抄録
There are three common alleles (A, B, and O) at the human ABO blood group locus which codes glycosyltransferase. The polymorphisms of the ABO blood group are also observed in wide variety of primates. The difference of the glycosyltransferase activity between human A and B enzymes is due to the two amino acid differences. The same amino acid differences are observed for A and B alleles in non-human primates. We determined 19 sequences of chimpanzee, 8 sequences of bonobo, and 2 sequences of Japanese macaque ABO blood group gene for exon 3 and intron 6 (ca 1.7kb). We also determined 3 sequences of Japanese macaque ABO for exon 7 (ca. 0.5kb). We compared those data with published sequences of other hominoids and Old World monkeys. It was suggested that the type changes between A and B occurred independently in the both lineages of the hominoids and Old world monkeys. The alleles A and B appeared to be polymorphic in the ancestral species of macaques, while the different B type allele evolved independently in baboon lineage.
