It has been shown that the human genome contains extensive copy number variations (CNVs). Investigating the medical and evolutionary impacts of CNVs requires the knowledge of locations, sizes and frequency distribution of them within and between populations. However, CNV study of Chinese minorities, which harbor the majority of genetic diversity of Chinese populations, has been underrepresented considering the same efforts in other populations. Here we constructed, to our knowledge, a first CNV map in seven Chinese populations representing the major linguistic groups in China with 1,440 CNV regions identified using Affymetrix SNP 6.0 Array. Considerable differences in distributions of CNV regions between populations and substantial population structures were observed. We showed that ∼35% of CNV regions identified in minority ethnic groups are not shared by Han Chinese population, indicating that the contribution of the minorities to genetic architecture of Chinese population could not be ignored. We further identified highly differentiated CNV regions between populations. For example, a common deletion in Dong and Zhuang (44.4% and 50%), which overlaps two keratin-associated protein genes contributing to the structure of hair fibers, was not observed in Han Chinese. Interestingly, the most differentiated CNV deletion between HapMap CEU and YRI containing CCL3L1 gene reported in previous studies was also the highest differentiated regions between Tibetan and other populations. Besides, by jointly analyzing CNVs and SNPs, we found a CNV region containing gene CTDSPL were in almost perfect linkage disequilibrium between flanking SNPs in Tibetan while not in other populations except HapMap CHD. Furthermore, we found the SNP taggability of CNVs in Chinese populations was much lower than that in European populations. Our results suggest the necessity of a full characterization of CNVs in Chinese populations, and the CNV map we constructed serves as a useful resource in further evolutionary and medical studies.

This Web Map shows the Hong Kong Population Distribution by Ethnicity by Large Tertiary Planning Unit Group in 2021. It is a subset of the 2021 Population Census made available by the Census and Statistics Department under the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the "Government") at https://portal.csdi.gov.hk ("CSDI Portal"). The source data is in CSV format and has been processed and converted into Esri File Geodatabase format and then uploaded to Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform for sharing and reference purpose. The objectives are to facilitate our Hong Kong ArcGIS Online users to use the data in a spatial ready format and save their data conversion effort.For details about the data, source format and terms of conditions of usage, please refer to the website of CSDI Portal at https://portal.csdi.gov.hk.

This web map shows the location of Support Service Centres for Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong. It is a set of data made available by the Home Affairs Department under the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the "Government") at https://GEODATA.GOV.HK/ ("Hong Kong Geodata Store"). The source data is in XLS format and has been processed and converted into Esri File Geodatabase format and uploaded to Esri's ArcGIS Online platform for sharing and reference purpose. The objectives are to facilitate our Hong Kong ArcGIS Online users to use the data in a spatial ready format and save their data conversion effort.For details about the data, source format and terms of conditions of usage, please refer to the website of Hong Kong Geodata Store at https://geodata.gov.hk.

This layer shows the location of Community Support Teams for Ethnic Communities in Hong Kong. It is a set of data made available by the Home Affairs Department under the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the "Government") at https://GEODATA.GOV.HK/ ("Hong Kong Geodata Store"). The source data is in CSV format and has been processed and converted into Esri File Geodatabase format and uploaded to Esri's ArcGIS Online platform for sharing and reference purpose. The objectives are to facilitate our Hong Kong ArcGIS Online users to use the data in a spatial ready format and save their data conversion effort.For details about the data, source format and terms of conditions of usage, please refer to the website of Hong Kong Geodata Store at https://geodata.gov.hk.