Abstract A complex web of causation is involved in adiposity, including environmental, social and genetic factors. We aimed to investigate associations between genetic factors such as ancestry and single nucleotide polymorphisms, and obesity-related traits in a sampled Brazilian population. A sample of 501 unrelated adults participating in 2013 at the longitudinal Pró-Saúde Study (EPS) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was selected. We analysed 46 AIM-InDels (insertion/deletion) as genetic ancestry markers and four single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the genes MC4R (rs17782313), FTO (rs9939609), FAIM2 (rs7138803) and BDNF (rs4074134), previously described as associated with obesity. The selected obesity-related markers were anthropometric parameters such as body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, and body composition measurements namely body fat percentage, android fat mass and gynoid fat mass. The sample showed greater European ancestry (57.20%), followed by African (28.80%) and lastly Amerindian (14%). Our results suggest that the rs4074134 (BDNF) CC genotype was directly associated with gynoid fat mass, whereas body fat percentage, android fat mass and the anthropometric parameters seem not to be associated with neither ancestry nor the four polymorphisms in this population sample, most likely due to a stronger role of social, behavioural and environmental determinants.

Resumen La PCR sin extracción es una herramienta clave en investigaciones forenses, tratándose de una de las opciones a elegir cuando se tienen muestras con baja cantidad o calidad del ADN. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si hay diferencias entre los perfiles genéticos obtenidos por PCR i) en muestras de ADN extraídas con Chelex® 100, ii) en muestras de ADN obtenidas con el reactivo de purificación de muestras en tarjetas FTA, y iii) por la PCR muestras sin extracción, empleando el kit comercial AmpFLSTR® Identifiler®, utilizado de rutina en el laboratorio IdentiGEN de la Universidad de Antioquia. Manchas de sangre almacenadas en tarjetas FTATM Genecard WhatmanTM, papel de Cromatografía y papel filtro, se amplificaron por PCR sin extracción utilizando los buffers EzwayTM, PCRboostTM, STRboostTM y Buffer 5X Colorless Go Taq® Flexi. Los perfiles obtenidos se analizaron por medio de electroforesis capilar. Los resultados muestran que con los buffers utilizados se obtiene la amplificación de todos los marcadores STRs de las muestras almacenadas en los tres diferentes soportes. Esto permite concluir, que utilizando la PCR sin extracción, además de reducirse los costos y el tiempo de procesamiento de las muestras, se logra obtener perfiles genéticos que cumplan los criterios de calidad establecidos por el laboratorio, generando resultados de manera más eficiente al no ser necesario realizar la extracción y purificación del ADN.

Abstract The PCR without extraction is a key tool in forensic investigation, being a good option when samples with small amounts or degraded DNA are available. The objective of this study was to compare genetic profiles obtained by PCR using: i) DNA samples extracted using Chelex® 100, ii) DNA samples extracted using an FTA purification reagent, and iii) samples without extraction using the commercial kits AmpFLSTR® Identifiler®, routinely employed in the laboratory IdentiGEN of the University of Antioquia. Blood stains were collected in FTA cards Genecard WhatmanTM, chromatography paper, and in filter papers. PCR without extraction was performed using the buffers EzwayTM, PCRboostTM, STRboostTM, and Buffer 5X Colorless Go Taq® Flexi. The profiles were obtained by capillary electrophoresis. The results show that, using the above-mentioned buffers, all STR markers were amplified, for samples collected in the three different types of support. In conclusion, the PCR without extraction, apart from reducing the cost and time needed for processing the samples, it allows obtaining genetic profiles that meet the quality criteria established by the laboratory, in a more efficiently way, since DNA extraction and purification steps are eliminated.

The present-day Brazilian population is a consequence of the admixture of various peoples of very different origins, namely, Amerindians, Europeans and Africans. The proportion of each genetic contribution is known to be very heterogeneous throughout the country. The aim of the present study was to compare the male lineages present in two distinct Brazilian populations, as well as to evaluate the African contribution to their male genetic substrate. Thus, two Brazilian population samples from Manaus (State of Amazon) and Ribeirão Preto (State of São Paulo) and three African samples from Guinea Bissau, Angola and Mozambique were typed for a set of nine Y chromosome specific STRs. The data were compared with those from African, Amerindian and European populations. By using Y-STR haplotype information, low genetic distances were found between the Manaus and Ribeirão Preto populations, as well as between these and others from Iberia. Likewise, no significant distances were observed between any of the African samples from Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. Highly significant Rst values were found between both Brazilian samples and all the African and Amerindian populations. The absence of a significant Sub-Saharan African male component resulting from the slave trade, and the low frequency in Amerindian ancestry Y-lineages in the Manaus and Ribeirão Preto population samples are in accordance with the accentuated gender asymmetry in admixture processes that has been systematically reported in colonial South American populations.

Introducción: El fenómeno de sub-estructura en las poblaciones ha tenido desde hace varios años un abordaje amplio, que se enfocó, entre otros, en la identificación y cuantificación de la mezcla étnica presente en estudios de mapeo asociativo, para comprobar la asociación de marcadores polimórficos en el desarrollo de enfermedades comunes complejas, como responsable de falsos positivos. No obstante el reconocimiento de este problema, no se tiene suficiente información genética en el contexto nacional ni local que permita determinar la posible diferenciación de subgrupos poblacionales en cada región en particular. Objetivo: Determinar la estructura genética en una muestra poblacional de la ciudad de Bucaramanga, a partir del análisis de 19 marcadores microsatélites autosómicos en distintos subgrupos poblacionales. Metodología: De la base de datos del Laboratorio de Genética Humana de la Universidad Industrial de Santander, se seleccionaron aleatoriamente 350 muestras de ADN, y se amplificaron 19 marcadores autosómicos Short Tandem Repeat mediante los «kits Powerplex®16 y FFFL (Promega)». Resultados: En el análisis de equilibrio Hardy Weinberg, no se obtuvieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en 18 de 19 marcadores Short Tandem Repeat autosómicos analizados en la población de Bucaramanga. El único marcador que mostró no estar en equilibrio Hardy Weinberg en la población de Bucaramanga fue el F13B (valor de significancia de p=0.00264, después de aplicar la corrección de Bonferroni). Discusión: Las poblaciones representadas en los seis estratos socioeconómicos mostraron alta diversidad genética intragrupos, que ratificó una alta variabilidad entre los individuos de la ciudad de Bucaramanga, acorde con el bajo valor de F STentre distintos grupos, determinado en el análisis molecular de varianza con base en frecuencias alélicas observadas para los 19 Short Tandem Repeat analizados. Conclusión: La alta diversidad genética y el análisis molecular de varianza mostraron una baja diferenciación entre los seis estratos socioeconómicos en la ciudad de Bucaramanga, y evidenciaron a la población como una misma unidad genética, no sub-estructurada.

Introduction: The phenomenon of substructure in the populations has been greatly analyzed for several years, and it has been focused especially on the identification and quantification of ethnic mixture present in studies of associative mapping to verify the association of polymorphic markers in the development of complex and common diseases responsible for false positives. Nevertheless, despite the recognition of this issue, there is insufficient genetic information within the national or local contexts that allow assessing the possible differentiation of population sub-groups in each particular region. Objective: To determine the genetic structure in the city of Bucaramanga through the analysis of 19 autosomal microsatellite markers in different subgroups of the population. Methodology: A total of 350 DNA samples were randomly selected from the database of the Human Genetic Laboratory at Universidad Industrial de Santander by using Epi Info version 6.04 2001. Also, 19 Short Tandem Repeat markers were amplified using «kits Powerplex® 16 and FFFL (Promega)». Results: In the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium analysis (100 steps in Markov chain and 1000 dememorization steps), no statistically significant differences in 18 out of the 19 analyzed STRs markers in the population of Bucaramanga were obtained. A unique marker that proved not present in HWE in the population of Bucaramanga was the F13B (for a significance value of p=0.00264, after applying the Bonferroni correction). Discussion: The populations represented in the six socioeconomic levels presented high genetic diversity intragroups, which ratified the high variability among the individuals in this city according to the low value of FST for different groups, determined via the molecular analysis of variance based on the allelic frequencies observed for the 19 analyzed Short Tandem Repeats. Conclusions: The high genetic diversity, as well as the analysis of molecular variance displayed low divergence for each of the six socioeconomic levels in the city of Bucaramanga. Therefore, it is suggested that this population is an equivalent genetic unit and not substructured.

The haplotypes of seven Y-chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, and DYS393) were determined in a sample of 634 healthy Brazilian males (190 adult individuals and 222 father-son pairs). The 412 adults were unrelated, and the 222 father-son pairs had their biological relationship confirmed using autosomal STRs (LR > 10,000). Among the 412 adults, a total of 264 different 7-loci haplotypes were identified, 210 of which were unique. The most frequent haplotype was detected in 31 instances, occurring with a frequency of 7.52%. The haplotype diversity index was calculated as 98.83%. Upon transmission of the 1,554 alleles, in 222 father-son pairs, six mutations were observed, with an average overall rate of 3.86 x 10-3 per locus. A haplotype with a duplicated DYS389I locus, and another with duplicated DYS389I, DYS389II, and DYS439 loci were detected in both fathers and their respective sons.

Com a realização deste estudo pretendíamos testar a validade de um método indirecto para avaliação da gemelaridade em estudos na população portuguesa. Da pesquisa participaram 96 gémeos (45 grupos gemelares monozigóticos e dizigóticos), de ambos os sexos, dos 6 aos 12 anos de idade, e as respectivas mães biológicas, num total de 141 sujeitos. A determinação da zigotia foi efectuada com recurso a dois métodos: (1) Método indirecto, através da aplicação do questionário de Peeters et al. (1998) às mães dos gémeos; (2) Método directo, através da recolha de sangue (pequena picadela no dedo) a cada um dos membros dos grupos de gémeos e posterior análise do DNA em laboratório. A proporção global de gémeos correctamente classificados como monozigóticos e dizigóticos com recurso ao questionário foi de 97,8%. O valor do teste do qui-quadrado é altamente significativo (c²=41.053, p<0.0001), reforçado pelo teste de McNemar (p<0.0001). Face aos resultados obtidos, conclui-se que o questionário de Peeters et al. (1998) apresenta validade transcultural para avaliação da gemelaridade em estudos na população portuguesa.

This study had the purpose of testing the validity of an indirect method to assess zygosity in twin studies in the Portuguese population. The sample included 96 twins (45 monozygotic and dizygotic twin groups), of both sexes, from 6 to 12 yrs old, and their biological mothers, summing 141 subjects. Two methods were used to determine zygosity: (1) Indirectly, through Peeters et al. (1998) questionnaire filled out by the mothers; (2) Directly, through blood sampling of each twin member, and their DNA was analysed in the laboratory. Proportion of correct classification of twins as monozygotic or dizygotic through Peeters et al. (1998) Questionnaire was 97,8%. The Qui-Square test was highly significant (c²=41.053, p<0.0001), and it was reinforced by McNemar test (p<0.0001). The results allow us to conclude that Peeters et al. (1998) Questionnaire shows transcultural validity to assess zygosity in twin studies in the Portuguese Population.