DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[mingwan0]

I have been looking at others who work with "ancestry informative markers". Nice to see others using our intellectual property! Here is one project:

http://hst.mit.edu/forum/Hattangadi.html

In this project, a quantitative genotyping methodology has been developed which permits rapid identification of ancestry-informative markers. We have also developed a Hidden Markov Model to measure the size of "ancestry blocks" – regions of the African-American genome of continuous ancestry due to linkage disequilibrium. We have found the ancestry blocks to be in excess of 15 Mb, suggesting far fewer markers are needed for admixture-based disease studies than conventional genetic association studies. We also use the HMM to compute the expected ancestral origin at any point on the admixed chromosome. The model is being applied to two large case-control populations for multiple sclerosis and prostate cancer to identify potential disease-associated loci.

This is part of a research project "Association of Genomic Variations with Complex Trait Diseases" which is overseen by David Altshuler:

http://hst.mit.edu/servlet/ControllerServlet?handler=ResearchHandler&action=view&topicID=180...

A recent hypothesis suggests that genetic differences which are common in the human population play a significant role in the genetic risk for common diseases, such as hypertension, cancer, and diabetes. We are characterizing these common genetic variations at the nucleotide level, and studying their association with complex trait diseases. We take advantage of the linkage disequilbrium caused by recent admixture of genetically divergent populations; this allows the use of fewer markers to find genetic variations that are enriched in affected individuals.