Blood, 1955, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp. 1100-1108.
© 1955 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Gene Interaction Resulting in Suppression of Blood Group
Substance B
PHILIP LEVINE 1,
ELIZABETH ROBINSON 1,
MARINO CELANO 1,
OLIVE BRIGGS 1, and
LEROY FALKINBURG 1
1 Division of Immunohematology, Ortho Research Foundation, Raritan, New
Jersey; Institute for the Study of Human Variation, Columbia University, New York; and
the Blood Bank of the Roger Williams General Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island.
A family is presented in which the propositus and 2 siblings, apparently
in group O, have in their sera anti-H in addition to anti-A and anti-B. Inspection
of the family tree reveals apparent violations of Mendelian heredity which can
be explained on the basis of a rare suppressor gene which in the homozygote state
suppresses in the propositus the actions of gene B and secretion gene Se. The genes
B and Se are fully expressed when transmitted to her offspring who are heterozygous for the suppression gene.
The same mechanism may be assumed to operate in the 9 other so-called group
O bloods containing anti-H.
Submitted on July 2, 1955
Accepted on August 26, 1955
