Aude SAINT PIERRE, Joanna Giemza, Mathilde Karakachoff, Isabel Alves, Philippe Amouyel, Jean-Francois Dartigues, Christophe Tzourio, Martial Monteil, Pilar Galan, Serge Hercberg, Richard Redon, Emmanuelle Genin, Christian Dina
Full paper and supplementary info at
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/712497v2
This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed
Abstract
The study of the genetic structure of different countries within Europe has provided significant insights into their demographic history and their actual stratification. Although France occupies a particular location at the end of the European peninsula and at the crossroads of migration routes, few population genetic studies have been conducted so far with genome-wide data. In this study, we analyzed SNP-chip genetic data from 2184 individuals born in France who were enrolled in two independent population cohorts.
Using FineStructure, six different genetic clusters of individuals were found that were very consistent between the two cohorts. These clusters match extremely well the geography and overlap with historical and linguistic divisions of France. By modeling the relationship between genetics and geography using EEMS software, we were able to detect gene flow barriers that are similar in the two cohorts and corresponds to major French rivers or mountains. Estimations of effective population sizes using IBDNe program also revealed very similar patterns in both cohorts with a rapid increase of effective population sizes over the last 150 generations similar to what was observed in other European countries. A marked bottleneck is also consistently seen in the two datasets starting in the fourteenth century when the Black Death raged in Europe.
In conclusion, by performing the first exhaustive study of the genetic structure of France, we fill a gap in the genetic studies in Europe that would be useful to medical geneticists but also historians and archeologists.
These prices are good to 17 June 2019:
In addition FTDNA has sales on Y DNA and mtDNA tests.
The Irish DNA Atlas has been published to present the results of a study on DNA in Ireland.
From Nature:
Article | OPEN | Published: 08 December 2017
The Irish DNA Atlas: Revealing Fine-Scale Population Structure and History within Ireland
Edmund Gilbert, Seamus O’Reilly, Michael Merrigan, Darren McGettigan, Anne M. Molloy, Lawrence C. Brody, Walter Bodmer, Katarzyna Hutnik, Sean Ennis, Daniel J. Lawson, James F. Wilson & Gianpiero L. Cavalleri
Scientific Reports volume 7, Article number: 17199 (2017) | Download Citation
An Author Correction to this article was published on 03 May 2018
This article has been updated
Abstract
The extent of population structure within Ireland is largely unknown, as is the impact of historical migrations. Here we illustrate fine-scale genetic structure across Ireland that follows geographic boundaries and present evidence of admixture events into Ireland. Utilising the ‘Irish DNA Atlas’, a cohort (n = 194) of Irish individuals with four generations of ancestry linked to specific regions in Ireland, in combination with 2,039 individuals from the Peoples of the British Isles dataset, we show that the Irish population can be divided in 10 distinct geographically stratified genetic clusters; seven of ‘Gaelic’ Irish ancestry, and three of shared Irish-British ancestry. In addition we observe a major genetic barrier to the north of Ireland in Ulster. Using a reference of 6,760 European individuals and two ancient Irish genomes, we demonstrate high levels of North-West French-like and West Norwegian-like ancestry within Ireland. We show that that our ‘Gaelic’ Irish clusters present homogenous levels of ancient Irish ancestries. We additionally detect admixture events that provide evidence of Norse-Viking gene flow into Ireland, and reflect the Ulster Plantations. Our work informs both on Irish history, as well as the study of Mendelian and complex disease genetics involving populations of Irish ancestry.
Living DNA is a DNA ancestry service from England. Originally it specialized in providing a geographic breakdown of your DNA to locations in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. It has added Eire and is going to be adding Germany to its reports. A news update is available at this link,
https://livingdna.com/news/living-dna-april-2019-product-update
The potential of technologies such as these, together with other digital technologies to fall outside existing regulatory frameworks has prompted radical reform of data protection law across Europe. Thus, in May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force across the continent and in the UK, further national legislation has been implemented through the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018. This legal framework governs of the use of personal data in healthcare and research, and it explicitly recognises the category of genetic data for the first time (it will continue to apply in the UK regardless of Brexit).
However many, including Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, are concerned that the rules governing the use of genetic data could hinder the legitimate use of data for healthcare and research.
