Further evidence of an Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool on Easter Island.
Available evidence suggests a Polynesian origin of the Easter Island population. We recently found that some native Easter Islanders also carried some common American Indian (Amerindian) human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, which probably were introduced before Europeans discovered the island in 1722. In this study, we report molecular genetic investigations of 21 other selected native Easter Islanders. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome markers showed no traces of an Amerindian contribution. However, high-resolution genomic HLA typing showed that two individuals carried some other common Amerindian HLA alleles, different from those found in our previous investigations. The new data support our previous evidence of an Amerindian contribution to the gene pool on Easter Island.
Thorsby
E
E
Institute of Immunology, Rikshospitalet University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. erik.thorsby@medisin.uio.no
Flåm
S T
ST
Woldseth
B
B
Dupuy
B M
BM
Sanchez-Mazas
A
A
Fernandez-Vina
M A
MA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005788:Gene Pool; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015236:HLA-C Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011114:Polynesia
D006680:HLA Antigens; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015236:HLA-C Antigens; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; C069050:HLA-DQA1 antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains