New recombinant HLA-B alleles in a tribe of South American Amerindians indicate rapid evolution of MHC class I loci.
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.
Watkins
D I
DI
Harvard Medical School, New England Regional Primate Research Center, Southborough, Massachusetts 01772.
McAdam
S N
SN
Liu
X
X
Strang
C R
CR
Milford
E L
EL
Levine
C G
CG
Garber
T L
TL
Dogon
A L
AL
Lord
C I
CI
Ghim
S H
SH
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
D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I