GENETIC-VARIATION AT THE APO-B 3' HVR, D2S44, AND D7S2I LOCI IN THE EWONDO ETHNIC-GROUP OF CAMEROON

A sample of the Ewondo population (a Bantu-speaking group of Southern Cameroon) was analyzed for the polymorphism at three tandem repeated D NA loci (ApoB 3' HVR, D2S44, and D7S21). We observed a greater number of ApoB 3' HVR alleles (17) and a significantly higher estimated heter ozygosity (.879+/-.011) than in previously surveyed populations, with the exception of U.S. Blacks. The higher genetic variability of Ewondo and U.S. Blacks was also shown by the ApoB 3' HVR allele-frequency sp ectra. A method for measuring population distances, based on cumulativ e fragment-size distribution, is described. Interpopulation comparison s for ApoB 3' HVR were carried out by this method and were compared wi th those obtained by a genetic distance measurement. The two sets of r esults showed a consistent pattern of population differentiation: the Ewondos and the U.S. Blacks clustered together and were well apart fro m both a Caucasian cluster (Swedes, U.S. Whites, Italians, and Germans ) and other well-defined populations (Sikhs of India and Pehuence Indi ans of Chile). Profile distances were then computed from D2S44 and D7S 21 binned data. This analysis indicated a genetic affinity between Ewo ndos, U.S. Blacks, and Afro-Caribbean Blacks and outlined the genetic diversity between Ewondos, Caucasians, and Asian Indians.