The Distribution in Human Populations of Electrophoretic Variants of Cytoplasmic Malate Dehydrogenase

Abstract

Numerous populations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the West Indies and New Guinea, totalling 9,282 individuals, have been surveyed for the incidence of electrophoretic variants of cyto plasmic malate dehydrogenase. The presence of a fast variant in New Guinea has been confirmed and homozygotes detected for the first time. A slow variant, previously known only from a single American Negro family, has been found in 3 out of 298 Ethiopians. No variants were found in 2,618 other Africans or in any other of the populations tested.

The Nubians of Kom Ombo: Serum and Red Cell Protein Types

“…The Est D1 gene fre quency in Nubians (0.737) is quite different from that observed for Black (0.902) and Caucasian (0.902) populations by H o pk in so n et al [10], but quite similar to that observed in an Indian population sampled by the same authors (0.773). The high frequency of Est D1 in the West African population was also observed by W elch [23], While data on populations which neighbor on the Nubians here studied are sparse, the frequencies which we encounter for 6PGD, G6PD, PGM, and to a lesser extent AK are very similar to those seen in the Sudanese Beja, a nomadic pastoral people who live between the Nile and the Red Sea [9,14].…”

Red Cell Antigen, Serum Protein and Red Cell Enzyme Polymorphisms in Eastern Highlanders of New Guinea

“…Blake et al [1970] reported soluble MDH var iants among the Fore and Agarabe peoples, and also from Wewak in the Sepik District. The pre sent authors [Leakey et al, 1972;Booth et al, 1982] In the present studies, AD A2 frequency appears highest in the Eastern Language Family, being 0.24-0.29, while in the East Central Groups the range is 0.08-0.17. The Highland AD A2 values are notably higher than those of the coastal popu lations reported, but it is hoped that further work will clarify the position.…”

Variants of Soluble and Mitochondrial Malate Dehydrogenase in the Hawaiian, Nigerian and Swedish Populations

“…Nor has the S-MDH 2-1 phenotype been observed in any other population so far studied with the exception of the Amhara popu lation in Ethiopia [H arrison et al, 1969], The new phenotype S-MDH 4-1 is very rare; only one case was found among several thousand samples tested. The only S-MDH gene which could be regarded as polymorphic is S-MDH3, which has been found in relatively high frequencies (2% and more) in certain tribes in New Guinea [Blake et al, 1970;L eaky et al, 1972], Davidson and Cortner [1967b] found a deviating phenotype of M-MDH in 5 out of 523 white Americans investigated. This deviating phenotype here referred to as M-MDH 2-1 was not observed in the different Caucasian populations studied but in 2 out of 132 placentae from Nigeria.…”