Abstract
We analyzed DNA polymorphisms in the <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-globin gene cluster of 30 sickle cell anemia patients from Belém, the capital city of the State of Pará, in order to investigate the origin of the <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>S mutation. Sixty-seven percent of the <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>S chromosomes were Bantu type, 30% were Benin type, and 3% were Senegal type. The origin of the <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>S mutation in this population, estimated on the basis of <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>S-linked haplotypes, contradicts the historical records of direct slave trade from Africa to the northern region of Brazil. Historical records indicate a lower percentage of people from Benin. These discrepancies are probably due to domestic slave trade and later internal migrations, mainly from northeastern to northern regions. Haplotype distribution in Belém did not differ significantly from that observed in other Brazilian regions, although historical records indicate that most slaves from Atlantic West Africa, where the Senegal haplotype is prevalent, were destined for the northern region, whereas the northeast (Bahia, Pernambuco and Maranhão) was heavily supplied with slaves from Central West Africa, where the Benin haplotype predominates.
Highlights
Analysis of polymorphic restriction sites in the beta-globin gene cluster has revealed five geographically specific haplotypes linked to S
Data from Curtin (1969) about the African slave trade revealed that 2,876,800 slaves were imported into Brazil during 1701-1810 and 1817-1843, 73% of whom were from Bantu-speaking Africa (Angola, Congo and Mozambique), 26% from Central West Africa (Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra), and a small group from Atlantic West Africa (Senegambia and Guine-Bissau)
Historical data include more detailed information about slaves brought directly from different parts of Africa to different regions of Brazil. These data suggest that about 90% of the slaves imported into northern Brazil were from Angola, Congo and Mozambique, where the Bantu haplotype predominates (Öner et al 1992, Lavinha et al 1992), whereas about 10% of them were from Atlantic West Africa (Senegambia, Guine-Bissau, and Cape Verde), a region where the Senegal haplotype is prevalent (Lavinha et al, 1992; Sow et al, 1995)
Summary
Analysis of polymorphic restriction sites in the beta-globin gene cluster has revealed five geographically specific haplotypes linked to S. From 1775 to 1815 the Atlantic slave trade brought about 53,000 slaves imported directly from Africa to the northern region of Brazil, most of them from Bantu Africa (Angola, Congo and Mozambique), with a small percentage from Senegambia, Guine-Bissau and Cape Verde (Curtin, 1969; Vergolino-Henry and Figueiredo, 1990). Another important source of the S mutation in Belém was internal migration from the northeastern region of Brazil. The frequency of the bS gene in the Belém population is 0.016 (Ayres et al, 1976), and the proportion of black admixture, estimated using different genetic markers and methods, is from 15 to 33% (Guerreiro and Chautard-Freire-Maia, 1988)
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