Lewis (FUT3) genotypes in two different Chinese populations.

The allelic frequencies of the alpha (1,3/4)fucosyltransferase gene (FUT3) in two different Chinese populations (138 individuals in Shenyang and 154 in Guangzhou) were investigated using PCR-RFLP and nucleotide sequencing methods. The common alleles in the Oriental population, Le (wild type allele), le59,508 (with the mutations at nucleotide (nt) 59T-->G and nt 508G-->A) and le59,1067 (with the mutations at nt 59T-->G and nt 1067T-->A) were encountered, and also the rare alleles, le1067 (with the mutation at nt 1067T-->A) and Le59 (with the mutation at 59T-->G), were observed in these Chinese populations. In addition, the common allele in Caucasians, le202,314 (with the mutations at nt 202T-->C and nt 314C-->T), was found in the Oriental population for the first time. The allelic frequencies of the Le, Le59, le59,508, le59,1067, le202,314, and le1067, were 0.750, 0.011, 0.145, 0.054, 0.036, and 0.004 in the Shenyang population and 0.675, 0.026, 0.14, 0.123, 0.026, and 0.010 in the Guangzhou population, respectively. The presence of the alleles containing either the 59 mutation (Le59) or the 1067 mutation (le1067) suggested that the allele le59,1067 may have originated by recombination between them.