Genetic variation at the ApoB 3 ' HVR minisatellite locus in the Mbenzele Pygmies from the Central African Republic

This study analyzes the polymorphic minisatellite ApoB 3' HVR in the Mbenzele Prgmies from the Central African Republic. A total of 14 alleles was observed, with frequencies ranging fi om 0.020 (19, 21, 27, and 45 repeat unit allleles) to 0.210 (37 repeat unit allele). Departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was not statistically significant. The estimated heterozygosity was 0.874 +/- 0.016. Taking data from the literature into consideration, the results support the hypothesis that the Africans are different from non-Africans due to greater ApoB 3' HVR genetic diversity and a unimodal profile of ApoB 3' HVR allele frequency distribution. Interpopulational relationships were also analyzed using an Fs, based genetic distance. The results highlight the similarity between the Mbenzele Pygmies and Bantu-speaking groups (Ewondo and Zulu), and the divergence between the Mbenzele and San, the two groups which are often considered to be the most direct descendants of proto-Africans. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.