Abstract 586
The vast majority of more than 100 molecularly identified G6PD mutants are single amino acid replacements caused by single missense nucleotide mutations. The molecularly known mutants will allow more accurate study of population movement. Taiwan, Southern China, Southeast Asia, and Southern Pacific islands were known to have a high prevalence of G6PD deficiency. We collected the mutant information from the published reports from this region. The two most common mutants in Taiwan, 1376G→T and 1388G→A, or their biochemically equivalent mutants were commonly found in Southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The third most common 493A→G mutant in Taiwan has not been found in China or overseas Chinese but is a relatively common mutant in the Philippines. This mutant is the most common one among one aboriginal group-the Siasiat in Taiwan. Two other relatively uncommon 1360C→T and 487G→A mutants in Taiwan have not been found in China. However, 1360C→T is the most common mutant in the Philippines and is also found in the Vanuatu islands in Melanesia. The 487G→A mutant is more common in other Southeast Asian countries. Another uncommon 592C→T mutant in Taiwan is the most common one in another aboriginal group-the Ami and this mutant can also be found in China and Laos. F8C/G6PD polymorphism studies are available from certain areas. Han and aboriginal groups in Taiwan have a similar pattern suggesting they might have the same ancestors. The same F8C/G6PD haplotype was found in 1376G→T mutants in the Taiwanese and the Li minority in Hainan, China. The G6PD mutant and F8C/G6PD polymorphism studies suggest that the Han and minorities of Southern China, Southeastern Asians, Han and aboriginal groups in Taiwan probably originate from the same ancestors somewhere in Southeast Asia or Southern China. Partial ancestry of the current Han population in Taiwan might come from aboriginal groups. Some aboriginal groups of Taiwan might have originally migrated from the Philippines, or Taiwan is the ancestral origin for Taiwanese aboriginal groups, Filipinos and other Southern Pacific Islanders as some recent studies suggested. G6PD deficiency is very low in Northern China and the mutants found in Southern China and Taiwan have not been reported in Northern China. The myth that the current Han population in Taiwan and Southern China were the descendants of massive migration of Northern Chinese is highly unlikely.
