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Major gene for percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin in Tibetan highlanders
Author(s) -
Beall Cynthia M.,
Blangero John,
WilliamsBlangero Sarah,
Goldstein Melvyn C.
Publication year - 1994
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.1330950303
Subject(s) - hemoglobin , saturation (graph theory) , altitude (triangle) , effects of high altitude on humans , population , oxygen saturation , allele , oxygen transport , biology , gene , adaptation (eye) , oxygen , evolutionary biology , genetics , ecology , demography , chemistry , biochemistry , anatomy , mathematics , organic chemistry , combinatorics , sociology , neuroscience , geometry
This report employs a statistical genetic approach to analyze quantitative oxygen transport variables in a high‐altitude (4,850–5,450 m) native Tibetan population and demonstrates the presence of a major gene influencing % O 2 saturation of arterial hemoglobin. This result suggests the hypothesis that individuals with the dominant allele for higher % O 2 saturation have a selective advantage at high altitude. Studies of the biologically distinctive Himalayan and Andean populations have greatly influenced thinking about ongoing human evolution and adaptation; this is the first statistical evidence for a major gene enhancing oxygen transport in a highaltitude native population. © 1994 wiley‐Liss, Inc.