The mtDNA genetic relatedness between and within 13 Baganda, 14 Lugbara and 13
Acholi individuals from Uganda was investigated in this research program. The complete
mtDNA sequences of the 40 Ugandan samples were established and a phylogeographic
analysis of these sequences was conducted using both a Neighbour-Joining and a
Maximum Parsimony tree together with a global sample of 387 African sequences. Prior to
this study, only two complete and six partial mtDNA sequences of Ugandans had been
established.
A total of 563 polymorphisms were determined of which 276 were synonymous, 75 were
nonsynonymous, 26 were novel and 208 occurred in the control region. The Lugbara
sequences clustered more closely with the Acholi sequences than the Baganda
sequences within the Neighbour-Joining and Maximum Parsimony tree. A phylogeographic
analysis of the sequences demonstrated that the Acholi and Lugbara individuals in this
investigation originated from Southern Sudan while the Baganda samples had a diversified
origin which comprised of the Niger-Congo basin, Ethiopia and Sudan. Furthermore, the
clustering of the Ugandan sequences with sequences from African American and Hispanic
individuals was evidence of slave trade involving the shipping of people from Uganda to
North America.
It was intriguing that the deepest branch in the phylogeny was L5 (instead of L0)
suggesting that the Khoi-San may not be the ancestral origin of anatomically modern man.
There was increased resolution of macrohaplogroup L (especially for the small
haplogroups) as new branches and nodes were formed in the tree. The results also
demonstrated that East Africa was the origin and source of dispersal of numerous small
macrohaplogroup L haplogroups. These mtDNA sequences from Baganda, Acholi and
Lugbara individuals have a potential for forensic, nutrigenomic and pharmacogenomic
application and will serve as useful references in assessment of mtDNA sequences in
other Ugandan and East African populations. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Biochemistry))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4221 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Isabirye, Dan |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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