For vegetarians and vegans, this trait may not matter much, but for all the seafood lovers out there, being allergic to shrimp closes a lot of doors.
Food allergies are everywhere today (milk, eggs, and peanuts are among some of the most common triggers), and they can be fatal. It goes without saying that knowing about your allergy is vital to your health, and fortunately, there's a way to do that without trial and error.
In a group of Japanese individuals, a genome-wide association study identified a specific gene locus on the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR/DQ gene that put individuals at greater risk of shrimp allergy. The HLA genes are important because HLA molecules have been tied to many food-related allergies such as peanut, and there is a growing body of evidence for its associations with allergic reactions to ragweed, birch pollen, and ryegrass. Read more about it here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29348432
Is shrimp allergy written into your DNA? Check Genomelink if you want to find out!
