Global haplotype diversity in the human insulin gene region.

ABSTRACT: The insulin minisatellite (INS VNTR) has been intensively analyzed due to its associations with diseases including diabetes. We have previously used patterns of variant repeat distribution in the minisatellite to demonstrate that genetic diversity is unusually great in Africans compared to non-Africans. Here we analyzed variation at 56 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) flanking the minisatellite in individuals from six populations, and we show that over 40% of the total genetic variance near the minisatellite is due to differences between Africans and non-Africans, far higher than seen in most genomic regions and consistent with differential selection acting on the insulin gene region, most likely in the non-African ancestral population. Linkage disequilibrium was lower in African pop

SUBMITTER: Stead JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC403702 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature