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Genetic variation of the Y chromosome in five Chibchan tribes (Bribri, Cabecar, Guaymi, Huetar, and Teribe) of Costa Rica and Panama was analyzed using six microsatellite loci (DYS19, DYS389A, DYS389B, DYS390, DYS391, and DYS393), the Y-chromosome-specific alphoid system (alphah), the Y-chromosome Alu polymorphism (YAP), and a specific pre-Columbian transition (C-->T) (M3 marker) in the DYS 199 locus that defines the Q-M3 haplogroup. Thirty-nine haplotypes were found, resulting in a haplotype diversity of 0.937. The Huetar were the most diverse tribe, probably because of their high levels of interethnic admixture. A candidate founder Y-chromosome haplotype was identified (15.1% of Chibchan chromosomes), with the following constitution: YAP-, DYS199*T, alphah-II, DYS19*13, DYS389A*17, DYS389B*10, DYS390*24, DYS391*10, and DYS393*13. This haplotype is the same as the one described previously as one of the most frequent founder paternal lineages in native American populations. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that the between-population variation was smaller than the within-population variation, and the comparison with mtDNA restriction data showed no evidence of differential structuring between maternally and paternally inherited genes in the Chibchan populations. The mismatch-distribution approach indicated estimated coalescence times of the Y chromosomes of the Q-M3 haplogroup of 3,113 and 13,243 years before present; for the mtDNA-restriction haplotypes the estimated coalescence time was between 7,452 and 9,834 years before present. These results are compatible with the suggested time for the origin of the Chibchan group based on archeological, linguistic, and genetic evidence.

The racial admixture of a target population can be ascertained by quantifying the contribution to the genetic pool of each of its components (ancestral populations), which could be two, three or more. The racial admixture is of importance for the understanding of results derived from biomedical and anthropological studies. The main objective of this investigation is to determine the population frequencies of genetic systems ABO and Rh and to use these data to calculate the racial admixture of the country and of each sample province, fitting a trihybrid model. To achieve this, the Krieger method, implemented by the computer program Mistura 3, was applied to phenotypic data of systems ABO and Rh in a sample of 4,202 subjects born in seven provinces. In the general population of Panama, 38.72% of genes from the genetic pool have an African origin, 35.87%, an Amerindian origin and 25.40%, a Caucasian origin. In the province of Cocle we found a contribution of 16.47% of African genes, 55.25% of Amerindian genes and 28.28% of Caucasian genes. The province of Colon presents 69.34% of African genes, 25.00% of Amerindian genes and 5.65% of Caucasian genes. In contrast, Chiriquí presents 5.56% of African genes, 50.63% of Amerindian genes and 43.80% of Caucasian genes. The province of Herrera is characterized by the following proportions: 58.45% African genes, 28.44% Amerindian genes and 13.11% Caucasian genes. In the province of Los Santos there is a 62.29% African contribution, a 14.35% Amerindian contribution and a 22.72% Caucasian one. In the province of Panama there is a 57.01%, 26.25% and 16.74% contribution of African, Amerindian and Caucasian genes, respectively. Finally, in Veraguas a contribution of 18.59% of African genes, 44.29% of Amerindian genes and 37.12% of Caucasian genes was found.

The genetic diversity of nine Amerindian tribes (Boruca, Bokota, Bribrí, Cabecar, Guatuso, Guaymí, Huetar, Kuna and Teribe) from Costa Rica and Panama were analyzed using 48 loci of enzymatic systems, blood groups and serum proteins. The average heterozygosity (H) and the frequency of polymorphisms (P) for this assemblage are relatively low (H = -0.055; P = 0.217). The genetic differentiation within tribes is also low with the exception of the Cabecar (Gst = 0.049). However it is high between tribes (Gst = 0.073). These populations have some racial admixture and negro and caucasian genes are present in different frequencies (1-30%) depending on their ecological and cultural background. Mating systems and random genetic drift should explain these results. In a broad sense the genetic diversity of these Chibchan tribes are similar to others from South America which use different languages.

We have found, in this first genetic study of a supposedly admixed Panamanian population, that the cultural group known as "cholos of Coclé" constitute a trihybrid mixture, whose genetic pool has the following composition: 44% Amerindian, 38% Caucasoid and 18% Negroid. Similarly, we have detected Amerindian genes, such as LDHB--Gua and TFchi, in proportions that relate this population with the extant Ngawbé (Guaymí). Nevertheless, the very high frequency of variant PEPA--KUN seems to indicate the genetic contribution of Amerindian populations from Eastern Panama, possibly from the extinct indigenous group cueva. This variant is frequently found among the present-day Kuna, but has not been detected among Nagawbé and Buglé.

Diego blood group was studied in 141 Amerindian and Eskimo tribes from Alaska and Canada. Twenty six tribes (18%) did not show the Di-a antigen and 20 tribes (77%) were of the Chibcha linguistic Phyla. In the past, the Di-a absence has been related to several ecological factors such as climate and the presence of clines. I advance an alternative explanation regarding the loss of the Di-a allele in the Chibcha genetic divergence which occurred 6000-7000 years ago, as a consequence of random processes and not of natural selection. It is postulated that the Di-a allele is absent in this Amerindian groups only, and that the presence of the antigen in four tribes (Boruca, Ica, Kuna and Sumo) is due to gene flow across neighboring groups of different languages which carry the Di-a antigen.

There is evidence that Amerindians have continuously occupied the lower Central American Isthmus for as long as 10,000 years. There remains some doubt about the relationships of these original colonizers to the resident peoples of this zone at the time of European contact (approximately A.D. 1500). We present new genetic data for up to 48 genetic loci for 570 members of six Chibcha-speaking tribes of lower Central America--the Boruca, Bribri, Cabecar, and Guatuso of Costa Rica and the Kuna and Teribe of Panama--and delineate the genetic affinities among the various groups (these six tribes and the Guaymi and Bokota) of lower Central America. We convert standard genetic distance metrics into a form that is linear with the effective time since divergence, and we compare the genetic distances with linguistic distances for the same groups (r = .74, P less than .001). Geographic affinity accounts for some of the genetic divergence among groups (r = .49, P less than .084) and for some of the linguistic divergence (r = .53, P less than .037), but the correspondence between geographic position and taxonomic affinity is not high. We combine all of the genetic and linguistic data to construct a synthetic overview taxonomy of the lower Central American Chibcha. Both the genetic and linguistic data exhibit hierarchical organization of tribal groups, showing a general east-to-west pattern of grouping, with greater affinities between close neighbors. The presence of private genetic variants of some antiquity within the region and their absence outside the zone, coupled with the essential absence of the DI*A polymorphism of mongoloid origin that is widespread outside the zone, argue for a relatively isolated development of the Central American Chibcha. Our results do not support the old view of lower Central America as a frontier between more advanced cultures to the north and south. Any such explanation would require recent waves of migration from outside the region, migration that is not compatible with either the genetic or linguistic data or with the archaeological history of the region.

New genetic data on 40 red cell enzymes, antigenic blood groups, and serum proteins representing 42 separate loci, are reported for two Guaymi communities in Southeastern Costa Rica. These two settlements, Limoncito and Abrojo, are of recent origin, having been established by Panamanian migrants in the last 50 years. Detailed data on the provenance of these migrants permits an analysis of how these settlement patterns differ from those typical of less acculturated Amerindians from the lowlands of South America. The genetic compositions of these two communities are compared with those of previous Panamanian Guaymi samples, and several points are established: (1) One of the localities, Limoncito, contains families from both Guaymi dialect groups (eastern and western), and the allelic frequencies are intermediate between those of the dialect groups. (2) The other settlement, Abrojo, is quite similar to the western Guaymi, as expected from historical reconstruction of its antecedents. (3) In general, the degree of infratribal genetic diversity is less than that found in lowland South American tribes, and the difference may be due to a diffuse settlement pattern among the Guaymi. (4) The Guaymi are also compared genetically with other tribes in low Central America and northern South America, and appear to be similar to their immediate Chibcha neighbors to the east and west. The implications of a pair of "private polymorphisms" are discussed in the context of the time of dialectic and tribal divergence in this zone.

Some anthropological and genetic features of the Guaymi Amerindian group of Costa Rica and Panama are described in an ecological context. The fission-fusion phenomenon and the lineal effect are present; however, there are some important differences in relation to other hunter gatherer indian groups. These adaptation patterns are important for the genetic structure and evolution of the Guaymi Amerindians in the Intermediate Zone.

Sparteine sulfate (50 mg) was administered to 170 Cuna Amerindians, 142 of whom were unrelated, and the drug and its dehydrometabolites were determined in the 0- to 12-hour urine samples. The log10 of the metabolic ratio was unimodally, but not normally, distributed and showed the following values: mean -0.21 +/- 0.26, median -0.24, limits -0.73 and 0.76, skewness 1.00, and kurtosis 4.95. On the basis of these results, it can be concluded that there are no deficient metabolizers in the Cuna sample population studied. However, the similarity of the skewness found between the Cuna sample population studied and the extensive Canadian white group, as well as an inflection point at 6.3 U in the former's probit plot, suggests the existence of at least two subgroups congregating within the same single mode in the frequency distribution curve. The use of the inflection point is discussed thoroughly, concluding that although it does not allow exclusion of the existence of genotypically different subgroups, the limitations of the data do not permit its use to determine the number of heterozygotes and thus the existence of polymorphism. The possibility of an isozyme variant, consistent with the general genetic structure of Amerindians, as suggested by the coexistence of two subgroups within the unimodal curve, is entertained.