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Genetic differentiation among populations in Western New Guinea
Author(s) -
Gajdusek D. C.,
Leyshon W. C.,
Kirk R. L.,
Blake N. M.,
Keats Bronya,
McDermid E. M.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330480109
Subject(s) - new guinea , allele , biological dispersal , biology , lineage (genetic) , abo blood group system , allele frequency , evolutionary biology , geography , genetics , population , ethnology , gene , demography , history , sociology
Red cell antigen, serum protein and red cell enzyme groups were determined for a series of 1,821 individuals belonging to six language families in Western New Guinea. Three of the language families represent groupings of languages spoken by people in the swampy coastal plain of south central Western New Guinea, two belong to the Central Highlands and one to the Lake Plain area near the confluence of the Idenburg and Rouffaer Rivers. The distribution of genetic markers reveals similarities with other parts of New Guinea. The A 2 allele is absent in the ABO system, the frequency of Ns in the MNS system is very high as is the R 1 (CDe) allele in the Rh system. Hp 1 frequencies are high, and the transferrin allele Tf D 1 is present as in other parts of New Guinea. In the red cell enzyme systems several alleles were detected which are characteristic of Papuan, and in some cases other Melanesian populations: these include MDH 3 , PGK 4 , PGK 2 , PGM 9 2 , PGM 10 2 , as well as some very restricted alleles such as Peptidase B 6 and Pep B 2 . Three indices of genetic distance were computed. The most striking results are the genetic closeness of the Dani and Moni populations from the Central Highlands to the Asmat on the southern coastal plain, and the relative remoteness of the Awyu from the other south coastal populations. The results are discussed in terms of recent theories on the origin and dispersal of Papuan languages.