title: New recombinant HLA-B alleles in a tribe of South American Amerindians indicate rapid evolution of MHC class I loci.
abstract: Evidence suggests that the New World was colonized only 11,000-40,000 years ago by Palaeo-Indians. The descendants of these Palaeo-Indians therefore provide a unique opportunity to study the effects of selection on major histocompatibility complex class I genes over a short period. Here we analyse the class I alleles of the Waorani of South America and the Zuni of North America. Four of the Waorani HLA-B alleles were new functional variants which could be accounted for by intralocus recombination. In contrast, all of the Zuni HLA-A and -B molecules were present in caucasians and orientals. This suggests that the new Waorani HLA-B variants arose in South America. The description of four new HLA-B alleles in the Waorani and another five new HLA-B alleles from two other tribes of South American Amerindians indicates that the HLA-B locus can evolve rapidly in isolated populations. These studies underline the importance of gathering genetic data on endangered native human populations.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, New England Regional Primate Research Center, Southborough, Massachusetts 01772.
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: McAdam
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Strang
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Milford
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dogon
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ghim
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000235:genetics; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I