Breitling, LP, Wilson, AJ, Raiko, A et al. (4 more authors) (2008) Heritability of human hookworm infection in Papua New Guinea. Parasitology, 135 (12). 1407 - 1415. ISSN 0031-1820
Abstract
Hookworms infect approximately 740 million humans worldwide and are an important cause of morbidity. The present study examines the role of additive genetic effects in determining the intensity of hookworm infection in humans, and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the host. Parasitological and epidemiological data for a population of 704 subjects in Papua New Guinea were used in variance components analysis. The 'narrow-sense' heritability of hookworm infection was estimated as 0.15±0.04 (P<0.001), and remained significant when controlling for shared environmental (household) effects. Allowing the variance components to vary between the sexes of the human host consistently revealed larger additive genetic effects in females than in males, reflected by heritabilities of 0.18 in females and 0.08 in males in a conservative model. Household effects were also higher in females than males, although the overall household effect was not significant. The results indicate that additive genetic effects are an important determinant of the intensity of human hookworm infection in this population. However, despite similar mean and variance of intensity in each sex, the factors responsible for generating variation in intensity differ markedly between males and females.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2008, Cambridge University Press. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Hookworm; Heritability; Household Effects; Predisposition; Sex Differences; Papua New Guinea; Trait Linkage Analysis; Necator-Americanus; Genetic Architecture; Variance-Components; Helminth Infections; Pedigree Analysis; Sex Interaction; Susceptibility; Reinfection; Population |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Inst of Biomed & Clin Sciences (LIBACS) (Leeds) > Trans Anaesthetics & Surgical Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Jan 2014 12:39 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 21:37 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031182008004976 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0031182008004976 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:77515 |