Transferrin Polymorphism and Population Differences in the Genetic Variability of Chimpanzees

Genetic divergencies between chimpanzee populations, not only.between Pan panicus and Pan troglodytes but also between different groups of the latter, are revealed by typing of transferrin. In particular, differences in the incidence of polymorphic transferrins occur between the groups formed by subdividing a large captive chimpanzee colony of heterogeneous geographic origins into racial types solely on the basis of morphological traits. Genetic variability is extremely high in one of these groups, intermediate in another, and relatively low in a third, with the pattern of changing frequencies of allelic genes at the T(f) locus following the pattern of geographic distribution of the actual conspecific populations or races for which the groups are named.