42
Table 30

Distribution of Haptoglobin Types in Micronesians From Rongelap Atoil
Type 1-1

Group

All Rongelap
Selected* Rongelap

No. in

Observed

group

%

No,

176
124

33.5
33.1

59
41

Type 2-2

Expected,

Observed

No.

%

59
~

18.2
15.3

No.

Type 2-1

Expected,

Observed

No.

%

No.

31.5

47.2
30.0

83
62

O and rare types,

Expected,
No.

85.5
-

Observed
—————_—___
%

No.

.
1.6

2
2

*Family groups include only one child (see text).

B-Amino-iso-butyric Acid (BAIB) Levels. Figure
46 showsthe frequency distribution of BAIB excretion for the Rongelapese and that of a New
York City white population for comparison. The
two distributions are essentially complementary to

io

61S)

(2D

OS

MARSHALL ISLANDERS {RONGELAP)
N7168

SI

haptoglobin at one time, but have sufficient haptoglobin to permit typing at anothertime. (In this
case, the interval was 2 years.) Examination of the
ahaptoglobinemic individuals gave nosignificant
findings. With ~% of the Rongelap population
sampled,all the ahaptoglobinemic individuals fell
into one family grouping. This did not help to
elucidate the genetic pattern, except to makeit
appear unlikely that the Hp’allele, if such exists,
is not at the samelocus as the Hp' and Hp’alleles.
Oneofthe sibs of an ahaptoglobinemic was a type
2-1.

OMERICAN WHITES

SS

remote from it.
Ic is clear from the Micronesian studies that, at
least in some cases, an individual may have no

BAIB excretion values for the two (exposed, 2.07 =

SS

quencies obtained from a small sample. This is
particularly true when studving societies made up
of small isolated or semi-isolated groups which
compartmentalize the breeding community. Thus,
the Rongelapese appearto havea fairly highfrequencyof type 1-1, consistent with the general
(though not exclusive) rule that in Europe- Africa
and America the frequencyof type 1-1 is higher in
populationsliving near the equator than in those

unexposed groups showsalmost identical mean

q
ANN
SS SSS Rees
SS

trapolating to an entire population the genefre-

ny

\

The Micronesian sera studied wereall transferrin type CC, which is the common European
type.
Considerable caution must be exercised in ex-

modality with the antimodein the neighborhood
of 1.75. With this point used as the division between high and low excretors, it is estimated that
nearly 90% of the Rongelapese are high excretors.
A breakdownofthis population into exposed and

FREQUENCY (PERCENT)

in them.

one another, and, if superimposed, exhibit bi-

FREQUENCY (PERCENT)

werevisible; two of these were very faint 2-2’s, but

the fastest-moving haptoglobin band was not seen

eie

y
7 tinW

Figure 46. Frequency distributions of urinary excretion
rates of B-amino-iso-butyric acid of Marshall Islanders
(Rongelap) and U.S. whites.

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