Albumin Yanomama‐2, a ‘private’ polymorphism of serum albumin

Abstract

* I n a related screening effort (undertaken by Dr P. Kale, private communication) a total of 2412 of our South American Indian haemolysates were reexamined for possible electrophoretic haemoglobin variants using a cellulose acetate methodology ; no haemoglobin variants were observed.

The JC and BK human polyoma viruses appear to be recent introductions to some South American Indian tribes: There is no serological evidence of cross-reactivity with the simian polyoma virus SV40

“…42; see also ref. 43) has published a map of the distribution of the Yanomama villages contacted in our studies and has determined that a genetic cluster analysis appears to partition the Yanomama into six numbered groups, occupying contiguous geographic areas. The Yanomama appear to have expanded in a centrifugal manner both their numbers and territory in the past century; these six clusters are essentially descent groups.…”

Alloalbuminemia and the migrations of native Americans

“…It is also found a t very high frequency (0.05-0.09) among Athabascan speakers: some Navajos (Melartin et al, 1968) and the Whiteriver Apache of Arizona (Bradley and Hornbeck, 1973), the Slave and Beaver Indians of Alberta (Bowen et al, 1971) and among other Athabascan speakers in Alaska (Melartin and Blumberg, 1966a;Scott andWright, 1969, Scott, 1979). Lower frequencies, from 0.034 to 0.01, are found among other Navajos (Johnston et al, 1969;Tanis et al, 1974) and the San Carlos Apache of Arizona (Schell et al, 1978). The latter range of low AZNa frequencies also occurs among Algonkian speakers, among them Naskapi Indian communities in Labrador (Schell et al, 1978), Blackfoot (Polesky and Rokala, 1967;Rokala et al, 19761, Chippewa (Tanis et al, 19741, Cree (Bowen et al, 19711, ChippewdCree (Weitkamp, 1973), and some Ojibwa groups (Tanis et al, 1974;Polesky and Rokala, 1967;Szathmary et al, 1974) in the forested and plains areas of Canada and the United States.…”

“…Lower frequencies, from 0.034 to 0.01, are found among other Navajos (Johnston et al, 1969;Tanis et al, 1974) and the San Carlos Apache of Arizona (Schell et al, 1978). The latter range of low AZNa frequencies also occurs among Algonkian speakers, among them Naskapi Indian communities in Labrador (Schell et al, 1978), Blackfoot (Polesky and Rokala, 1967;Rokala et al, 19761, Chippewa (Tanis et al, 19741, Cree (Bowen et al, 19711, ChippewdCree (Weitkamp, 1973), and some Ojibwa groups (Tanis et al, 1974;Polesky and Rokala, 1967;Szathmary et al, 1974) in the forested and plains areas of Canada and the United States. The lowest frequencies are found among the Northern Ojibwa (Szathmary et al, 19741, some ChippewdCree (Weitkamp et al, 19681, Dogrib (Szathmary et al, 19831, Sioux (Melartin and Blumberg, 1966a), Assiniboine (Bowen et al, 19711, Pima (Franklin et al, 1980), and Hopi Indians whose blood was collected at the residential Sherman Schell et al, 1978.…”

Amino acid substitutions in inherited albumin variants from Amerindian and Japanese populations.

“…Many variants of human serum albumin (alloalbumins) that differ in charge from normal (common) albumin A have been discovered either during routine clinical electrophoresis (1) or through population genetics surveys (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Except for albumins Naskapi and Mexico-2, which reach polymorphic frequency (i.e., an allele frequency >1%) in certain North American Indian tribes (8,9), the structural change has been identified only in a few rare alloalbumins discovered by chance in individuals mainly of Caucasian origin and for whom little or no genetic data are available.…”