Gm and Km immunoglobulin allotypes in Reindeer Chukchi and Siberian Eskimos.

Blood samples from 403 Reindeer Chukchi of inland Chukotka, and 100 samples from Chaplin Eskimos of the Chukot Peninsula were tested for G 1 m (z,a,x,f), G2m (n), G3m (g,b0,b1,b3,b5,s,t), and Km (1) allotypic determinants. An apparent affinity between the Chukchi and the Eskimos could be inferred from similar frequencies of the two common haplotypes, Gmza;g and Gmza;bst, and from very similar frequencies of the Km1 allele. However, none of the Eskimos had Gmzax;g, though it occurred at a low or moderate frequency in the five Chukchi populations studied. It is assumed that Chukchi can be distinguished from adjoining Eskimos by the same G1m (x) outlier, that has been considered as a taxonomic marker useful in differentiating between Eskimos and American Indians. Comparison of North Asian and North American populations with respect to the array and frequencies of Gm haplotypes and the Km1 allele, supports the hypothesis of a nonrandom distribution of the Gmza;bst and Km1 on both sides of the Bering Strait.