ABSTRACT
The HLA system is highly polymorphic and commonly used as a marker to understand core
population genetical aspects such as stratification, human migration, predisposition to diseases and
tissue transplantation compatibility. Although HLA alleles are generally treated as equidistant molecular
units in population genetic studies, the diversity of DNA allelic frequencies among populations is also
considered to be crucial to interpret the observed HLA polymorphisms. This study compares the
variation of HLA DRB1 alleles across various subgroups of both Indian and African Populations, using
their respective allelic frequencies. The HLA DRB1 allelic frequencies for 3,153 individuals of 32
subgroups of both Indian and African populations, were collected from the Allele Frequency Net
Database (AFND). Correlation matrix and Grid diagram were compiled using the R statistical package.
Allele frequencies were analyzed for the respective population subgroups using XLSTAT. The North
East Indian populations were completely devoid of HLA DRB1* 16, which is fairly present in south
Indian populations. The South Indian populations harbor both HLA DRB1* 10 and HLA DRB1* 15 at
relatively higher levels but are very scarce of HLA DRB1* 07, HLA DRB1* 09, HLA DRB1* 12 and
HLA DRB1* 13. The alleles HLA DRB1* 03, HLA DRB1* 04 and HLA DRB1* 07 could represent an
epicenter for the admixture of African, North-East Indian and South Indian populations.
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