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Fertility and haemoglobin genotypes: A population study in upper Assam (India)

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Summary

The Kachari in upper Assam, a Bodo tribe whose language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family, have a 0.5 frequency of the haemoglobin E gene (HbβE), the highest prevalence of an abnormal haemoglobin gene so far reported. In view of this high prevalence, the reproductive performance of 200 Kachari couples with different Hbβ genotypes and the prereproductive mortality of their offspring were examined. The differences of relative fertility observed were very small and there was no differential mortality of children. These findings indicate that at present there is no selection at the haemoglobin β-chain locus in the Kachari population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Dibrugarh University, 786004, Dibrugarh, Assam, India

    Ranjan Deka

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  1. Ranjan Deka
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Deka, R. Fertility and haemoglobin genotypes: A population study in upper Assam (India). Hum Genet 59, 172–174 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293071

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293071

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