KHMERS OF CAMBODIA - A COMPARATIVE GENETIC-STUDY OF THE POPULATIONS OF SOUTHEAST-ASIA

A sample of the Khmer population from Cambodia has been examined for 3 0 single-gene characters (10 blood groups and 20 serum and red cell sy stems). A locus-by-locus comparison suggests that the Khmers differ si gnificantly in several systems from the populations of Eastern India a nd China. There is remarkable heterogeneity among their geographical n eighbors. To elucidate the genetic relationship of the Khmer, genetic data were collected from various published and unpublished sources, an d different multivariate analyses were performed. The analyses show th at the Khmers definitely show closer affinity for the neighboring popu lations of Thailand and Malaysia. The Chinese population not only show s a close relationship to the Khmers, but also consistently stays clos e to the populations of the Southeast Asian peninsula. The present-day Khmers are genetically distant from the population of Eastern India, but the analyses do not totally exclude gene flow from Eastern India. It is, therefore, concluded that the original gene pool of Khmers may have derived from China, being modified by mixing with the local and I ndian migrant populations. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.