GENETICS OF NATURAL VARIENTS. V. ABO AND SICKLE CELL GENES IN BHARIA TRIBE OF MADHYA PRADESH

The paper presents investigations on 88 individuals of primitive tribe “Bharia “ who inhabit one of the strangest habitat in the deep valleys in Satpura ranges. Besides 259 Bharia relatives and low caste community members residing within the distance of 30 kilometres have also been investigated for ABO and Sickle cell frequencies along with estimation of inbreeding levels from each sample. Estimates of twinning frequencies have also been worked out.

Inbreeding coefficient on Bharia sample from Pataikot is the highest recorded for any tribe yet sicklers have lowest preponderance (2.5% to 4.5%). AB genes also show one of the highest frequencies ever recorded from this country. Gradial risi in B gene is also apparent. Extensive studies are needed.