The High Frequency of the Hb B₂ Variant in the Herero Population: A Founder Effect?

Abstract

The β-globin gene cluster haplotype associated with the δ-globin variant Hb B₂ was determined in Herero individuals from six different families, in order to establish whether founder effect was responsible for the high frequency of this variant in the population. The electrophoretic detection of Hb B² was confirmed at the molecular level by polymerase chain reaction, followed by Cfo I digestion. The haplotype associated with the Hb B² chromosome was determined in two families, and was shown to be the same. In the remaining four families the haplotypes could not be established conclusively, but were consistent with the haplotype observed in the other two families. The high gene frequency of Hb B₂ is thus likely to have resulted from founder effect.