Genes mirror geography within Europe

John Novembre (), Toby Johnson, Katarzyna Bryc, Zoltán Kutalik, Adam R. Boyko, Adam Auton, Amit Indap, Karen S. King, Sven Bergmann, Matthew R. Nelson, Matthew Stephens and Carlos D. Bustamante
Additional contact information
John Novembre: University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
Toby Johnson: Department of Medical Genetics,
Katarzyna Bryc: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Zoltán Kutalik: Department of Medical Genetics,
Adam R. Boyko: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Adam Auton: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Amit Indap: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Karen S. King: GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
Sven Bergmann: Department of Medical Genetics,
Matthew R. Nelson: GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
Matthew Stephens: Department of Human Genetics,
Carlos D. Bustamante: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 456, issue 7218, 98-101

Abstract: Ethnic variation in the genes The power of the latest massively parallel synthetic DNA sequencing technologies is demonstrated in two major collaborations that shed light on the nature of genomic variation with ethnicity. The first describes the genomic characterization of an individual from the Yoruba ethnic group of west Africa. The second reports a personal genome of a Han Chinese, the group comprising 30% of the world's population. These new resources can now be used in conjunction with the Venter, Watson and NIH reference sequences. A separate study looked at genetic ethnicity on the continental scale, based on data from 1,387 individuals from more than 30 European countries. Overall there was little genetic variation between countries, but the differences that do exist correspond closely to the geographic map. Statistical analysis of the genome data places 50% of the individuals within 310 km of their reported origin. As well as its relevance for testing genetic ancestry, this work has implications for evaluating genome-wide association studies that link genes with diseases.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07331

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