Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing of the PAH locus has found 38 different mutations on 141 chromosomes in the PKU patients resident in Quebec; mutation analysis is now 92.5% complete. Two novel disease producing alleles (K421, R157N) and one silent allele (IVS6 nt-55) were discovered in this project; these mutations remain unique to the Quebec population. Three novel mutation-(haplotype) combinations were also found (S67P (H1), G218V (H2), V245A (H7)); they are not at hypermutable sites and are therefore compatible with a single homologous recombination event between two different haplotypes. Whereas mutation types (missense 64%, nonsense 6%, splice 9%, frameshifts 6%, silent 15%), resemble those in world populations, the Quebec allele profile differs from that of any European population, reflecting range expansion, founder effects, genetic drift and assimilation. Furthermore, when analyzed by geographic region a stratification of PAH alleles is apparent, reflecting the different demographic histories of Western and Eastern Quebec and Montreal.

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