Gene frequencies and admixture estimates for ABO, Rho (D), and MN blood groups in persons with mono- and polyphletic surnames in monterrey, N.L., Mexico.

Abstract

A sample of 3,211 males and females insured by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (I.M.S.S.) residing in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA), northeastern Mexico, were selected by their monophyletic or polyphyletic surnames. ABO, Rho (D), and MN blood groups were determined, and phenotype and gene frequencies were estimated to study the genetic variation among populations with these surnames, to estimate the genetic contribution from their most important ancestral populations, both Spanish and Mexican Indians, and to compare genetic structure with other populations that have been reported from this MMA and other urban centers in Mexico with the hypothesis that the persons with monophyletic surnames are the closest descendants of the founders, who colonized the MMA between 1577 and 1596, and that they still conserve some degree of genetic isolation. The results indicate that the selected persons with monophyletic surnames are the closest to the Spanish, supporting the above hypothesis; on the other hand, persons with polyphyletic surnames are the closet to other Mestizo populations from central Mexico and the Mexican Indians. Hybrid persons with one monophyletic and one polyphyletic surname are closer to the monophyletics due to the fact that 90% of these polyphyletics originated in northeastern Mexico. It is concluded that, at present, the Mestizo population from the MMA is integrated by two subpopulations, one with monophyletic and the other with polyphyletic surnames. It is suggested that due to an increase in migration in Mexico, the Mestizo genetic structure of the MMA population will slowly become more uniform. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.