Professor Jim Wilson at the University of Edinburgh and Prof Gianpiero Cavalleri at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in Dublin have secured funding from the Science Foundation Ireland to look at fine-scale population genetic structure in the British Isles.  

They are part of a consortium that is using new methods in the analysis of DNA that allow very fine-scale population genetic structure to be discerned.  This has been successfully applied to English and Welsh samples in the People of the British Isles study (S. Leslie et al, Nature 2015).  Samples from Ireland have shown novel geographic structure and they are now working on extending the database to include Scotland (including islands such as Lewis, Skye, Shetland) and the Isle of Man to enable a comprehensive description of Britain and Ireland.

Prof Wilson has been sent 40 random anonymised samples from the ELSPAC IOM participants to look at the population structure of the island and add the data to this huge and important database.  His aim is:

1. To see whether the Manx samples cluster with one another to the exclusion of other population samples.
2. To see if Manx cluster groups are similar to other population groups.
3. Do the Manx samples differ in their continental European ancestry from other British and Irish genetic groups?

Why is this type of research important?

We know that certain genes are responsible for specific diseases and disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, asthma and obesity and that some disorders occur more commonly, or only, in some ethnic groups (e.g. Sickle-cell anaemia in people of African and Mediterranean descent, cystic fibrosis in those of European descent and Tay-Sach’s disease in Ashkenazi Jews).

If a cluster of a certain disease, say bronchitis, was noted in a specific area, then scientists can examine the environment – is it prone to rain and cold; the home environment – are the people living in poor, damp housing; is there a high level of cigarette smoking in that population; do more people in that area carry the bronchitis gene and whether their ancestry makes them more prone to chest infections.  The results can inform government policy and health interventions that target sub-groups of the population.

Reference

Leslie S, Winney B, Hellenthal G, et al.  The fine-scale genetic structure of the British population.  Nature 2015; 519:309-314