HLA Genes and Haplotypes in Ryukyuans Suggest Recent Gene Flow to the Okinawa Islands

Document Type

Article

Authors

Yoko Hatta, University of Tokyo
Jun Ohashi, University of Tokyo
Tadashi Imanishi, Center of Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
Haruo Kamiyama, Okinawa Red Cross Blood Center
Masaharu Iha, Okinawa Red Cross Blood Center
Tsuyoshi Simabukuro, Okinawa Red Cross Blood Center
Atsuko Ogawa, Japanese Red Cross Central Blood Center, Tokyo, Japan
Hidenori Tanaka, Japanese Red Cross Central Blood Center, Tokyo, Japan
Tatsuya Akaza, Japanses Red Cross Central Blood Center, Tokyo, Japan
Takashi Gojobori, Venter of Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
Takeo Juji, Japanese Red Cross Central Blood Center, Tokyo, Japan
Katsushi Tokunaga, University of Tokyo

Abstract

Polymorphism of HLA genes was investigated in a population sample of Ryukyuans living on the main island of Okinawa (n — 197), in the southwestern islands of Japan. Serological typing was applied to class I loci (HLA-A, -B, and -C) and to HLA-DRB1; nucleotide sequence-level typing was performed using PCR microtiter plate hybridization and PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism methods. Ryukyuans showed a higher frequency of DRB1*0405 and lower frequencies of DRB1*1502 and DRB1*1302 compared with Hondo Japanese living on main islands. Principal components and phylogenetic analyses of 12 East Asian populations, including Ryukyuans, were performed based on the allele frequencies of HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1. In the principal components analysis 3 Japanese populations (Ryukyuans, Hondo Japanese, and Ainu) formed a cluster and showed the highest affinity to 2 Korean populations. In the phylogenetic tree Ryukyuans and Ainu were neighbors, but the genetic distance between them was larger than the distances between Ryukyuans and Hondo Japanese and between Ryukyuans and Korean populations. The geographic cline of the predominant haplotype in Ryukyuans, A*24-B*54-DRB1*0405, suggests that an ancestral population possessing A*24-B*54-DRB1*0405 moved into the Okinawa Islands after the divergence of Ryukyuans from the Ainu. Such a recent gene flow, probably from South China to the Okinawa Islands, is considered the major cause of difference in genetic characteristics between Ryukyuans and the Ainu.

Recommended Citation

Hatta, Yoko; Ohashi, Jun; Imanishi, Tadashi; Kamiyama, Haruo; Iha, Masaharu; Simabukuro, Tsuyoshi; Ogawa, Atsuko; Tanaka, Hidenori; Akaza, Tatsuya; Gojobori, Takashi; Juji, Takeo; and Tokunaga, Katsushi (1999) "HLA Genes and Haplotypes in Ryukyuans Suggest Recent Gene Flow to the Okinawa Islands," Human Biology: Vol. 71: Iss. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol71/iss3/4