Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T12:03:10.032Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diagnosis of Twin Zygosity by Self-Assessment and by Genetic Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

M.-C. King ,
G. D. Friedman ,
D. Lattanzio ,
G. Rodgers ,
A. M. Lewis ,
M. E. Dupuy  and
H. Williams
M.-C. King*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, San Francisco
G. D. Friedman
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Methods Research and, Kaiser Foundation Institute, Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California
D. Lattanzio
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, San Francisco
G. Rodgers
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, San Francisco
A. M. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Methods Research and, Kaiser Foundation Institute, Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California
M. E. Dupuy
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, San Francisco
H. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and International Health, University of California, San Francisco
*
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

For 173 pairs of like-sex adult twins, self-assessment of zygosity was verified by laboratory diagnosis. Seventeen percent of twins who were very likely monozygous (MZ) believed themselves dizygous (DZ), frequently citing two placentas at their delivery as “evidence.” We suggest that twins be asked what leads them to their assessment of their own zygosity. For 93% of Caucasian and 89% of American Black like-sex twins in our sample, DZ twins could be differentiated based on six polymorphic markers retrievable from frozen sera. MZ twins who believe themselves DZ can be considered “environmentally DZ, genetically MZ” twins, and might be used to study genetic and environmental influences on the treatment of twins and on twins' choices of social characteristics.

Keywords

Zygosity determinationGenetic analysisGenetic markersTwin studies
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , April 1980 , pp. 121 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1980

References

REFERENCES

1.Alper, CA, Boenisch, T, Watson, L (1972): Genetic polymorphism in human glycine-rich beta-glyco-protein. J Exp Med 135:68–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Alper, CA, Rosen, FS (1976): Genetics of the complement system. Adv Hum Genet 7:144–148.Google ScholarPubMed
3.Cederlöf, R (1966): “The Twin Method in Epidemiological Studies on Chronic Disease.” Stockholm: Institute for Hygiene, Karolinska Institute, 71 pp.Google Scholar
4.Chen, S, Giblett, E, Anderson, JE, Possum, BL (1972): Genetics of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase. Ann Hum Genet 35:401–409.Google ScholarPubMed
5.Emery, AEH (1976): “Methodology in Medical Genetics.” New York: Churchill Livingstone, 157 pp.Google Scholar
6.Feinleib, M, Garrison, RJ, Fabsitz, R, Christian, JC, Hrubec, Z, Borhani, NO, Kannel, WB, Rosenman, R, Schwartz, JT, Wagner, JO (1977): The NHLBI twin study of cardiovascular disease risk factors: Methodology and summary of results. Am J Epidem 106:284–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Friedman, GD, Lewis, AM (1978): The Kaiser-Permanente Twin Registry. In Nance, WE, Allen, G, Parisi, P (eds): “Twin Research: Biology and Epidemiology.” New York: Alan R. Liss, pp 173–177.Google Scholar
8.Gaines, RE, Elston, RC (1969): On the probability that a twin pair is monozygotic. Am J Human Genet 21:457–465.Google Scholar
9.Giblett, ER (1969): “Genetic Markers in Human Blood.” Oxford: Blackwell, 629 pp.Google Scholar
10.Harvald, B, Hauge, M: Hereditary factors elucidated by twin studies. In Neel, JV, Shaw, MW, Shull, WJ (eds): “Genetics and the Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases.” Publication No. 1163, USPHS, Washington DC, pp 61–76.Google Scholar
11.Hopkinson, DA, Mestriner, MA, Cortner, J, Harris, H (1973): Esterase D: A new human polymorphism. Ann Hum Genet 37:119–137.Google Scholar
12.Jablon, S, Neel, JV, Gershowitz, H, Atkinson, GF (1967): The NAS-NRC twin panel: Methods of construction of the panel, zygosity diagnosis, and proposed use. Am J Human Genet 19:133–161.Google Scholar
13.Kompf, J, Bissbort, S, Gussman, ND, Ritter, H (1975): Polymorphism of red cell glyoxylase I: Anew genetic marker in man. Humangenetik 27:141–143.Google Scholar
14.Kueppers, F, Chistopherson, MJ (1978): Alpha-antitrypsin: Further genetic-heterogenity by isoelectric focusing. Am J Human Genet 30:357–365.Google Scholar
15.Maynard Smith, S, Penrose, LS (1955): Monozygotic and dizygotic twin diagnosis. Ann Hum Genet 19:273–289.Google Scholar
16.Merritt, DA, Rivas, ML, Bixler, D, Newell, R (1973): Salivary and pancreatic amylase: Electrophoretic characterizations and genetic studies. Am J Human Genet 25:510–522.Google Scholar
17.Mourant, AE, Kopec, AC, Domaniewska-Sobczak, K (1976): “The Distribution of the Human Blood Groups and Other Polymorphisms,” Ed 2. London: Oxford University Press, 1055 pp.Google Scholar
18.Nichols, RC, Bilbro, WC Jr (1966): The diagnosis of twin zygosity. Acta Genet 16:265–275.Google ScholarPubMed
19.Race, RR, Sanger, R (1975): “Blood Groups in Man,” Ed. 6. Oxford: Blackwell, 659 pp.Google Scholar
20.Sarna, S, Kaprio, J, Sistonen, P, Koskenvuo, M (1978): Diagnosis of twin zygosity by mailed questionnaire. Hum Hered 28:241–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Scarr, S (1968): Environmental biases in twin studies. In Vanderberg, SG (ed): “Progress in Human Behavior Genetics.” Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.Google Scholar
22.Schanfield, MS, Gershowitz, H, Ohkura, K, Blackwell, RQ (1972): Studies on the immunoglobulin allotypes of Asiatic populations. III. Gm and Inv allotypes in Chinese. Hum Hered 22:138.Google Scholar
23.Steinberg, AG (1969): Globulin polymorphisms in man. Annu Rev Genet 3:25.Google Scholar