TY - JOUR AU - Hanchard, Neil AU - Elzein, Abier AU - Trafford, Clare AU - Rockett, Kirk AU - Pinder, Margaret AU - Jallow, Muminatou AU - Harding, Rosalind AU - Kwiatkowski, Dominic AU - McKenzie, Colin PY - 2007 DA - 2007/08/10 TI - Classical sickle beta-globin haplotypes exhibit a high degree of long-range haplotype similarity in African and Afro-Caribbean populations JO - BMC Genetics SP - 52 VL - 8 IS - 1 AB - The sickle (βs) mutation in the beta-globin gene (HBB) occurs on five "classical" βs haplotype backgrounds in ethnic groups of African ancestry. Strong selection in favour of the βs allele – a consequence of protection from severe malarial infection afforded by heterozygotes – has been associated with a high degree of extended haplotype similarity. The relationship between classical βs haplotypes and long-range haplotype similarity may have both anthropological and clinical implications, but to date has not been explored. Here we evaluate the haplotype similarity of classical βs haplotypes over 400 kb in population samples from Jamaica, The Gambia, and among the Yoruba of Nigeria (Hapmap YRI). SN - 1471-2156 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2156-8-52 DO - 10.1186/1471-2156-8-52 ID - Hanchard2007 ER -