title: Beta-globin gene haplotypes and alpha-thalassemia analysis in Babinga pygmies from Congo-Brazzaville.
abstract: We analyzed beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes and deletional alpha+-thalassemia (-alpha3.7kb) in 54 Babinga pygmy subjects from Congo-Brazzaville. The beta(S)-globin gene frequency was 0.065 and that of the deletional alpha-globin gene (-alpha3.7kb) was 0.29. Eighty-five percent of the beta(S) chromosomes and 13% of the beta(A) chromosomes were associated with the Bantu haplotype, 10% of beta(A) chromosomes with the Senegal haplotype, and the remaining beta chromosomes with atypical haplotypes. None of the chromosomes were of the Benin haplotype. These results are clearly of anthropological and evolutionary interest. They also support earlier observations that alpha+-thalassemia is prevalent at a high frequency in African populations.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherches en Génétique Moléculaire et Hématologie, INSERM U474, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mouélé
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bodo
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Mpelé
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feingold
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galactéros
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003223:Congo; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005914:Globins