The genetic demography of the Gainj of Papua New Guinea. I. Local differentiation of blood group, red cell enzyme, and serum protein allele frequencies

Abstract

Allele frequencies are reported for 19 blood group, red cell enzyme, and serum protein loci (ABO, Rh, MN, Hb-A, LDH-A, LDH-B, SOD, PGM-1, PGM-2, 6PGD, GPT, ESD, ADA, ACP, PGK, MDH, Alb, Hp, and Tf) determined from 310 blood samples collected among the Gainj, a small population of tribal horticulturalists from highland Papua New Guniea. Fourteen of these loci display genetic variants, and ten of them are sufficiently polymorphic to permit a preliminary analysis of Gainj population structure. Patterns of variation among subdivisions of the population are analyzed using an approach analogous to a multivariate analysis of variance with unbalanced design, and weighted genetic distances are extracted from the results. The distance analysis indicates that patterns of genetic variation within this population reflect the geographical distribution of subdivisions, as well as subdivision size and movement among subdivisions. A parallel analysis of the Gainj and two other tribal groups from highland New Guinea, the Murapin Enga and the Simbai Valley Maring, suggests that the Gainj are both genetically divergent from neighboring populations and internally highly differentiated.

Comparing population structure as inferred from genealogical versus genetic information

“…39 A high correlation emerged between the two independent descriptors of population structure. This study confirms early findings in populations from New Guinea 43,44 that limited population size and nonrandom mate choice (resulting in genealogical structure in the population, and ultimately in inbreeding) are indeed reflected in distributions of allele frequencies. To our knowledge, our study represents the first empirical demonstration of that finding based on a thorough comparison of DNA and genealogical data.…”

Spatial prediction of malaria prevalence in Papua New Guinea: a comparison of Bayesian decision network and multivariate regression modelling approaches for improved accuracy in prevalence prediction

“…Conditional probability tables (CPTs) were generated to quantify the relationships between explanatory variables and the outcome variable. CPTs and predicted probability of the outcome [ 39 ] were based on data entered into the model and a priori beliefs were updated through belief propagation using Bayes’ Theorem (posterior = likelihood * prior/probability of evidence) [ 25 , 28 ]. A priori beliefs relate to the logical structure of explanatory nodes in the BDN model and a priori probabilities are updated as new knowledge about the systems is obtained (observational data on which the model is learned and CPTs are produced) making them posterior beliefs [ 40 ].…”

Matrix correlation analysis in anthropology and genetics

“…Many of applications of the Mantel test and our extensions have been developed in connection with our long-term studies on gene flow and genetic differentiation in the Gainj-and Kalam-speaking populations of Papua New Guinea (Wood et al, , 1985Long, 1986;Wood, 1986Wood, , 1987Wood and Smouse, 1982;Long et al, 1986Long et al, , 1987Smouse and Wood, 1987;Smouse and Long, 1988), studies that elucidate the relationships between human population structure and their underlying demographic determinants. We have sought to explain the pattern of migration and genetic differentiation among Gainj and Kalam communities in terms of four primary demographic features; population size, endemicity (the tendency for offspring to be born in the same parish as their parents), geographic location, and the mix of the Gainj and Kalam languages spoken.…”