Population studies in northern Sweden. VIII. Ethnic heterogeneity and prenatal selection in the esterase D polymorphism.

The esterase D polymorphism was studied in samples of red cells from different populations and in extracts of chorionic tissue from abortuses and placentae at term. No frequency differences were found between Finns, Lapps, and Swedes. The high frequency of the ES D2 gene previously observed among Lapps was not confirmed in this study. The distribution of ES D phenotypes was very similar in spontaneously aborted fetuses, newborns and adults, hence there was no evidence for prenatal selection operating in this polymorphism.