Frequencies of cystic fibrosis mutations in the Maine population: High proportion of unknown alleles in individuals of French-Canadian ancestry

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common severe autosomal recessive disorders in Caucasian populations. A mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene causes this disorder. Reported here is the first analysis of CF mutations in the Maine population. We have screened 263 CF chromosomes for 16 previously reported mutations. Analysis of DNA from 124 apparently unrelated CF patients and 15 obligate carrier parents (whose partner and affected child were unavailable for study) resulted in the identification of 91% of the CF alleles and complete genotyping of 85% of the patients. The frequencies (%) of these mutations in the Maine population are Delta F508 (75% of the chromosomes), G85E (0.76), R117H (0.76), I148T (1.1), 621+1G-->T (1.1), 711+1G-->T (3.0), A455E (1.1), 1717-1G-->A (1.1), G542X (1.9), G551D (1.9), R560T (0.76), Y1092X (0.38), W1282X (0.38), and N1303K (1.5). The exon 10 mutation, Delta I507, and the exon 11 mutation, R553X, were not observed. Surprisingly, whereas only 5% of the alleles remain unidentified in the non-French population, the unidentified proportion in the French population is 19%. CF testing for the Maine population will be further improved as the as yet unidentified CF mutations in this population are characterized.