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Allelic variation of the serotonin transporter gene polymorphic region in apes

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Abstract

To assess the change of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region that has occurred during the process of hominization, we examined the allelic variation of 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in anthropoid apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans, and gibbons, and determined the DNA sequences of the alleles in each species. All chimpanzees examined shared only the 17.5 repeat allele, while polymorphism was observed in the other apes and the 16 and 20 repeat alleles were most frequent in gorillas and orang-utans, respectively. 5-HTTLPR was highly polymorphic in gibbons and the 17 and 23 repeat alleles were most common among 5 alleles. Alleles with extra-long repeated (22 and 23) sequences were found in orang-utans and gibbons, and the alleles of these Asian apes were similar to the rhesus monkey allele.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Diversity and Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Miho Inoue-Murayama, Youko Niimi & Shin'ichi Ito

  2. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan

    Osamu Takenaka

  3. Institute of Environmental Science, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Kyoko Okada

  4. Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Ichiyo Matsuzaki

  5. National Institute of Animal Health, Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-0856, Ibaraki, Japan

    Yuichi Murayama

Authors
  1. Miho Inoue-Murayama
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  2. Youko Niimi
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  3. Osamu Takenaka
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  4. Kyoko Okada
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  5. Ichiyo Matsuzaki
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  6. Shin'ichi Ito
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  7. Yuichi Murayama
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Inoue-Murayama, M., Niimi, Y., Takenaka, O. et al. Allelic variation of the serotonin transporter gene polymorphic region in apes. Primates 41, 267–273 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02557596

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02557596

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