Allele frequencies of 19 autosomal STR loci in Manchu population of China with phylogenetic structure among worldwide populations.

The aim of this study was to estimate the allelic frequencies of the 19 STR loci with the Goldeneye™ DNA ID system 20A kit in a sample of 150 Manchu individuals from China to be used for forensic purposes and population studies. The observed heterozygosity(HO)values of these 19 STR loci ranged from 0.600 (D3S1358) to 0.914 (D18S51), the expected (HE) ranged from 0.615 (TPOX) to 0.876 (D16S1043). The power of discrimination (PD) values were found to range from 0.793 (TPOX) to 0.950 (D16S1043) and the probability of exclusion (PE) varies between 0.291 (D3S1358) and 0.825 (D18S51 and Penta E). Among all the 19 loci, D16S1043 had the highest polymorphism (PIC=0.860), whereas TPOX had the lowest (PIC=0.550). For the 19 loci, the combined power of discrimination and the combined probability of exclusion are 0.9999999999999999999942 and 0.999999996777, respectively. The phylogenetic tree established among worldwide population shows different populations who say the same language usually have a close genetic relationship with each other across the three language families studied (Sino-Tibetan, Altaic and Arabic).

Effects of elevated O3 exposure on nutrient elements and quality of winter wheat and rice grain in Yangtze River Delta, China.

With the open-top chambers (OTCs) in situ in Yangtze River Delta, China in 2007 and 2008, the effects of elevated O3 exposure on nutrient elements and quality of winter wheat and rice grain were investigated. Grain yield per plant of winter wheat and rice declined in both years. The N and S concentrations increased under elevated O3 exposure in both years and C-N ratios decreased significantly. The concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, P, Mn, Cu and Zn in winter wheat and the concentrations of Mg, K, Mn and Cu in rice increased. The concentrations of protein, amino acid and lysine in winter wheat and rice increased and the concentration of amylose decreased. The increase in the nutrient concentration was less than the reduction of grain yield in both winter wheat and rice, and, hence, the absolute amount of the nutrients was reduced by elevated O3.

Genetic polymorphisms of DNA repair gene: XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese Han population.

DNA repair genes are increasingly studied because of their critical role in maintaining genome integrity. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is a DNA repair pathway that operates on small lesions, such as oxidized or reduced bases, fragmented or nonbulky adducts, or those produced by methylating agents. The XRCC1 polymorphic system is the key gene of the BER pathway. In this study, polymorphisms of XRCC1 Pro206Pro on exon 7 and Gln632Gln on exon 17 were analyzed in a northeastern Chinese Han population. Genomic DNA extracted from 303 unrelated individuals and the PCR-RFLP technique were used to identify variants. The allele frequencies were 0.90 (A) and 0.10 (G) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.88 (G) and 0.12 (A) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The genotype frequencies were 0.797 (AA), 0.203 (AG), and 0 (GG) for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and 0.007 (AA), 0.222 (AG), and 0.771 (GG) for XRCC1 Gln632Gln. The expected heterozygosity and PIC were 18 and 16.38% for Pro206Pro and 21.12 and 18.89% for Gln632Gln. The two polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D' = 0.921, r (2) = 0.735). The results are compared with those of other reported populations. They showed marked ethnic group differences. This study provides the first analysis of the distribution of allele frequency for XRCC1 Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln in a Chinese population.

A haplotype encompassing the variant allele of DNA repair gene polymorphism ERCC2/XPD Lys751Gln but not the variant allele of Asp312Asn is associated with risk of lung cancer in a northeastern Chinese population.

The effect of the polymorphism of the DNA repair gene ERCC2/XPD Asp312Asn on the risk of lung cancer was investigated in a northeastern Chinese population. A hospital-based case-control study consisted of 201 lung cancer cases and 171 cancer-free controls matched to age, sex, and ethnicity. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used for genotyping. Frequency of the variant C-allele of ERCC2 Asp312Asn was 0.006 among the controls in present study, which differs markedly from previous reports both in European ancestry populations and in other Chinese populations (all P < 0.001). The polymorphism was not associated with risk of lung cancer. Haplotype analysis including three previously studied polymorphisms (ERCC1 Asn118Asn, ERCC2 Arg156Arg, and ERCC2 Lys751Gln) revealed that a haplotype consisting of ERCC1Asn118Asn(G)-ERCC2 Arg156Arg(C)-ERCC2 Asp312Asn(G)-ERCC2 Lys751Gln(C) was marginally associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR = 3.61, 95% CI = 1.00-13.06, P = 0.04). Our data suggest that the polymorphism ERCC2 Lys751Gln or a haplotype encompassing the variant allele is associated with risk of lung cancer in this population. Studies including larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the effects of these polymorphisms on lung cancer risk in this northeastern Chinese population.

The DNA repair gene XRCC1 and genetic susceptibility of lung cancer in a northeastern Chinese population.

To evaluate the effect of DNA repair gene XRCC1 polymorphisms on the risk of lung cancer in a northeastern Chinese population, we studied five cSNPs in the XRCC1 gene, three that lead to non-synonymous changes: Arg194Trp, Arg280 His and Arg399Gln and two that lead to synonymous changes: Pro206Pro and Gln632Gln. A hospital-based case-control study consisted of 247 lung cancer cases and 253 cancer-free controls matched on age, gender and ethnicity. PCR-RFLP was used for genotyping. Carriers of the minor G-allele of Pro206Pro were at significantly increased risk of lung cancer (adjusted OR=1.96, 95% CI=1.26-3.06, P=0.003). Stratified analyses revealed a significantly decreased risk of lung cancer associated with the AG/AA genotype of Arg280His (AG+AA versus GG, OR=0.38, 95% CI=0.19-0.75, P=0.005) among never smokers, although there was no interaction between Arg280His and smoking. In a haplotype analysis, a haplotype defined by Arg194Trp(C)-Pro206Pro(G)-Arg280His(G)-Arg399Gln(G)-Gln632Gln(G) was associated with increased risk of lung cancer (OR=28.60, 95% CI=2.49-331.31, P=4.45x10(-5)). No associations were observed for the other polymorphisms or haplotypes. Our results suggest that the XRCC1 Pro206Pro polymorphism or the haplotype encompassing the minor allele may contribute to genetic susceptibility for lung cancer in this northeastern Chinese population. To our knowledge, this is first report that XRCC1 Pro206Pro influences cancer risk.