Abstract:
The frequency of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (TNF: rs1800630, rs362525, ICAM-1: rs5491, TLR9:: rs187084 and FCGR2A: rs1801274), previously correlated with severity of falciparum malaria in some world populations, was used to analyze genetic differentiation among 55 ethnically diverse populations of India. Significant differentiation of the north Indian Tharu tribe inhabiting the malaria-endemic Terai region and tribal populations of the falciparum-endemic eastern region of India was revealed. In addition to high frequency of the protective FCGR2A exon 4 A allele and low frequency of the TLR9 C susceptibility allele in these populations, near-fixation of the α-thalassemia – α3.7 allele was observed in Indian Tharus and was indicative of their genetic proximity to Tharus of western or central Nepal.
