Genetic diversity of HLA system in two populations from Yucatán, Mexico: Mérida and rural Yucatán

Abstract

We studied HLA class I (HLA-A, -B) and class II (HLA-DRB1, -DQB1) alleles by PCR-SSP based typing in 324 Mexicans from the state of Yucatán living in the city of Mérida (N = 192) and rural communities (N = 132), to obtain information regarding allelic and haplotypic frequencies. We found that the most frequent haplotypes in the state of Yucatán include 16 Native American and one European haplotype. Admixture estimates revealed that the main genetic components in Yucatán are Native American (81.54 ± 4.99% by ML; 62.92% of Native American haplotypes) and European (11.50 ± 15.43% by ML; 23.26% of European haplotypes), and a less prominent African genetic component (6.96 ± 10.47% by ML; 5.93% of African haplotypes).

Keywords: Admixture; HLA; Immunogenetics; Population genetics; Yucatán.