Linkage Disequilibrium in Human Ribosomal Genes: Implications for Multigene Family Evolution

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Linkage Disequilibrium in Human Ribosomal Genes: Implications for Multigene Family Evolution Copyright 0 1988 by the Genetics Societyof America Linkage Disequilibrium in Human Ribosomal Genes: Implications for Multigene Family Evolution Peter Seperack,*” Montgomery Slatkin+ and Norman Arnheim*.* *Department of Biochemistry and Program in Cellular andDevelopmental Biology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York I 1794, ?Department of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, and *Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0371 Manuscript received January8, 1988 Revised copy accepted April 2 1, 1988 ABSTRACT Members of the rDNA multigene family withina species do not evolve independently,rather, they evolve together in a concerted fashion.Between species, however, each multigenefamily does evolve independently indicating that mechanisms exist whichwill amplify and fix new mutations bothwithin populations and within species. In order to evaluate the possible mechanisms by which mutation, amplification and fixation occurwe have determined thelevel of linkage disequilibrium betweentwo polymorphic sites in human ribosomal genes in five racial groups and among individuals within two of these groups.The marked linkage disequilibriumwe observe within individuals suggeststhat sister chromatid exchangesare much more important than homologousor nonhomologous recombination events in the concerted evolution of the rDNA family and further that recent models of molecular drive may not apply to the evolution of the rDNA multigene family. HE human ribosomal gene family is composed of ferences among individualsin the geneticcomposition T approximately 400 members which arear- of the multigene family because they create linkage ranged in small tandem clusters on five pairs of chro- disequilibrium among different members of familythe mosomes (for reviews, see LONG and DAWID1980; (OHTA1980a, b;NAGYLAKI and PETES1982; SLATKIN WILSON1982). Each member (Figure 1) is approxi- 1986).Interactions between chromosomes break mately 45,000 bases in length. The spacerregion down linkage disequilibriumand reduce the extentof (NTS) which is adjacent to the coding region and differences among individuals. In the theory of “mo- transcription regulatory signals has no known func- lecular drive”(DOVER 1982) it has been suggestedthat tion. transposition, gene conversion, and unequal crossing There is already evidencethat the humanribosomal over are possibly more important than natural selec- gene family evolves in a concerted fashion. Individual tion for the evolution of multigene families because members of the family in humans are much more soon after a variant arises, molecular drive tends to similar to one another than they are to members of limit the amount of variation among individuals on the rDNA family in other primates (ARNHEIMet al. which natural selection can act. We will show here 1980).Several mechanisms havebeen proposed to that there are substantial differences among individ- explain the relative homogeneity of rDNA and other uals in the rDNA family which is consistent with the multigene families despitethe fact that individual idea that interactions within chromosomes are much family members would beexpected to accumulate morefrequent than interactions betweenchromo- mutations independently of the others (for reviews, somes and that natural selection could contribute to see ARNHEIM 1983;DOVER 1982). Gene conversion, frequency changes in newly arising variants. unequal crossing over, and natural selection could all account for concerted evolution in the rDNA family. MATERIALS AND METHODS Because rDNA is notinterspersed throughout the genome, transposition is probably notimportant. Samples and DNA analysis: ALLANC. WILSON(Univer- What is at present unknown is whether gene conver- sity of California, Berkeley) supplied the aborigine DNA sion and unequalcrossing over occur primarilywithin samples andHAIG KAZAZIAN (The Johns Hopkins University Medical School) provided the Asian Indian, black, Chinese a chromosome (ie., sister chromatidexchanges) or andMediterranean DNA. All DNA werederived from primarilybetween either homologous or nonho- unrelated individuals. DNA were digested with restriction mologous chromosomes. Frequent interactions within enzymes accordingto the manufacturer’s recommendations. chromosomes would tend to produce substantial dif- Gel electrophoresis,Southern transfer and hybridization with a 28s ribosomal DNA probewere carried out as I Present address: BRI-Basic Research Program, NCI-Frederick Cancer described previously (ARNHEIMet al., 1980). Research Facility, P. 0. Box B, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Quantitative determination of rDNA haplotype fre- Genetics 119: 943-949 (August, 1988) 944 P. Seperack, M.and Slatkin N. Arnheim quencies: After Southern transfer andhybridization the 1984; NEI and ROYCHOUDHURY1982; CANN,BROWN nitrocellulose filters were exposed for either 6, 18 and 48 and WILSON 1982; JOHNSON et al. 1983). The BglII hr or 18,48 and 96 hron XS-5 film (Kodak) without intensification. For each exposure each lane was scanned site most likely arose as a point mutationin one rDNA twice using a Zeineh SoftLaser scanning densitometer genethat contained aparticular length variant. (LKB) with a tungsten lamp. Peak heights (PH) for each Therefore, measuring the frequency of the BglII site fragment in each gel lane were measured and values for in association with the closely linked length variation duplicate scans were averaged. Deviations from linearity region within andamong populationscan directly seen in the three different exposures of the same gel (due to film saturation and detector saturation)were determined assess thetempo and mode of the mechanism of and corrected, based on exposure time. The frequency of concerted evolution. rDNA repeats in each band in each exposure was deter- Figure 1B shows diagramatically how a Southern mined as follows. The ratio of the peak heights (a,) for type blot of a BglII-Hind111 digest of human DNA can 1, 2 and 3 fragments relative to the constant bands in each reveal each of the 10 possible haplotypes that result lane was determined: fromthe combination of 5 lengthvariants a, = PH;/PHc. (LVO LV4)and the two formsof the BglII poly- The frequency of each band (F,) was then determined by morphism (+/-). Densitometric tracingsof these blots dividing the ratio of the peak height to the constant band can then be used to determine thefrequency of each of each fragment (ai)by the sum of all ratios of all bands in haplotype. each lane: The degree of linkage disequilibrium is measured E = a,/C a, by comparing the observed frequency of each haplo- 3 type with that expected if the two markers segregated Using this method we have corrected for variation be- independently in the population. To examinethe tween lanes due to loading errors and amount of probe degree of linkage disequilibrium in several popula- hybridization to differentially digestedDNA. The corrected tions we pooled DNA samples fromindividuals of frequencies for each band in each of the three different exposures were averaged to give the frequency for the bands each population. Altogether we examined 20 Austra- presented in Tables 1 and 2. lian aborigines (8000 genes), 14 Asian Indians (5600 genes), 17 individuals of African descent (6800 genes), RESULTS 16 Chinese (6400 genes) and 17 Mediterranean indi- viduals (6800 genes). All of the individuals used in The approximately 400 rDNA genes in any given this study were unrelated. The results are seen in human are notidentical. A number of DNA polymor- Figure 2. Table 1 summarizesthe percentagesof each phisms involving restriction enzyme sites and length haplotype in each population. In general the distri- variation have been described (ARNHEIMand SOUTH- bution of length variant haplotypesare approximately ERN 1977; KRYSTALand ARNHEIM 1979; LAVOLPE the same in all populations with some notable excep- et al. 1985; WILSONet al. 1982; KRYSTALet al. 198 1; tions. The LVO length variant is found only in aborig- HIGUCHIet al. 198 1; RANZANI, BERNINI andCRIPPA 1984; SEPERACKand ARNHEIM 1982).The locations ine, Mediterranean and Chinese populationswhile the of several of thesepolymorphisms are shown in Figure LV3 variant is twice as common in blacks as in the 1A. We used two of these polymorphisms, a length other populations. The number of genes containing variation region and a restriction enzyme site to ex- the BglII site also varies among these groups (Table amine for thefirst time the degreeof linkage disequi- 1). librium between markers in members of a multigene These data were used to calculate the extent of family. In higher primates the length variation region linkagedisequilibrium between lengthvariants and is found in humans, chimpanzeesand pygmy chimpan- the BglII polymorphism. Because LV2 is in relatively zees (ARNHEIMet al. 1980). The BglII restriction high frequency in all population samples, a convenient enzyme site polymorphism, however, is human spe- way to quantify the extent of linkage disequilibrium cific (SEPERACKand ARNHEIM1982) and its increase is obtained by pooling the frequencies of the other in frequency in populations or in individuals could length variants and using the standard measure for only result by the mechanisms responsible for con- two alleles at each of two loci, D’, which is the ratio certed evolution in general (ARNHEIM 1983; SEPER- of the actual disequilibrium to the maximum possible ACK and ARNHEIM1982). Itis difficult to estimate the given those allele
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