Identification of a novel O allele in the Taiwanese population.

The ABO system is one of the major blood groups that have significant impact on blood transfusion and paternity testing. We have found a new ABO allele by analyses of the ABO genotype of the Taiwanese population. Exons 6 and 7 of the ABO gene were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and analyzed by direct sequencing. The results indicated that the ABO gene in the Taiwanese population consists mainly of the A1, A1v, B, O1, and O1v alleles. In addition, a novel O allele designated as OTaiwan was identified that has G --> T substitution at the nucleotide 801 of the O1 allele. The OTaiwan allele is inheritable, since it is also present in an offspring of the OTaiwan-carrying individual. The information presented herein is valuable for population research and for analyses of evolutionary lineage.