GENETICS OF THE CHUETAS (MAJORCAN JEWS) - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY

A study of the Chueta population has been carried out to establish the genetic relationships between the Chuetas and other Jewish and non-Je wish circum-Mediterranean populations and to identify which markers di scriminate better between these populations. The analyses used were pr incipal components analysis, factorial analysis of correspondences, an d stepwise discriminant analysis, The results indicate that most of th e Jewish communities resemble each other and other Middle Eastern popu lations, because of their common origin, but they also have affinities with their host peoples. The results also agree with those of most re searchers in the importance of G6PD, FY, and MN as geographic markers and in the role of HP, GLO1, and Rh as indicators the Middle Eastern o rigin of the Jews but differ with respect to the geographic pattern of ABO. Moreover, the Jewish origin of the Chuetas remains evident in th eir genetic pool, although they resemble their neighboring populations more than other Jewish populations. Finally, HP, G6PD, ABO and Rh are the most important variables in determining the position of the Chuet as with respect to other Jewish and non-Jewish populations.