Population Genetic Study in Gypsies (Roms) from Slovakia: Distribution of Blood Group Genetic Markers

Abstract

Data are presented on the distribution of blood group genetic markers in Gypsies (Roms) from Slovakia. A high frequency of the B allele of the ABO system (0.227), and a low A/B gene frequency ratio (1.04), as well as a high frequency of the CCDee phenotype (0.471) and of the Cde haplotype (0.600) are significantly different from those of the Slovak population, and resemble closely the relevant frequencies reported from different Indian populations. The frequency of the Fy allele is also much higher (0.169) than the European standards, and implies that the motherland of Gypsies in India might have been a malaric area. The results indicate that a) the gene pool of the Gypsy population differs from that of the indigenous Europeans, b) in general, the nature of the differences is such that they support the assumption of the Indian origin of Gypsies with Northern India as an unlikely candidate, c) the interpopulation genetic variability among the European Gypsy populations is extensive and significant, and its most likely cause is genetic drift.