biostudies-literatureUnknown10Calonga-Solis VEven though immunoglobulins are critical for immune responses and human survival, the diversity of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (<i>IGH</i>) is poorly known and mostly characterized only by serological methods. Moreover, this genomic region is not well-covered in genomic databases and genome-wide association studies due to particularities that impose technical difficulties for its analysis. Therefore, the <i>IGH</i> gene has never been systematically sequenced across populations. Here, we deliver an unprecedented and comprehensive characterization of the diversity of the <i>IGHG1, IGHG2</i>, and <i>IGHG3</i> gene segments, which encode the constant region of the most abundant circulating immunoglobulins: IgG1, IgG2, and IgG3, respectively. We used Sanger sequencing to analyze 357 inFrontiers in immunology1161https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6558194biostudies-literatureUnveiling the Diversity of Immunoglobulin Heavy Constant Gamma (<i>IGHG</i>) Gene Segments in Brazilian Populations Reveals 28 Novel Alleles and Evidence of Gene Conversion and Natural Selection.PMC6558194Calonga-Solis VVargas LBWassem RMalheiros DAugusto DGBeltrame MHPetzl-Erler MLIssler HCDourado RMfalseUnveiling the Diversity of Immunoglobulin Heavy Constant Gamma (<i>IGHG</i>) Gene Segments in Brazilian Populations Reveals 28 Novel Alleles and Evidence of Gene Conversion and Natural Selection.Even though immunoglobulins are critical for immune responses and human survival, the diversity of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (<i>IGH</i>) is poorly known and mostly characterized only by serological methods. Moreover, this genomic region is not well-covered in genomic databases and genome-wide association studies due to particularities that impose technical difficulties for its analysis. Therefore, the <i>IGH</i> gene has never been systematically sequenced across populations. Here, we deliver an unprecedented and comprehensive characterization of the diversity of the <i>IGHG1, IGHG2</i>, and <i>IGHG3</i> gene segments, which encode the constant region of the most abundant circulating immunoglobulins: IgG1, IgG2, and IgG3, respectively. We used Sanger sequencing to analyze 357 in2019-01-01T00:00:00Z20192026-04-29T03:43:14.396Z2019-07-24T07:14:06ZS-EPMC65581943121416610.3389/fimmu.2019.01161