M.S. Candidate: Yavuzhan Çakır
Program: Bioinformatics
Date: 23.07.2024 / 15:00
Place: A-212

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has underscored the need to understand the genetic factors influencing disease susceptibility. This study aims to elucidate the association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and COVID-19 susceptibility in the Turkish population, utilizing patients from the Hacettepe University Hospital. This study adopts a data-driven approach to identify and analyze SNPs linked to COVID-19 susceptibility. Employing next-generation sequencing, we systematically compiled and analyzed SNP data from diverse scientific publications, focusing on patients treated at the Hacettepe University Hospital in Türkiye. The analysis included variant calling, linkage analysis, and statistical comparisons with non-Finnish European allele frequencies. Key findings suggest variants (rs17860115, rs2298659, rs2298661, rs4290734, rs9271609, rs2532300, rs34624090, rs61299115, and rs56106917) exhibit different frequencies compared to the European population, suggesting potential genetic predispositions affecting disease susceptibility in the hospitalized population in Türkiye. Linkage disequilibrium analysis highlighted strong correlations between specific genetic loci, indicating inherited patterns. The study highlights significant genetic variations associated with COVID-19 susceptibility among the Turkish population, differing from European allele frequencies. These findings emphasize the importance of considering genetic diversity in public health strategies and enhance our understanding of the genetic factors that may influence disease susceptibility and severity. Further research with larger cohorts is recommended to validate these associations and explore their implications for disease management and prevention strategies.