MAJOR GENE FOR PERCENT OF OXYGEN-SATURATION OF ARTERIAL HEMOGLOBIN IN TIBETAN HIGHLANDERS

This report employs a statistical genetic approach to analyze quantitative oxygen transport variables in a high-altitude (4,850-5,450 m) native Tibetan population and demonstrates the presence of a major gene influencing % O-2 saturation of arterial hemoglobin. This result suggests the hypothesis that individuals with the dominant allele for higher % O-2 saturation have a selective advantage at high altitude. Studies of the biologically distinctive Himalayan and Andean populations have greatly influenced thinking about ongoing human evolution and adaptation; this is the first statistical evidence for a major gene enhancing oxygen transport in a high-altitude native population. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.