Heterozygote advantage in Tay-Sachs carriers?
Chi-square analyses of new data as well as data previously reported by Myrianthopoulos have shown that grandparents of Tay-Sachs carriers die from proportionally the same causes as grandparents of noncarriers. It is unlikely that there is any advantage to being a Tay-Sachs carrier insofar as resistance to tuberculosis is concerned. Our results are further evidence to support Fraikor's claim that the high carrier frequency of the allele in Ashkenazi Jews is probably caused by a combination of founder effect, genetic drift, and differential immigration patterns.
D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007585:Jews; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D013661:Tay-Sachs Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*