Sistonen P, Virtaranta-Knowles K, Denisova R, Kucinskas V, Ambrasiene D, Beckman L
Finnish Red Cross Transfusion Service, Helsinki, Finland.
Hum Hered. 1999 Jun;49(3):154-8. doi: 10.1159/000022864.
Archaeological findings and historical records indicate frequent migrations and exchange of genetic material between populations in the Baltic Sea area. However, there have so far been very few attempts to trace migrations in this area using genetic markers. We have studied the Baltic populations with respect to exceptional variations in the frequencies of the Landsteiner-Wiener (LW) blood group. The frequency of the uncommon LWb gene was high in the Balts, around 6% among Latvians and Lithuanians, very low among the other western Europeans (0-0.1%) and apparently absent in Asiatic and African populations. From the Baltic region of peak frequency there was a regular decline of LWb incidence (a descending cline) in the neighboring populations: 4.0% in the Estonians, 2.9% in the Finns, 2. 2% in the Vologda Russians, and 2.0% in the Poles. Thus the distribution of LWb suggests considerable and extensive Baltic admixture, especially in the north and northeast direction. In Southern Sweden with an LWb frequency of 0.3%, the Baltic influence appeared slight, while in the population of the Swedish island Gotland in the middle of the Baltic Sea there was a significantly increased LWb frequency of 1.0% compared with that of Western European countries. The distinction of codominantly inherited LW antigenic forms, LWa and LWb (previously Nea), is known to be due to a single base substitution. Based on our population data, it is plausible that the expansion of this point mutation occurred only once during human history. Furthermore, our data indicate that the expansion of the LWb mutation occurred in Balts and that LWb can be considered a 'Baltic tribal marker', its presence in other populations being an indicator of the degree of Baltic genetic influence.
考古发现和历史记录表明，波罗的海地区各人群之间频繁发生迁徙和基因物质交换。然而，迄今为止，利用基因标记来追踪该地区迁徙情况的尝试非常少。我们针对兰斯泰纳 - 维纳（LW）血型频率的异常变化，对波罗的海地区人群进行了研究。不常见的LWb基因在波罗的海人群中的频率较高，在拉脱维亚人和立陶宛人中约为6%，在其他西欧人群中非常低（0 - 0.1%），在亚洲和非洲人群中显然不存在。从LWb频率最高的波罗的海地区开始，相邻人群中LWb的发生率呈规律性下降（下降梯度）：爱沙尼亚人为4.0%，芬兰人为2.9%，沃洛格达俄罗斯人为2.2%，波兰人为2.0%。因此，LWb的分布表明波罗的海地区存在大量且广泛的基因混合，尤其是在北方和东北方向。在瑞典南部，LWb频率为0.3%，波罗的海地区的影响似乎较小，而在波罗的海中部的瑞典哥特兰岛人群中，LWb频率为1.0%，与西欧国家相比显著增加。已知共显性遗传的LW抗原形式LWa和LWb（以前称为Nea）的区别是由于单个碱基替换。根据我们的群体数据，这种点突变在人类历史上仅发生过一次是合理的。此外，我们的数据表明，LWb突变在波罗的海人群中发生了扩散，并且LWb可被视为一种“波罗的海部落标记”，它在其他人群中的存在是波罗的海基因影响程度的一个指标。
