In Nature Genetics this week, researchers from the Haplotype Reference Consortium report on a reference panel of more than 64,000 SNPs that was constructed using whole-genome sequence data from 20 studies of individuals of mostly European ancestry. The resource, the authors write, enable accurate genotype imputation at minor allele frequencies as low as 0.1 percent and a significant increase in the number of SNPs tested in association studies. It can also be used to help to discover and refine causal loci. GenomeWeb has more on this study here.
Also in Nature Genetics, a team led by scientists from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine published a study that sheds new light on emergence in Africa of two clades of Salmonella Enteritidis that cause life-threatening enterocolitis, and are phenotypically and genotypically different from the less dangerous strains found in the industrialized world. By performing a whole-genome sequence analysis of 675 isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis from 45 countries, the investigators discovered isolates of the bacteria that were geographically restricted to particular regions of Africa and which display a number of unique characteristics including changing host adaptation, different virulence determinants, and multidrug resistance. The researchers stressed the need for further study into the environmental reservoirs and transmission of the pathogens. GenomeWeb also covers this study here.