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The distribution of genetic markers and Q-band chromosomal heteromorphisms in the Kuwaiti population

This document only includes an excerpt of the corresponding thesis or dissertation. To request a digital scan of the full text, please contact the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Department (rlmlill@iu.edu). / The distribution of variants of fourteen genetic and fourteen cytogenetic markers is investigated in samples from two Bedouin tribes, the Ajman (n = 52) and the Suluba (n = 52) and from the general population of Kuwait (n = 89). Typical of the many tribal populations in the Arabian peninsula, both Ajman and Suluba are socially isolated from each other. There is little documentation on the ancestral descent of both tribes. However, oral tradition regards Ajman as a deep-rooted Arabian tribe, while the Suluba is thought by some to have originated from the followers of the Crusade camps. The validity of the history of ancestral descent of both tribes is substantiated by a comparison of the distribution of several genetic markers with those of other peninsular communities, and by genetic distance measures between them, the peninsula Arabs of the South-West, and a European population (Italians). Distance measures were calculated by two different methods. Both genetic and cytogenetic marker data obtained from the three Kuwaiti communities contribute significantly to the sparse genetic information on the peninsular populations, and illustrate the degree of genetic microheterogeniety between these communities which was brought about by some social factors that caused their isolation. Gene flow from the neighboring East African populations is evident from the allelic distribution of certain systems such as the Duffy and the Rhesus. Evidence is presented which supports the speculation regarding the prevalence of K of the Kell system and M and S of the MNSs system in the indigeneous peninsular populations. A new salivary amylase isozyrne, Amy K1, was detected in a subject of probable Asiatic Indian descent sampled in Kuwait. Q-band chromosomal heteromorphisms were scored in the three sampled Kuwaiti communities. There was no statistical significance in the differences in frequencies of these heteromorphisms between the three samples. Genetic distances between the Kuwaiti communities and others from the literature were calculated on the basis of Q-band heteromorphic loci. The distances demonstrate the pitfalls in using absolute frequencies of chromosomal variants scored by different research groups for comparative studies. Large Y chromosome was present at high frequencies in the three Kuwaiti communities and was highest among members of the Ajman tribe. This finding suggests that the prevalance of large Y may be a distinguishing cytogenetic feature of the indigenous peninsular populations. Small Y was present in the sample from the general population, but not detected in either sample from the tribal communities. The differences in frequencies of Y chromosome variants between the three sampled communities was found to be statistically significant. Investigation of the 9qh region with the G-11 technique has shown an absence of inversions, partial and complete, of this heteromorphic region in the sample from the general population of Kuwait.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/32809
Date January 1979
CreatorsAl-Nassar, Khaled Eid
Source SetsIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation

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