Comparison of German population data on the apoB-HVR locus with other Caucasian, Asian and Black populations

A population study of 505 unrelated individuals from Southwestern Germany was carried out on the 3′-apoB hypervariable region (HVR). After amplification via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and agarose gel electrophoresis, 15 different alleles and 47 genotypes were observed. The most common alleles were hypervariable elements (HVE) 37 and 35 with an allele frequency of 0.374 and 0.244, respectively. The heterozygosity index was calculated to be 78.4%. Allele frequencies of this study are compared with results from other databases obtained from a French, a Spanish, an Asian and an American (Black) population.