Genetic studies on the Savara and Jatapu Tribes of Andhra Pradesh, India.

A total of nearly 300 persons belonging to the Savara and Jatapu tribes in the Srikakulum District of northern Andhra Pradesh have been tested for electrophoretic variation in 13 red cell enzyme systems, and also haemoglobin. The gene frequencies for the systems showing variation are within the range for other South Indian populations, and there are no significant differences between the two tribal groups investigated in this report except in the case of adenylate kinase. The Jatapu (along with the Kadar of Kerala) have the highest frequency of AK1 so far reported in India. Both the Savara and Jatapu showed a low frequency for Hb AS, and LDH-Calcutta 1 was not detected in either population.