title: A silent mutation in HLA-DPB1*0101 and its evolutionary implications.
abstract: A novel HLA-DPB1 allele (DPB1*/A6) has been identified in West Africa, and the occurrence of the recently reported allele DPB1*4001 (DPB1*BRI-5) in Negroid populations has been confirmed DPB1*WA6 differs from DPB1*0101 by a silent nucleotide exchange at codon position 43 only. It constitutes, thereby, a link to DPB1*1101, *1501, and *2601 and suggests and evolutionary relationship with these alleles. Carrying the same silent mutation, DPB1*1101, *1501, and *2601 may, by recombinations, have evolved from DPB1*WA6. An apparently older evolutionary branch arose directly from DPB1*0101 and comprises the closely related alleles DPB1*2701 and DPB1*4001 reported only from individuals of African descent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schnittger
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D006682:HLA-DP Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059868:HLA-DP beta-Chains; D006801:Humans; D007988:Liberia; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D006682:HLA-DP Antigens; D059868:HLA-DP beta-Chains; C071170:HLA-DPB1 antigen