDT for a broad range of LD and the genetic models considered in this report. Therefore, the LD-lod score method is an interesting approach for detecting linkage when the extent of LD is unknown, such as in a genome-wide screen with a dense set of genetic markers.