The African American Gnome Has Been Mapped
New Genetic Map Shows Average African American Is 80% African and 20% European
Findings Could Help Fight Disease
(Taylor Media Services 7-25-'11) Scientists last week unveiled what has been labeled “the world’s most detailed genetic map” of African Americans. And it shows that the average American Black person is of 80 percent African ancestry and 20 percent European ancestry. The findings culminate years of research into African American DNA and could contribute to combating certain diseases. The work is based on the analysis of the DNA of 30,000 African Americans. It was led by David Reich, an associate member of the Board Institute of MIT and Harvard universities. He collaborated with Simon Myers – a former postdoctoral fellow at the Board and now a lecturer at Oxford University. The results were published in last week’s edition of the science magazine Nature.
The Reich/Myers team used a technique called HapMix to sift through the genome to identify “switchpoints” – locations where chromosomes from the African and European ancestors of American blacks switched places. Normally, these switches or recombination hotspots occur without incident but if a portion of a gene is deleted or a section added devastating childhood ailments can occur.
Reich issued a statement saying of the team’s work, “This analysis opens the door to understanding some of the childhood syndromes found in African Americans. It is of great importance to figure out why these syndromes differ across populations because that leads to genetic cause and perhaps to intervention at some point.”
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