A study of the polymorphism and ethnic distribution differences of human serum paraoxonase

The enzyme serum paraoxonase shows a polymorphism in Europeans which is governed by two alleles. The first allele has a gene frequency plow of 0.716–0.777, and is manifested as a low activity group in homozygotes. More than 50% of all European test subjects can be included in this group. A second allele with a gene frequency qhigh of 0.223–0.284 was found in typical European distributions and is manifested in both the form of a second heterozygotic and a third homozygotic group with high activities. The Hardy-Weinberg rule for a two-allele model is valid for the distribution. The gene frequency plow of the first allele decreases as one moves from Europe in the direction of Africa and Asia. …