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Endogamy made Indians ‘vulnerable’ to genetic diseases Hyderabad, October 1 The rampant inbreeding has led to genetic mutations, thus explaining why certain diseases are concentrated only in a particular pocket of population in the country. A joint research by premier Indian and American institutions has found that the caste system existed thousands of years before the colonial rulers entered the country. Tracing the genetic history and diversity of the Indian population, the study came up with findings that have important medical implications. Many modern groups of people in India have descended from a small number of people. The scientists describe this as “founder event”- a rampant Indian practice of marrying within small group of people. “This high endogamy within the country, a practice that dates back to several thousand years, makes these pockets genetically unique. Because of this, there may be mutation in the gene that leads to various diseases,” senior scientist with Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and a lead author of the study Kumarasamy Thangaraj said. Claimed to be the largest-ever genome-scale analysis of diverse Indian groups, the research was jointly conducted by scientists from the CCMB, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, USA. The recessive hereditary diseases, the single gene disorders that occur when person carries two abnormal or malfunctioning copies of a disease causing gene, are seen among Indians who have descended from a small group of founder individuals. Thallasaemia is one such example wherein a couple carrying one abnormal and normal gene each passes on the abnormal ones to the child.The researchers say there is a certain genetic mutation specific to the Indian sub-continent, which is linked to the cardiac condition. “The study gives us an understanding why the incidence of cardiac disease is different in the Indian sub-continent from the rest of the world,” Thangaraj said. He said there were similar diseases that could be understood genetically. Similar founder events seen in other groups, such as Finns and Ashkenazi Jews are well known to increase the incidence of recessive genetic diseases. The new study predicts that the same will be true for many groups in India. “Further studies of these groups should lead to the rapid discovery of genes that cause devastating diseases, and will help in the clinical care of individuals and their families who are at risk,” said the study’s co-author David Reich, an associate professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. As part of the study, the research team analysed more than 500,000 genetic markers across the genomes of 132 individuals from 25 diverse groups, representing 13 states, all six language families, traditionally “upper” and “lower” castes, and tribal groups.The findings, published in the journal “Nature”, showed that India’s caste system is not a relic of colonialism but had existed for thousands of years.
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