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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Genotyping Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Mitochondrial Genome by Pyrosequencing
Published on: February 10, 2023
Allele frequency differences of cytochrome P450 polymorphisms in a sample of New Zealand Māori
Rod A Lea1, Rebecca L Roberts, Michael R Green
1School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Rod.Lea@esr.cri.nz
Aims:
To determine the prevalence of functional alleles for drug metabolising genes in a sample of Maori and compare allele frequencies with Caucasians estimates.
Procedures:
DNA from 60 Maori volunteers was genotyped for cytochrome P450 polymorphisms--CYP2A6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6--and allele frequencies calculated and compared with Caucasian estimates.
Results:
Absolute allele frequency differences between Maori and Caucasian groups ranged from 1% to 16% for the polymorphisms tested.
Conclusions:
Functional allele frequencies of drug metabolising genes differed between Maori and European groups warranting larger general population surveys. These findings may also bear thinking about when conducting pharmacogenetic studies or clinical trials in New Zealand cohorts because patients with Maori ancestry may respond differently to certain medicines based on genotype.
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