title: Red cell enzyme polymorphisms in the Yoruba.
abstract: In this study are presented the results of an investigation of variation in 17 red cell enzyme systems in the Yoruba, a Negro population of western Nigeria. Nine of the systems were found not to be polymorphic. The other eight systems revealed a close resemblance to the Negroes of Southern Africa, and a marked contrast with the San ('Bushmen'). The Yoruba have a history of many centuries of urbanization, while the Southern African Negroes have only recently begun to inhabit large towns. It would appear not only that the polymorphisms investigated are irrelevant to adaptation to urban conditions, but also that no selective forces, and very little drift, has operated on them since the remote ancestral separation of the populations. These results also suggest that the Khoisan contribution to the Southern African Negro gene pool might not be as uniform or as considerable as might be supposed.
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000235:genetics; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase / Q000235:genetics; D000263:Adenylate Kinase / Q000235:genetics; D000353:Africa, Southern; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000235:genetics; D044383:Black People; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000235:genetics; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D004950:Esterases / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D010733:Phosphoglucomutase / Q000235:genetics; D010734:Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D010734:Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000263:Adenylate Kinase; D004950:Esterases; D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D010450:Endopeptidases; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases; D010733:Phosphoglucomutase