GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG SELECTED ETHNIC SUBPOPULATIONS OF AUSTRALIA -EVIDENCE FROM 3 HIGHLY POLYMORPHIC DNA LOCI

Immigration has been the principal source of population growth in Aust ralia since European settlement began in 1788. As a result the Austral ian gene pool has been constantly evolving, particularly over the last 50 years, during which peoples from many European and Asian countries have arrived in large numbers. Three highly polymorphic DNA loci (D1S 80, HLA-DQA1, and human THO1) are used to assess the level of diversit y among six immigrant subpopulations that compose significant elements in present-day Australia, namely, Asians, Italians, Greeks, Slavs, Mi ddle Easterners, and a ''general white'' sample. Asian migrants are th e most distinctive of the groups at all three loci, possessing the hig hest frequencies of alleles HLA-DQA13 and D1S80*27, *28, and *30, and an exceptionally high frequency of THO19. The European-derived group s cluster together separately from Asians, but Greeks are characterize d by their frequencies of HLA-DQA12 and *4 and THO1*8. Middle Eastern ers lie on the fringe of the European cluster. When the results of the present study are combined with worldwide data for each of the three DNA markers, these hypervariable loci, especially D1S80 and THO1, are able to differentiate the major groups of humans, The level of populat ion differentiation revealed by R(ST) values for the three DNA markers is similar to or even less than the values recorded for the less poly morphic classical genetic markers. Therefore these three DNA markers a re highly suitable for both forensic purposes and the investigation of population relationships.