Significant Genetic Variation Between Mexico's Population And World's Other Known Genetic Subgroups
Could genetic differences explain why some people and not others have died of H1N1 Influenza A? That is among the questions raised by a landmark Mexican study showing significant genetic variation between Mestizos (Latin Americans of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry) and the world’s other known genetic subgroups.
The study, by Mexico’s National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Led by Dr. Gerardo Jimenez-Sanchez of INMEGEN, a team of 16 Mexican researchers, analyzed the genetic composition of 300 Mestizos from six geographically distant states in Mexico and one Amerindian population (30 members of the indigenous Zapotecas group in the state of Oaxaca).
They discovered that genetically the Mexican Mestizo and Indigenous populations are substantially different from the three other known human genetic subgroups (Yoruba from Africa, Caucasians of European descent, and the Chinese and Japanese of Asia), whose DNA make-ups were documented through the historic International HapMap Project, 2002 to 2006.
The Mexican research was undertaken to establish the comparability of Latino genomes to others in the global search for health-related genes throughout humanity.
A recent study in Asia identified a genetic characteristic in Asians that indicates a susceptibility to Hepatitis B; other studies have identified people with genetic predispositions to HIV1 or Kawasaki Disease.
While the latest work is at far too early a stage to enlighten authorities on the current outbreak of H1N1 Influenza A, it may one day help explain why, for example, with cases of that virus appearing worldwide, fatalities to date have occurred almost exclusively in Mexico…. (continutes @ ScienceDaily)
