Cerca de 10% dos casos de câncer de mama e/ou ovário são caracterizados como hereditários, onde a presença de mutações germinativas no gene de suscetibilidade BRCA1 aumenta o risco de desenvolver esses cânceres durante a vida da mulher. O BRCA1 é um gene supressor tumoral envolvido na resposta de danos ao DNA, controle do ciclo celular, na remodelação da cromatina, ubiquitinação e regulação da transcrição. O presente estudo tem como objetivo central caracterizar as mutações do gene BRCA1 associadas a Síndrome Hereditária do Câncer de Mama e/ou Ovário (HBOC) em pacientes atendidos no Serviço de Aconselhamento Genético do Câncer do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMRP/USP). Os vinte e dois éxons codificantes do BRCA1 foram analisados utilizando o método de High Resolution Melting (HRM) para triagem de mutações pontuais, seguido pelo sequenciamento de DNA dos casos selecionados para validação. A técnica de MLPA (Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification) também foi usada para detectar grandes deleções e duplicações. Uma vez confirmada a mutação, membros da família considerados de alto risco, serão investigados para a mutação específica, a fim de proporcionar-lhes um aconselhamento genético apropriado para a detecção precoce do câncer. No presente estudo, foram investigados 41 pacientes que preencheram os critérios para o teste genético de acordo com NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology v.1.2010. Um total de 21 mutações foram identificadas, duas das quais são patogênicas: a deleção dos éxons 17-18 e a deleção dos éxon 19. Ambas estão localizadas no domínio BRCT do gene BRCA1, essencial para a ligação de fosfoproteínas críticas para a ativação do complexo de reparo do DNA. Outra mutação, a S616del, foi tratada como patogênica, mas apresenta informações controversas em diferentes estudos. O trabalho também identificou uma nova mutação, Val1117Ile. Um estudo de haplótipos das mutações identificadas nos pacientes foi realizado e revelou que um dos haplótipos, denominado de 6, contendo quatro resíduos mutados (871Leu, 1038Gly, 1183Arg e 1613Gly) estava presente em 50% das pacientes. O estudo de associação com 82 indivíduos saudáveis, mostrou diferença significativa (p=0,026) nos pacientes, sugerindo assim um risco aumentado de HBOC. Adicionalmente, foi analisada a mutação germinativa R337H no gene p53 para os casos suspeitos de Síndrome de Li-Fraumeni. Em síntese, o presente estudo contribui com a identificação de uma nova mutação não-sinônina no gene BRCA1 e sugere que o haplótipo 871Leu-1038Gly-1183Arg-1613Gly possa conferir risco aumentado do câncer de mama e/ou ovário em pacientes diagnosticados com HBOC. / About 10% of cases of breast and/or ovary cancer are characterized as hereditary, where the presence of germline mutations in susceptibility BRCA1 gene increases the risk of developing these cancers during womans lifetime. BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor gene involved in DNA damage response, cell cycle control, chromatin remodeling, ubiquitination and transcriptional regulation. The present study aims to characterize BRCA1 gene mutations associated with Hereditary Breast/Ovary Cancer Syndrome (HBOC) in patients from the Cancer Genetic Counseling Service of the General Hospital of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP). The twenty two coding exons of BRCA1 were analyzed using High Resolution Melting (HRM) method for the screening of point mutations, followed by DNA sequencing of the cases selected to validation. MLPA (Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification) technique was also used to detect gross deletions and duplications. Once confirmed the mutation, family members most at risk will be analyzed for the specific mutation in order to provide them with an appropriate genetic counseling for early detection of cancer. In the present study, we investigated 41 patients that fulfilled the criteria for genetic testing according to NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology v.1.2010. A total of 21 mutations were identified, two of them are pathogenic: a deletion of exons 17-18 and a deletion of exon 19. Both of them are located in the BRCT domain of BRCA1 gene, impairing the binding of essential phosphoproteins critical to the activation of DNA repair complex. Another mutation, S616del, shows controversial information about its pathogenesis in different studies.The present study also describes a new mutation, Val1117Ile. A study of haplotypes of the mutations identified in patients was performed and revealed that one of the haplotypes, called 6, containing four mutated residues (871Leu, 1038Gly, and 1183Arg 1613Gly) was present in 50% of patients. The association study with 82 healthy subjects showed a significant difference (p = 0.026) in patients, thus suggesting an increased risk for HBOC. Additionally, the germline mutation R337H on p53 gene was also analyzed in the present study for suspected cases of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. In summary, this study contributes to the identification of a new missense mutation in the BRCA1 gene and suggests that the haplotype-871Leu-1038Gly 1183Arg-1613Gly may confer increased risk of breast cancer and / or ovarian cancer in patients diagnosed with HBOC.

Cerca de 10% dos casos de câncer de mama e/ou ovário são caracterizados como hereditários, onde a presença de mutações germinativas no gene de suscetibilidade BRCA1 aumenta o risco de desenvolver esses cânceres durante a vida da mulher. O BRCA1 é um gene supressor tumoral envolvido na resposta de danos ao DNA, controle do ciclo celular, na remodelação da cromatina, ubiquitinação e regulação da transcrição. O presente estudo tem como objetivo central caracterizar as mutações do gene BRCA1 associadas a Síndrome Hereditária do Câncer de Mama e/ou Ovário (HBOC) em pacientes atendidos no Serviço de Aconselhamento Genético do Câncer do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMRP/USP). Os vinte e dois éxons codificantes do BRCA1 foram analisados utilizando o método de High Resolution Melting (HRM) para triagem de mutações pontuais, seguido pelo sequenciamento de DNA dos casos selecionados para validação. A técnica de MLPA (Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification) também foi usada para detectar grandes deleções e duplicações. Uma vez confirmada a mutação, membros da família considerados de alto risco, serão investigados para a mutação específica, a fim de proporcionar-lhes um aconselhamento genético apropriado para a detecção precoce do câncer. No presente estudo, foram investigados 41 pacientes que preencheram os critérios para o teste genético de acordo com NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology v.1.2010. Um total de 21 mutações foram identificadas, duas das quais são patogênicas: a deleção dos éxons 17-18 e a deleção dos éxon 19. Ambas estão localizadas no domínio BRCT do gene BRCA1, essencial para a ligação de fosfoproteínas críticas para a ativação do complexo de reparo do DNA. Outra mutação, a S616del, foi tratada como patogênica, mas apresenta informações controversas em diferentes estudos. O trabalho também identificou uma nova mutação, Val1117Ile. Um estudo de haplótipos das mutações identificadas nos pacientes foi realizado e revelou que um dos haplótipos, denominado de 6, contendo quatro resíduos mutados (871Leu, 1038Gly, 1183Arg e 1613Gly) estava presente em 50% das pacientes. O estudo de associação com 82 indivíduos saudáveis, mostrou diferença significativa (p=0,026) nos pacientes, sugerindo assim um risco aumentado de HBOC. Adicionalmente, foi analisada a mutação germinativa R337H no gene p53 para os casos suspeitos de Síndrome de Li-Fraumeni. Em síntese, o presente estudo contribui com a identificação de uma nova mutação não-sinônina no gene BRCA1 e sugere que o haplótipo 871Leu-1038Gly-1183Arg-1613Gly possa conferir risco aumentado do câncer de mama e/ou ovário em pacientes diagnosticados com HBOC. / About 10% of cases of breast and/or ovary cancer are characterized as hereditary, where the presence of germline mutations in susceptibility BRCA1 gene increases the risk of developing these cancers during womans lifetime. BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor gene involved in DNA damage response, cell cycle control, chromatin remodeling, ubiquitination and transcriptional regulation. The present study aims to characterize BRCA1 gene mutations associated with Hereditary Breast/Ovary Cancer Syndrome (HBOC) in patients from the Cancer Genetic Counseling Service of the General Hospital of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP). The twenty two coding exons of BRCA1 were analyzed using High Resolution Melting (HRM) method for the screening of point mutations, followed by DNA sequencing of the cases selected to validation. MLPA (Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification) technique was also used to detect gross deletions and duplications. Once confirmed the mutation, family members most at risk will be analyzed for the specific mutation in order to provide them with an appropriate genetic counseling for early detection of cancer. In the present study, we investigated 41 patients that fulfilled the criteria for genetic testing according to NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology v.1.2010. A total of 21 mutations were identified, two of them are pathogenic: a deletion of exons 17-18 and a deletion of exon 19. Both of them are located in the BRCT domain of BRCA1 gene, impairing the binding of essential phosphoproteins critical to the activation of DNA repair complex. Another mutation, S616del, shows controversial information about its pathogenesis in different studies.The present study also describes a new mutation, Val1117Ile. A study of haplotypes of the mutations identified in patients was performed and revealed that one of the haplotypes, called 6, containing four mutated residues (871Leu, 1038Gly, and 1183Arg 1613Gly) was present in 50% of patients. The association study with 82 healthy subjects showed a significant difference (p = 0.026) in patients, thus suggesting an increased risk for HBOC. Additionally, the germline mutation R337H on p53 gene was also analyzed in the present study for suspected cases of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. In summary, this study contributes to the identification of a new missense mutation in the BRCA1 gene and suggests that the haplotype-871Leu-1038Gly 1183Arg-1613Gly may confer increased risk of breast cancer and / or ovarian cancer in patients diagnosed with HBOC.

O gênero Yersinia pertence à família Enterobacteriaceae e compreende 17 espécies. Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica são reconhecidamente patógenos de humanos e animais. Y. pestis cause a peste. Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica são agentes causadores, sobretudo, de gastroenterites transmitidas por água e alimentos. As demais 14 espécies são, usualmente, consideradas não-patogênicas, com exceção de Y. ruckeri sorogrupo O:1 que causa infecções em peixes. Nas últimas décadas, a tipagem molecular tornou-se uma importante ferramenta nos estudos filogenéticos de numerosos micro-organismos e o desenvolvimento de sistemas de tipagem rápidos e baratos pode facilitar os estudos epidemiológicos de infecções bacterianas. No presente estudo objetivou-se desenvolver um método de genotipagem de Yersinia spp. baseado em high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) para diferenciar os single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) presentes nas sequências dos genes 16S rRNA, glnA, gyrB, hsp60 e recA e aplicá-lo na tipagem de 40 linhagens de Y. pseudotuberculosis e 50 linhagens de Y. enterocolitica, bem como separar por HRMA as espécies Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica. Os SNPs foram determinados nas sequências dos loci acima citados a partir de um conjunto de 119 linhagens de Yersinia spp. depositadas no GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ. Foram encontrados nas sequências dos genes analisados de Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii e Y. ruckeri 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 1 e 1 SNPs, respectivamente. Nenhum SNP foi encontrado nas sequências analisadas de Y. pestis e um grande número de SNPs foi encontrado nas sequências analisadas de Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii e Y. massiliensis, o que impossibilitou a genotipagem dessas espécies por HRMA. As demais espécies não foram analisadas. Foram desenhados pares de primers para flanquear os SNPs encontrados em cada espécie de Yersinia testada. Usando um conjunto de primers espécie-específicos, a diversidade genética de cada espécie de Yersinia foi determinada por HRMA e a análise filogenética foi baseada na sequência concatenada composta pelos nucleotídeos identificados em cada fragmento analisado. O agrupamento foi realizado com o software BioNumerics usando o método UPGMA com 1.000 replicatas de bootstrap. A árvore filogenética ii construída para Y. pseudotuberculosis agrupou as linhagens em clusters bio-sorogrupo específicos. As linhagens do bio-sorogrupo 1/O:1 foram agrupadas em um cluster e as linhagens do bio-sorogrupo 2/O:3 em outro. A árvore filogenética construída para Y. enterocolitica agrupou as linhagens em três grupos. As linhagens altamente patogênicas, do biotipo 1B, foram agrupadas em um cluster, as linhagens de média patogenicidade, dos biotipos 2, 3, 4 e 5, foram agrupadas em um segundo cluster e as linhagens consideradas nãopatogênicas, do biotipo 1A, foram agrupadas em um terceiro cluster. O agrupamento encontrado em Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica foi consistente com o perfil patogênico característico dessas duas espécies. Nenhuma correlação epidemiológica significativa foi encontrada no agrupamento de Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii e Y. ruckeri de acordo com os resultados de HRMA. Ademais, o método de HRMA aqui desenvolvido foi capaz de separar as espécies Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica. O método de HRMA desenvolvido nesse estudo pode ser usado como uma alternativa para a genotipagem e para a diferenciação de Y. pseudotuberculosis de Y. enterocolitica. Esse método também pode complementar os métodos baseados em sequências e facilitar os estudos epidemiológicos dessas duas espécies de Yersinia. / The genus Yersinia belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and comprises 17 species. Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica are well recognized human and animal pathogens. Y. pestis causes plague. Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica are, usually, causative agents of food-waterborne gastroenteritis. The other 14 Yersinia species are considered to be non-pathogenic, with the exception of Y. ruckeri serogroup O:1 which causes infections in fishes. In the last few decades, molecular typing has become an important tool in phylogenetic studies of several microorganisms and the development of fast and inexpensive typing systems can facilitate epidemiological studies of bacterial infections. The present study aimed to develop a method of Yersinia spp. genotyping based on high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) in order to differentiate the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in the 16S rRNA, glnA, gyrB, hsp60 and recA sequences and apply it in the typing of 40 Y. pseudotuberculosis strains and 50 Y. enterocolitica strains, as well as, to separate by HRMA the Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica species. The SNPs were determined in the sequences of the aforementioned loci using a set of 119 Yersinia strains deposited in the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database. It were found in the gene sequences analyzed of Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii and Y. ruckeri 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 1 and 1 SNPs, respectively. No SNPs was found in the analyzed sequences of Y. pestis and a large number of SNPs were found in the analyzed sequences of Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. massiliensis what prevented their genotyping by HRMA. The remaining Yersinia species were not analyzed. It was designed primer pairs to flank the SNPs found in each Yersinia species tested. Using a specie-specific set of primers, the genetic diversity of each Yersinia species used was determined by HRMA and the phylogenetic analysis was based on the concatenated sequence composed by the nucleotides identified in each fragment analyzed. Clustering was performed with the software package BioNumerics using UPGMA method and 1,000 bootstrap replicates. The phylogenetic tree constructed for Y. pseudotuberculosis grouped the strains into bio-serogroups specific clusters. The strains of 1/O:1 bio-serogroup were grouped into one cluster and the strains of 2/O:3 bio-serogroup into iv other cluster. The phylogenetic tree constructed for Y. enterocolitica grouped the strains in three clusters. The highly pathogenic strains, of biotype 1B, were grouped into one cluster, the moderate pathogenic strains, of biotypes 2, 3, 4 and 5, were grouped into a second cluster and, the non-pathogenic strains, of biotype 1A, were grouped into a third cluster. The clusterization of Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica were consistent with the pathogenic profile characteristic of these two Yersinia species. No significant epidemiological correlation was found in the grouping of Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia Y. mollaretii and Y. ruckeri according to HRMA results. Moreover, the HRMA-based method develop here was able to separate the Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica species. The HRMA assay developed in this study can be used as an alternative for the genotyping and the differentiation of Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica. This method can also complement sequence-based methods and facilitate epidemiological studies of these two Yersinia species.

No description available.

O gênero Yersinia pertence à família Enterobacteriaceae e compreende 17 espécies. Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica são reconhecidamente patógenos de humanos e animais. Y. pestis cause a peste. Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica são agentes causadores, sobretudo, de gastroenterites transmitidas por água e alimentos. As demais 14 espécies são, usualmente, consideradas não-patogênicas, com exceção de Y. ruckeri sorogrupo O:1 que causa infecções em peixes. Nas últimas décadas, a tipagem molecular tornou-se uma importante ferramenta nos estudos filogenéticos de numerosos micro-organismos e o desenvolvimento de sistemas de tipagem rápidos e baratos pode facilitar os estudos epidemiológicos de infecções bacterianas. No presente estudo objetivou-se desenvolver um método de genotipagem de Yersinia spp. baseado em high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) para diferenciar os single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) presentes nas sequências dos genes 16S rRNA, glnA, gyrB, hsp60 e recA e aplicá-lo na tipagem de 40 linhagens de Y. pseudotuberculosis e 50 linhagens de Y. enterocolitica, bem como separar por HRMA as espécies Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica. Os SNPs foram determinados nas sequências dos loci acima citados a partir de um conjunto de 119 linhagens de Yersinia spp. depositadas no GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ. Foram encontrados nas sequências dos genes analisados de Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii e Y. ruckeri 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 1 e 1 SNPs, respectivamente. Nenhum SNP foi encontrado nas sequências analisadas de Y. pestis e um grande número de SNPs foi encontrado nas sequências analisadas de Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii e Y. massiliensis, o que impossibilitou a genotipagem dessas espécies por HRMA. As demais espécies não foram analisadas. Foram desenhados pares de primers para flanquear os SNPs encontrados em cada espécie de Yersinia testada. Usando um conjunto de primers espécie-específicos, a diversidade genética de cada espécie de Yersinia foi determinada por HRMA e a análise filogenética foi baseada na sequência concatenada composta pelos nucleotídeos identificados em cada fragmento analisado. O agrupamento foi realizado com o software BioNumerics usando o método UPGMA com 1.000 replicatas de bootstrap. A árvore filogenética ii construída para Y. pseudotuberculosis agrupou as linhagens em clusters bio-sorogrupo específicos. As linhagens do bio-sorogrupo 1/O:1 foram agrupadas em um cluster e as linhagens do bio-sorogrupo 2/O:3 em outro. A árvore filogenética construída para Y. enterocolitica agrupou as linhagens em três grupos. As linhagens altamente patogênicas, do biotipo 1B, foram agrupadas em um cluster, as linhagens de média patogenicidade, dos biotipos 2, 3, 4 e 5, foram agrupadas em um segundo cluster e as linhagens consideradas nãopatogênicas, do biotipo 1A, foram agrupadas em um terceiro cluster. O agrupamento encontrado em Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica foi consistente com o perfil patogênico característico dessas duas espécies. Nenhuma correlação epidemiológica significativa foi encontrada no agrupamento de Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii e Y. ruckeri de acordo com os resultados de HRMA. Ademais, o método de HRMA aqui desenvolvido foi capaz de separar as espécies Y. pseudotuberculosis e Y. enterocolitica. O método de HRMA desenvolvido nesse estudo pode ser usado como uma alternativa para a genotipagem e para a diferenciação de Y. pseudotuberculosis de Y. enterocolitica. Esse método também pode complementar os métodos baseados em sequências e facilitar os estudos epidemiológicos dessas duas espécies de Yersinia. / The genus Yersinia belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and comprises 17 species. Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica are well recognized human and animal pathogens. Y. pestis causes plague. Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica are, usually, causative agents of food-waterborne gastroenteritis. The other 14 Yersinia species are considered to be non-pathogenic, with the exception of Y. ruckeri serogroup O:1 which causes infections in fishes. In the last few decades, molecular typing has become an important tool in phylogenetic studies of several microorganisms and the development of fast and inexpensive typing systems can facilitate epidemiological studies of bacterial infections. The present study aimed to develop a method of Yersinia spp. genotyping based on high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) in order to differentiate the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in the 16S rRNA, glnA, gyrB, hsp60 and recA sequences and apply it in the typing of 40 Y. pseudotuberculosis strains and 50 Y. enterocolitica strains, as well as, to separate by HRMA the Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica species. The SNPs were determined in the sequences of the aforementioned loci using a set of 119 Yersinia strains deposited in the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ database. It were found in the gene sequences analyzed of Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica, Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii and Y. ruckeri 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 1 and 1 SNPs, respectively. No SNPs was found in the analyzed sequences of Y. pestis and a large number of SNPs were found in the analyzed sequences of Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Y. massiliensis what prevented their genotyping by HRMA. The remaining Yersinia species were not analyzed. It was designed primer pairs to flank the SNPs found in each Yersinia species tested. Using a specie-specific set of primers, the genetic diversity of each Yersinia species used was determined by HRMA and the phylogenetic analysis was based on the concatenated sequence composed by the nucleotides identified in each fragment analyzed. Clustering was performed with the software package BioNumerics using UPGMA method and 1,000 bootstrap replicates. The phylogenetic tree constructed for Y. pseudotuberculosis grouped the strains into bio-serogroups specific clusters. The strains of 1/O:1 bio-serogroup were grouped into one cluster and the strains of 2/O:3 bio-serogroup into iv other cluster. The phylogenetic tree constructed for Y. enterocolitica grouped the strains in three clusters. The highly pathogenic strains, of biotype 1B, were grouped into one cluster, the moderate pathogenic strains, of biotypes 2, 3, 4 and 5, were grouped into a second cluster and, the non-pathogenic strains, of biotype 1A, were grouped into a third cluster. The clusterization of Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica were consistent with the pathogenic profile characteristic of these two Yersinia species. No significant epidemiological correlation was found in the grouping of Y. bercovieri, Y. rohdei, Y. intermedia Y. mollaretii and Y. ruckeri according to HRMA results. Moreover, the HRMA-based method develop here was able to separate the Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica species. The HRMA assay developed in this study can be used as an alternative for the genotyping and the differentiation of Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica. This method can also complement sequence-based methods and facilitate epidemiological studies of these two Yersinia species.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The objective of this study is to deduce paternal ancestry using ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by means of High Resolution Melting (HRM). This was completed by producing a multiplex system that was designed in a hierarchical manner according to the YSNP tree. This project mainly focused on African ancestry and was used to infer paternal ancestral lineages on the Johannesburg Coloured population. South Africa has a diverse population that has ancestral history from across the globe. The South African Coloured population is the most admixed population as it is derived from at least five different population groups: these being Khoisan, Bantu, Europeans, Indians and Southeast Asians. There have been studies done on the Western Cape/ Cape Town Coloured populations before but this study focused on the Johannesburg Coloured population.

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology) / The objective of this study is to deduce paternal ancestry using ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by means of High Resolution Melting (HRM). This was completed by producing a multiplex system that was designed in a hierarchical manner according to the YSNP tree. This project mainly focused on African ancestry and was used to infer paternal ancestral lineages on the Johannesburg Coloured population. South Africa has a diverse population that has ancestral history from across the globe. The South African Coloured population is the most admixed population as it is derived from at least five different population groups: these being Khoisan, Bantu, Europeans, Indians and Southeast Asians. There have been studies done on the Western Cape/ Cape Town Coloured populations before but this study focused on the Johannesburg Coloured population. The first step was to design the multiplex system. This was done by using inhouse SNPs. A total of seven multiplexes were designed and optimised, each consisting of two, three or four different SNPs respectively. A total of 143 saliva and buccal samples were collected from male Johannesburg Coloureds. DNA was extracted from the saliva samples using an optimised organic method. DNA was extracted from the buccal samples using an optimised salting out method. DNA was successfully extracted from 77 of the male samples. A total of 69 samples were screened using Multiplex 1; of the 69 samples 56 samples were successfully screened to infer the paternal lineage of the samples. The results show that the most frequent haplogroup of the Johannesburg male samples was haplogroup CF (39%). The second most frequent haplogroup was haplogroup DE (38%). Under further analysis of haplogroup DE it was seen that 37% of those samples were derived for the haplogroup E1b1b.

North Atlantic and South Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.) are currently managed as two stocks separated at 5°N. While previous studies of genetic population structure using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA confirm two genetically distinct stocks, sampling coverage has not been uniform or representative of all areas and estimates of admixture in areas of contact have not been provided. In this study, we examined: 1) the applicability of high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) in population genetic studies of non-model organisms, 2) the use of nuclear markers in Atlantic swordfish and the methodology whereby nuclear gene variation can be quickly screened, identified, and genotyped using short-amplicon (SA) HRMA and unlabeled probe (UP) HRMA, and 3) the use of HRMA to characterize nuclear markers to study the genetic population structure of Atlantic swordfish using representative samples of the entire basin to provide an estimation of population admixture by means of Bayesian individual assignment. High resolution melting analysis (HRMA) is shown to be a highly sensitive, rapid, closed-tube genotyping method amenable to high throughput and, though until recently primarily confined to clinical studies, suitable for population studies in non-model species. Ten nuclear markers were genotyped primarily by SA- and UP-HRMA in North Atlantic (n=419), South Atlantic (n=296), and Mediterranean (n=59) swordfish. Comparisons of pairwise FST, AMOVA, PCoA, and Bayesian individual assignments were congruent with previous finding of three discrete populations with comparatively low levels of estimated gene flow for a marine organism (FST = 0.039-0.126). Population admixture was identified and estimated in the Northeast Atlantic and appeared to be asymmetrical, with swordfish from the South Atlantic found among North Atlantic localities but no North Atlantic migrants identified in the South Atlantic. The Mediterranean boundary currently at the Strait of Gibraltar is found to extend west into Atlantic waters to approximately 8°W. Similarly, the boundary between North and South Atlantic swordfish should be revised to a line that extends north from 0°N 45°W to 25°N 45°W and from that position, as a nearly horizontal line, eastwards to the African coast. Finally, I show that Bayesian individual assignment using the developed marker set can be used for mixed stock allocation in the Northeast Atlantic.

Domestication of animals has given rise to a great phenotypic divergence in selected animals and rapidly generated species of animals more accustomed to human contact and social interactions within the species. Previous studies in chickens (Gallus gallus) have managed to find behavioral and adaptive differences between Red Junglefowl (RJF) and White Leghorn (WL), differences inherent to the domestication process. These phenotypic changes could spawn from a variety of different genomic factors, including an epigenetic gene expression regulatory mechanism known as CpG methylation, a DNA modification of CpG dinucleotides that in turn affect nucleosome formation. In this study we investigated the methylation differences between RJF and WL. This by selecting genes that has previously been shown to be both differentially expressed (DE) and differentially methylated (DM) between RJF and WL, and had shown the same kind of differences in both parental animals and their offspring. By using methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MSHRM) we tried to confirm previous DM result, and four genes; FUCA1, RUFY3, PCDHAC1 and TXNDC16 were tested and verified to be DM between RJF and WL.

A new era of malaria eradication programs relies on increased knowledge of the parasite through sequencing of the Plasmodium genome. Programs call for re-orientation at specific epidemiological markers as regions move from control towards pre- and total elimination. However, relatively little is known about the effects of intervention strategies on the parasite population or if the epidemiological cues correspond to effects on the parasite population. We hypothesized that genomic tools could be used to track population changes in Plasmodium falciparum to detect significant shifts as eradication programs apply interventions. Making use of new whole-genome sequencing data as well as GWAS and other studies, we used SNPs as biological markers for regions associated with drug resistance as well as a set of neutral SNPs to identify individual parasites. By utilizing tools developed as proxy for full genomic sequencing of the human pathogen Plasmodium falciparum, we characterized and tracked parasite populations to test for changes over time and between populations. When applied to markers under selection - those associated with reduced antimalarial drug sensitivity - we were able to track migration of resistance-associated mutations in the population and identify new mutations with potential implications for resistance. Using a population genetic analysis toolbox to study changes in neutral allele frequencies in samples from the field, we found significant population changes over time that included restricted effective population size, reduced complexity of infections, and evidence for both clonal and epidemic propagation of parasites.