Gene Frequencies and Admixture Estimates in Four Mexican Urban Centers

We studied 202 individuals from the city of Leon in Guanajuato state, 228 from Merida, Yucatan, 220 from Oaxaca, Oaxaca, and 257 from Saltillo, Coahuila, to learn the distribution of the ABO, MN, Rh, and Duffy blood groups, serum haptoglobin, albumin, and factor Bf types, and red cell hemoglobin and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase types. With the gene frequencies obtained, we performed admixture measurements with a maximum likelihood method, obtaining a trihybrid model for black, Indian, and white ancestry with the following proportions: 0.084, 0.513, and 0.403 in Leon; 0.059, 0.512, and 0.429 in Merida; 0.018, 0.676, and 0.306 in Oaxaca; and 0.073, 0.547, and 0.380 in Saltillo. The general pattern has high Indian ancestry followed by white and black ancestry. This pattern is congruent with most other studies performed in Mexico, including the east coast, where Indian ancestry predominates despite a clear increase in the black contribution.