A population study for the F13B locus was carried out in a total of 396 Sou
th American individuals. The analysis comprised new data from 5 Amerindian
populations, existing data from 3 Amerindian populations, and 1 urban sampl
e from La Plata, Argentina. In both pooled Amerindian and La Plata samples,
6 alleles were found. The individual Amerindian samples showed a lower num
ber of alleles, changes in modal alleles, and restricted variability. Inter
population comparisons revealed significant differences among samples from
distinct geographical regions. Differences among the groups were also corro
borated by the F-ST statistic. Data support the hypothesis that genetic dri
ft and gene flow influence Amerindian differentiation.