Analysis of genomic diversity in Mexican Mestizo populations to develop genomic medicine in Mexico

TLDR

Mexico is building a genomic medicine foundation by conducting one of the first genome‑wide genotyping studies of its recently admixed Mestizo population, leveraging extensive research on genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium to enable effective tagging and imputation strategies. The study evaluated whether a Mexican haplotype map improves identification of genes linked to common diseases in the Mexican population. Using genome‑wide data from Mexican Mestizos across regions with distinct admixture histories, the authors assessed genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium, haplotype sharing, and ancestry by incorporating a Mexican Amerindian reference and HapMap samples. The results reveal genetic differences among Mexican subpopulations that must be accounted for in complex disease association studies and demonstrate that a Mexican Mestizo haplotype map can reduce the number of tag SNPs required to characterize common genetic variation.

Abstract

Mexico is developing the basis for genomic medicine to improve healthcare of its population. The extensive study of genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium structure of different populations has made it possible to develop tagging and imputation strategies to comprehensively analyze common genetic variation in association studies of complex diseases. We assessed the benefit of a Mexican haplotype map to improve identification of genes related to common diseases in the Mexican population. We evaluated genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium patterns, and extent of haplotype sharing using genomewide data from Mexican Mestizos from regions with different histories of admixture and particular population dynamics. Ancestry was evaluated by including 1 Mexican Amerindian group and data from the HapMap. Our results provide evidence of genetic differences between Mexican subpopulations that should be considered in the design and analysis of association studies of complex diseases. In addition, these results support the notion that a haplotype map of the Mexican Mestizo population can reduce the number of tag SNPs required to characterize common genetic variation in this population. This is one of the first genomewide genotyping efforts of a recently admixed population in Latin America.