Study of differential patterns of gene expression in mixed Brazilian individuals using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and genomic analysis

• Grant number: 23/01039-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: February 29, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Human and Medical Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Iscia Teresinha Lopes Cendes
• Grantee: Thais Crippa de Oliveira
• Supervisor: Gosia Trynka
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI), England
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/01017-0 - Multiomics analysis in Neuroscience, BP.PD

Abstract

Genetic ancestry has long been recognized as a key topic in population genetics. Knowing this, the genetic diversity of Latin American populations derives from the significant genetic contributions of Native American, European, and Sub-Saharan African populations. These historical events have resulted in the presence of heterogenous ancestral blocks in admixed populations. However, as the mixed populations of Latin America have different proportions of genetic ancestry, using these populations as a reference for Brazilian populations can lead to spurious results and interpretations. Moreover, due to the size and heterogeneous ancestries of the Brazilian population, different ancestral proportions likely occur in different geographic regions of the country because of demographic events.Furthermore, ancestry has been shown to be an influential factor that must be modeled or controlled for omics studies, including studies of the human transcriptome. In this project, the functional effect of different haplotypic blocks within each individual will be evaluated, using a computational structure for identifying and classifying ancestral haplotypes and, with the scRNA-seq PBMC cell's data integrated with the genotyping data from 20-30 brazilian individuals, the effects will be mapped of genetic variants in gene expression in immune system cells. Therefore, these data can be used to understand better the influence that ancestral haplotypes may have on gene expression, and eventually on disease phenotypes. (AU)