Genetic admixture in three Mexican Mestizo populations based on D1S80 and HLA-DQA1 loci

This study compares genetic polymorphisms at the D1S80 and HLA-DQA1 loci in three Mexican Mestizo populations from three large states (Nuevo León, Jalisco, and the Federal District). Allele frequency distributions are relatively homogenous in the three samples; only the Federal District population shows minor differences of the HLA-DQA1 allele frequencies compared with the other two. In terms of genetic composition, these Mestizo populations show evidence of admixture with predominantly Spanish-European (50-60%) and Amerindian (37-49%) contributions; the African contribution (1-3%) is minor. Together with the observation that in Nuevo León, the admixture estimates based on D1S80 and HLA-DQA1, are virtually the same as those reported earlier from blood group loci, suggests that DNA markers, such as D1S80 and HLA-DQA1 are useful for examining genetic homogeneity/heterogeneity across Mestizo populations of Mexico. The inverse relationship of the proportion of gene diversity due to population differences (G_st) to within population gene diversity (H_s) is also consistent with theoretical predictions, supporting the use of these markers for population genetics studies. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:257-263, 2002.