The dagestan gene pool: Analysis of the frequencies of classical genetic markers in Avars

Abstract

This study is part of long-term research in the gene pool of Dagestan ethnic groups. The phenotype (in percent), gene, and haplotype frequencies in three Avar populations are reported. A total of 37 alleles of 13 loci of immune and biochemical genetic marker systems (ABO, Rhesus, P, Lewis, HP, GC, C'3, TF, 6PGD, GLO1, ESD, ACP, and PGM1) have been studied. Rare haplotypes of the Rhesus system (CDE, Cde, and cdE) have been found in the populations studied. In two out of three local populations (Khunzakh and Kharakhi), a typically "Caucasoid" rare gene ACP1c of the AcP1 locus has proved to be relatively frequent (0.030 and 0.023, respectively). The frequencies of the allele variants P2, le, and Hp1 of loci of the P, Lewis, and HP systems, respectively, have been found to be lower than in other Caucasian ethnic groups and the total northern Eurasian population. The mean allele frequencies for the GC, C'3, TF, 6PGD, GLO1, and ESD systems in the populations studied are comparable wit those for both Caucasian ethnic groups and the total population of the European historical ethnographic province. Statistical analysis of the results has shown 11 cases of significant deviations of the observed phenotype frequencies from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.