DRD2 TaqI A polymorphism in Eastern Uttar Pradesh population

Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) encoded by DRD2 gene, is located on chromosome 11q22-23. Dopamine plays the central role in motivation, cognition, and reward seeking behaviour. Its dysfunction is implicated in numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders including drug abuse, schizophrenia, ADHD etc. The TaqI A polymorphism is localized 9.8 kb downstream from DRD2 gene in exon 8 of protein kinase gene (ANKK1). It is a SNP demonstrated to cause Glutamate to Lysine substitution at 713 amino acid residue in putative binding domain of ANKK1. Due to the central role of dopamine in reward seeking behavior, DRD2 TaqI A loci is a suitable candidate for investigation of molecular basis of addiction. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the frequency of DRD2 TaqI A polymorphism in Eastern Uttar Pradesh population. 3ml blood samples were collected from 50 individuals randomly selected from Eastern UP. Written informed consent along with profile detail was taken from each subject prior to blood sample collection. DRD2 TaqI A polymorphism analysis was done by PCR-RFLP method. Genomic DNA was extracted from each collected blood samples and amplified using DRD2 Taq1 region specific primers. PCR amplification produced 310bp long amplicon which was digested with Taq I enzyme for polymorphism analysis. In case of A2 allele, Taq1 enzyme cleaved 310bp long fragment into two fragments of 180bp and 130bp. In case of A1 allele, a C to T substitution demolished the restriction site of Taq1, so amplicon of A1 allele remained uncut. In total 50 sample analyzed in present study, A2/A2, A2/A1 and A1/A1 genotype were found in 12, 32 and 06 samples respectively. The genotypic frequencies of mutant homozygous (A1/A1) is 0.12, heterozygous (A2/A1) is 0.64 and normal homozygous (A2/A2) is 0.24. The allelic frequency of A1 is 0.44 and of A2 is 0.56. In conclusion, the results of present study suggests that in TaqI A polymorphism of DRD2 gene, the frequency of allele A2 is higher than that of A1 allele in population of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.