Abstract

The origin of the ß C mutation was studied by characterizing nucleotide sequence polymorphisms on ß C chromosomes of patients from various African countries. In the majority of cases, the ß C mutation was found in linkage disequilibrium with a single chromosomal structure as defined by classical RFLP haplotypes, intergenic nucleotide sequence polymorphisms immediately upstream of the ß-globin gene, and intragenic ß-globin gene polymorphisms (frameworks). In addition, three atypical variant chromosomes carrying the ß C mutation were observed, and are most probably explained either by a meiotic recombination (two cases) or by one nucleotide substitution occurring in an unstable array of tandemly repeated sequences (one case). These data demonstrate the unicentric origin of the ß C mutation in central West Africa, with subsequent mutational modification in a small number of instances. The data also supports gene flow of the ß C chromosome from subsaharan Africa to North Africa. ER -

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