Retraction: Population genetic analysis of Shaanxi male Han Chinese population reveals genetic differentiation and homogenization of East Asians

TL;DR

A 2020 study on the genetics of the Shaanxi male Han Chinese population was retracted due to ethical concerns about participant consent and data sharing.

Contribution

The retraction highlights issues with ethical compliance in population genetic studies involving human participants.

Findings

The article was retracted due to inconsistencies between consent documentation and the research performed.

The associated data was withdrawn to prevent potential identification of research participants.

Some authors disagreed with the retraction decision.

Abstract

Li L., Zou X., Zhang G., Wang H., Su Y., Wang M., He G. (2020). Population genetic analysis of Shaanxi male Han Chinese population reveals genetic differentiation and homogenization of East Asians. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine, 8(5), e1209. https://doi.org/10.1002/mgg3.1209

The above article, published online on 12 March 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Suzanne Hart, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. Following publication of this article, concerns were raised by a third party regarding consent and ethical approval for the research undertaken and reported in the article. The publisher and representatives of the journal's editorial board undertook a review of the consent documentation provided, against the research performed and reported in the article. The review uncovered inconsistencies between the consent documentation and the research reported; the documentation was not sufficiently detailed to resolve the concerns raised. As a result, the parties have made the decision to retract the article. In addition, consent documentation did not give approval for data associated with this article to be shared publicly. The associated data for this article has been withdrawn from the publication record following a concern that the data could be used to identify those who have participated in the research. Guanglin He, Mengge Wang, and Luyao Li responded on behalf of all the authors, who disagree with the retraction.