The HK/LK polymorphism of erythrocyte cation content in two wild species of east African bovids: demonstrated in wildebeest but not in African buffalo

Concentrations of K and Na were determined in erythrocytes from wildebeest and African buffalo resident in Tanzania. The object was to determine if these species possess the HK/LK polymorphism which is typical of other bovid species, but not of other mammals. The polymorphism is characterized by individuals that are either of the HK phenotype (high K and low Na concentrations in red cells) or LK phenotype (low K and high Na concentrations in red cells). Wildebeest were shown to be polymorphic, with the distribution of phenotypes resembling that in domestic cattle. By contrast the polymorphism was not found in the African buffalo; all 59 individuals examined exhibited the HK phenotype. This was unexpected, since the polymorphism has been observed in five divergent bovid species, including two species (water buffalo and domestic cow) that are closely related to the African buffalo, and classified in the same subfamily (Bovinae). The most parsimonious interpretation of this pattern is that the trait was lost from the African buffalo after species in the Bovinae diverged. The biological significance of the HK/LK polymorphism, and reasons for its presence or absence among species in the Bovidae, remain obscure.