A prevalent Y;15 translocation in the Ethiopian Beta Israel community in Israel.
We describe 7 cases of abnormal karyotypes involving chromosomes Y and 15 in Ethiopian Beta Israel patients: 46,XX, der(15)t(Y;15)(q12;p12) and 46,XY,der(15)t(Y;15)(q12;p12). Six cases were incidentally found in amniocentesis performed for various indications; the indication for karyotyping in 1 case was recurrent abortions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this translocation in a specific ethnic group. We conclude that the derivative chromosome 15 with chromosome Y is probably a normal variant in Ethiopian Beta Israel occurring at an estimated frequency of 4/74 (5.4%). The prenatal diagnosis of this translocation in this population probably does not require further parental testing.
The Clinical Genetics Institute, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, and The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. rakefetsh @ clalit.org.il
R
R
Chen-Shtoyerman
S
S
Josefsberg Ben-Yehoshua
R
R
Nissani
J
J
Rosensaft
Z
Z
Appelman
D000328:Adult; D002884:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007557:Israel; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D014178:Translocation, Genetic