Gene admixture in the Costa Rican population.

The general population of Costa Rica has sometimes been considered to be the product of an amalgamation of groups of diverse origin. To determine the magnitude of accumulated admixture since Spanish colonization, 11 classic genetic markers were analyzed in a total of 2196 individuals originating from five distinct regions of the country. A maximum likelihood approach was used.

[Analysis of various classical genetic markers in the Costa Rica population].

A study of several loci blood groups (ABO, Diego, Duffy, Kell, Kidd, Lewis, Lutheran, MNSs, P, Rhesus and Secretor), and Hp serum protein was carried out on a sample of 2,196 unrelated Costa Rican individuals of both sexes. Data was classified and analyzed according to geographic regions. Gene frequencies and the goodness of fit to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were estimated by the maximum likelihood method.