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Methodological challenges of genome-wide association analysis in Africa.

ABSTRACT: Medical research in Africa has yet to benefit from the advent of genome-wide association (GWA) analysis, partly because the genotyping tools and statistical methods that have been developed for European and Asian populations struggle to deal with the high levels of genome diversity and population structure in Africa. However, the haplotypic diversity of African populations might help to overcome one of the major roadblocks in GWA research, the fine mapping of causal variants. We review the methodological challenges and consider how GWA studies in Africa will be transformed by new approaches in statistical imputation and large-scale genome sequencing.

SUBMITTER: Teo YY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3769612 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Methodological challenges of genome-wide association analysis in Africa.

Teo Yik-Ying YY Small Kerrin S KS Kwiatkowski Dominic P DP

Nature reviews. Genetics 20100201 2

Medical research in Africa has yet to benefit from the advent of genome-wide association (GWA) analysis, partly because the genotyping tools and statistical methods that have been developed for European and Asian populations struggle to deal with the high levels of genome diversity and population structure in Africa. However, the haplotypic diversity of African populations might help to overcome one of the major roadblocks in GWA research, the fine mapping of causal variants. We review the metho ...[more]

PMID: 20084087

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