title: A mathematical model of sickle cell genome frequency in response to selective pressure from malaria.
abstract: Because of the relative prevalence of hereditary sickle cell disease and the auxiliary role of the sickle cell gene in reducing the mortality of malaria, it is believed that P. falciparum has exerted selection pressure on human populations to increase the prevalence of this otherwise detrimental gene. A model incorporating three genotypes and two age cohorts is used to test the hypothesis that higher death rates due to malaria can exert selective pressure to increase the prevalence of the sickle cell gene. The model displays selection pressure for the carrier gene in the presence of increasing malaria death rates for either adults or children, showing both higher final frequencies of the gene as well as shortened time to reach these frequencies.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liddell
authors.forename: Nicci
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Owusu-Brackett
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000401:mortality*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D015995:Prevalence; D012641:Selection, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*