Population-specific patterns of linkage disequilibrium in the human 5q31 region
Luoni G., Forton J., Jallow M., Akha ES., Sisay-Joof F., Pinder M., Hanchard N., Herbert M., Kimber M., Mott R., Hull J., Rockett K., Kwiatkowski D.
Linkage disequilibrium across the human genome is generally lower in West Africans than Europeans. However in the 5q31 region, which is rich in immune genes, we find significantly more examples of apparent nonrecombination between distant marker pairs in West Africans. Much of this effect is due to SNPs that are absent in Europeans, possibly reflecting recent positive selection in the West African population.Genes and Immunity advance online publication, 28 July 2005; doi:10.1038/sj.gene.6364250.