Red cell enzyme and serum protein gene markers in Fijians.

A total of 332 persons from three localities in the Fiji Islands have been tested for genetic variation in 24 red cell enzyme systems and 4 serum protein systems. Polymorphic variation was present at 7 red cell enzyme loci and 1 serum protein locus. The remaining systems were invariant except for a single individual with a slow variant at the GOT1 locus and another individual with a D variant at the TF locus. The series from Nandi differed significantly from the Lau Islands for gene frequencies in GPT, ACP and ESD, Koro Island differed from the other localities at the PGD locus and from Nandi for ESD. Genetic distance analysis reveals that Lau Islands cluster with Western Samoa, Koro Island with New Caledonia (Vanuatu), with Nandi being separate.