© Kamla-Raj 2002                                                                       Int J Hum Genet, 2(4): 255-260 (2002)

Genetic Variation of Serum Proteins among the Koch
sub-populations of West Bengal, India

M. K.  Das¹,  K. Das²  and  S. S. Mastana³

1. Kothari Medical Centre, Kolkata, India

2. Anthropology and Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute,

Kolkata, India

3. Human Genetics Lab., Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University,

Loughborough, UK

Key Words Koch; Boro Deshi; Chhoto Deshi; West Bengal; serum proteins.

Abstract  The phenotype and allele frequency distribution of group specific component (GC), transferrin (TF), alpha-1-antitrypsin (PI) and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) was determined by isoelectric focusing of plasma samples from three subpopulations (Boro-Deshi-Dinajpur District, Boro-Deshi-Malda District, and ChhotoDeshi-Malda District)  of the Koch Scheduled castes of West Bengal. An appreciable level of allele frequency variation was observed in populations, which highlighted social and geographical isolation among these subpopulations and which is also compatible with the ethnohistory of the groups studied. Average heterozygosity for these IEF subtype systems was high (46-61%)  and gene diversity among these population groups was of low to moderate range (1.5%). Overall analysis showed that these polymorphisms are useful anthropological markers for micro-evolutionary and genetic structure studies.

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