Caprine blood groups. 1. The B system

Twelve of 24 monospecific caprine reagents produced by absorption of alloimmune antisera identified a complex blood group system of goats which was designated B, based on the results of a small comparison test with ovine reagents. The frequencies of the 12 B factors differed significantly among the Australian Angora, Texan Angora, Cashmere, and Dairy goat breeds. Three of the antigens detected by the reagents were shown to be related as linear subtypes, designated Ba₁, Ba₂, and Ba₃, and inherited as alleles. The segregations of B factors in 80 sire groups involving 1086 offspring demonstrated that groups of B factors (phenogroups) segregated as products of allelic genes. This work was supported by a grant from the Australian Stud Book, Alison Road, Randwick, New South Wales 2031, Australia.     

The A-B-O blood groups of baboons

A new series of 188 baboons, Papio papio, Senegal, have been tested for the human type A-B-O groups with the following results: 2 group O, 27 group A, 93 group B and 66 group AB. This distribution fits the Hardy-Weinberg formula perfectly, using the allele frequencies O = 10.3%, A = 29.0%, and B = 60.8%. Up to date, five series of baboons comprising a total of 684 animals have been tested for their A-B-O groups. On these 684 baboons, from three different species, only three belonged to group O. Nevertheless, there is convincing indirect evidence that in most of the baboon species tested so far the frequency of gene O is about 10%. There are significant differences in the distribution of the blood groups in the various baboon species, comparable to the differences in racial distribution of the A-B-O blood groups in man, e.g., the frequency of gene A ranges from 18.2% in Papio ursinus, South Africa, to 48.3% in Papio cynocephalus. The usefulness of the methods of population genetics, viz, allele frequency analysis, for studies of blood groups in primates is demonstrated. The differences and similarities between the A-B-O blood groups in man and baboons are discussed.     

The Ap-Bp blood groups of baboons

Four isoimmunized baboons each produced isoantibodies defining a number of blood factors of baboon blood of which two, A^p and B^p, have been most intensively studied. The two blood factors determine the A^P-B^P blood group system which, judging from its serological behavior, may be the baboon analogue of the human M-N system and the chimpanzee V-A-B system. Tests for A^P-B^P types of 592 baboons showed striking differences in the distributions of the four types among the four sub-species, Papio cynocephalus, Papio anubis, Papio ursinus (South Africa) and Papio papio (Senegal). The baboon A^P-B^P types could also be demonstrated by tests on the red cells of geladas (Theropithecus gelada). If one assumes inheritance by multiple allelic genes, then the existence of only a single gene O^p need be invoked for Papio ursinus, three alleles O^p, A^p and B^p for Papio cynocephalus and Papio anubis, but four alleles for Papio papio including an allele, very frequent in that subspecies, which determines an agglutinogen having both blood factors A^p and B^p.