Linkage for BMI at 3q27 region confirmed in an African-American population

Significant and suggestive linkage for BMI on 3q27 has been reported by several groups, including our own study in African Americans. To further establish the linkage evidence on 3q27, we recruited an independent African-American sample comprising 545 individuals in 128 families. We genotyped 15 short tandem-repeat markers evenly spaced in the 112 cM region around the peak on 3q27 identified in our earlier study. Multipoint linkage analysis by GENEHUNTER2 gave the maximum logarithm of odds (LOD) score 2.4 at map position 188 cM in this sample. When we combined the two samples, linkage evidence was increased to a maximum LOD score (MLS) of 4.3 (point-wise P = 4.34 x 10(-6)) at 188 cM, with a 7 cM 1-LOD-drop interval around the peak. The multiple replications of linkage evidence in the region on 3q27 strongly confirm its potential importance as a candidate region in the search for obesity-related genes.