Research on β-thalassemia in Dong people in Guizhou

  Objective   To investigate the incidence of-thalassemia and the gene variations of beta-globin in Guizhou Congjiang Dong people.

  Methods   To sample from venous blood and determine the HbF and HbA₂ by the AM-electrophoresis to riddle the heterogotes of β-thalassemia, then the blood of heterogotes were analyzed by the auto matic blood cell analyzer, DNA extracted from white blood cells with the rountine method and analysed by PCR. and RDB (reverse dot blot) hybridization.

  Results   Among the sampls, the incidence of-thalassemia carriers is 7.85%, The types of gene mutation in this area were CD_41-42 (-TCTT) (9 cases, 23%) and CD₁₇(A→T) (30 cases.77%).

  Conclusion   The incidence of-thalassemia was very high in the area and the beta-globin gene variations were different to that of the reported Chinese population, which might be related to the intra-ethnic marriage, the conglomerate family mobility and the narrow marriage radius.