Mountain pygmies of Western New Guinea: a morphological and molecular approach.

The presence of "pygmy" or pygmoid groups among New Guinea populations has been the object of scientific interest since the end of the nineteenth century. Morphological and molecular data are used here to study western New Guinea population variability, focusing in particular on two pygmoid groups living in the eastern fringe highlands of Papua: the Una and the Ketengban. Various kinds of anthropometric data are examined, as well as height, weight, and body mass index, to carry out comparisons with nearby ethnic groups living in the highland and lowland regions. The Ketengban data were also compared with other data recorded 20 years before. The results of previous research on the sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable segment 1 region and nuclear DNA nonrecombining Y-chromosome polymorphisms are presented. Both morphological and molecular studies involve adult subjects of both genders, representative of the same ethnic groups and/or geographic regions. The pygmoid groups turn out to be significantly different from all other study groups, due to their small size, as confirmed by analysis of variance, although significant height and weight increments are observed with respect to those previously recorded. However, putative neutral genetic variation estimated from mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers support a recent shared common history between these pygmoid populations and the other central Papua groups (except for the Dani-Lani). These findings suggest that the short-stature phenotype is an independent secondary adaptation, possibly driven by an iodine-deficient environment, which leaves the potential for further investigations.

Mitochondrial DNA variability of West New Guinea populations.

This paper reports human mitochondrial DNA variability in West New Guinea (the least known, western side of the island of New Guinea), not yet described from a molecular perspective. The study was carried out on 202 subjects from 12 ethnic groups, belonging to six different Papuan language families, representative of both mountain and coastal plain areas. Mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region 1 (HVS 1) and the presence of the 9-bp deletion (intergenic region COII-tRNA(Lys)) were investigated. HVS 1 sequencing identified 73 polymorphic sites defining 89 haplotypes; the 9-bp deletion, which is considered a marker of Austronesian migration in the Pacific, was found to be absent in the whole West New Guinea study sample. Statistical analysis applied to the resulting haplotypes reveal high heterogeneity and an intersecting distribution of genetic variability in these populations, despite their cultural and geographic diversity. The results of subsequent phylogenetic approaches subdivide mtDNA diversity in West New Guinea into three main clusters (groups I-III), defined by sets of polymorphisms which are also shared by some individuals from Papua New Guinea. Comparisons with worldwide HVS 1 sequences stored in the MitBASE database show the absence of these patterns outside Oceania and a few Indonesian subjects, who also lack the 9-bp deletion. This finding, which is consistent with the effects of genetic drift and prolonged isolation of West New Guinea populations, lead us to regard these patterns as New Guinea population markers, which may harbor the genetic memory of the earliest human migrations to the island.

Trace elements in human scalp hair and soil in Irian Jaya.

Pb, Cd, and Ni contents were determined in the scalp hair of the Asmat of Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea) on 35 adult subjects. These data are presented together with those of Al, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zn and Sr, which were determined in previous research on the same group. Hair samples were analyzed by EDXRS and ICP. Trace elements were also determined in 12 soil samples from the same area by EDXRS (Al, Si, K, Ca, Fe) and ICP (Cu, Sr, Ti), and by AAS (Cd, Ni, Pb). When hair element levels are compared and discussed with those of other New Guinea populations, acculturated and nonacculturated tropical groups, populations from Western countries and from polluted areas, and "recommended levels" in the literature, they greatly exceed Western levels and generally fit those of other New Guinea populations, stressing the importance of common environment, subsistence, and behavior. The results of soil analyses are consistent with the presence of those elements in hair, and their quantitative distribution follows a common trend. Metal mobility in soil, patterns of absorption, and transfer from soil to plants and to humans are considered here.

Update of MmtDB: a Metazoa mitochondrial DNA variants database.

The present paper describes the improvements in MmtDB, a specialised database designed to collect Metazoa mitochondrial DNA variants. Priority in the data collection has been given to Metazoa for which a large amount of variants is available, e.g., for humans. Starting from the sequences available in the Nucleotide Sequence Databases, the redundant sequences have been removed and new sequences from other sources have been added. Value-added information is associated to each variant sequence, e.g., analysed region, experimental method, tissue and cell lines, population data, sex, age, family code and information about the variation events (nucleotide position, involved gene, restriction site gain or loss). Cross-references are introduced to the EMBL Data Library, as well as an internal cross-referencing among MmtDB entries according to tissual, heteroplasmic, familiar and aplotypical correlation. Furthermore MmtDB has a new section, AMmtDB: Aligned Metazoan mitochondrial biosequences. MmtDB can be accessed through the World Wide Web at URL http://WWW.ba.cnr.it/[symbol: see text]areamt08/MmtDBWWW.htm

MmtDB: a Metazoa mitochondrial DNA variants database.

The present paper describes the structure of MmtDB-a specialized database designed to collect Metazoa mitochondrial DNA variants. Priority in the data collection is given to the Metazoa species for which a large amount of variants is available, as it is the case for human variants. Starting from the sequences available in the Nucleotide Sequence Databases, the redundant sequences are removed and new sequences from other sources are added. Value-added information are associated to each variant sequence, e.g. analysed region, experimental method, tissue and cell lines, population data, sex, age, family code and information about the variation events (nucleotide position, involved gene, restriction site's gain or loss). Cross-references are introduced to the EMBL Data Library, as well as an internal cross-referencing among MmtDB entries according to their tissual, heteroplasmic, familiar and aplotypical correlation. MmtDB can be accessed through the World Wide Web at URL [see text].