Australia Launches Study on Mixed Ancestry Genetics

Australians of mixed European and Asian ancestry will be recruited to fill a large gap in the world's genetic health research.

University of Queensland researchers have launched the Australian DNA Bridge Study (BRIDGE) to investigate health risks for populations with mixed genetic ancestries, unlocking key health information about common diseases including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression.

Professor Loic Yengo , from UQ's Institute of Molecular Bioscience said more than 90 per cent of all genetics health research globally has so far focused on people of European descent - who make up less than 20 per cent of the world's population.

"Some amazing discoveries have occurred in the genetics world, but scientists have not been able to apply all findings to other genetic ancestries because both DNA sequences and the environments in which they affect the risk of disease are different," Professor Yengo said.

"This means anyone of non-European descent or with mixed genetic ancestries do not have access to the same genetic health risk data that those of European descent have.

"For multi-ancestral societies like Australia, this creates a huge imbalance where people, who could benefit from early interventions, are missing out.

"This is what we hope to answer in our study - we want to translate findings to as many populations and ancestries as possible."

The first phase of the study will focus on people who have a parent of Asian descent and another of European heritage to fill out a questionnaire and provide a saliva sample.

"This is the first study of its kind that targets participants with multiple genetic ancestries," Professor Yengo said.

"Participants with mixed ancestries are often excluded from research study results because analysing their genome is a bit harder than studying people with more homogenous backgrounds.

"We have now built enough scientific knowledge to reliably analyse the genomes of individuals from mixed ancestry populations, which are a growing across the globe.

"Currently, we do not know why many genetic findings discovered in one population are not applicable in other populations and this is something we hope to find out with this study.''

Professor Yengo said European and Asian mixed ancestry were chosen for the study's first phase as it has one of the highest populations in Australia and has the potential to help bridge discoveries between European and Asian ancestry populations.

"Each of us has about 20,000 genes, and we'll be able to measure genetic expression on the European side as well as the Asian side," Professor Yengo said.

"This study will reveal true genetic differences because environmental factors - such as diet, exercise, location, socio-economic status that can also determine disease risk - will be the same in each person; the only true difference will be the genetics."

Dr Yengo said targeting people with mixed ancestries will also contribute to a longer-term goal of health prevention.

"If we can pick up health risks early enough, we can offer people intervention earlier in their lives."

The research team hopes to recruit 1000 participants over the next year for the first part of their study. The second phase will focus on another ancestry mix.

Participants who are interested in joining the study can visit the Australian DNA Bridge Study website .

Collaboration and acknowledgements

This research is funded by the Snow Medical Research Foundation through Professor Yengo's Snow Fellowship, an 8-year $8 million initiative supporting Australia's brightest scientists conducting ground-breaking, bold research.