Heritability of Certain Anthropometric and Physiometric Phenotypes among Three Predominant Caste Population in Punjab, India

Research Article

Heritability of Certain Anthropometric and Physiometric Phenotypes among Three Predominant Caste Population in Punjab, India

Genetic and environmental factors contribute a significant proportion of anthropometric and physiometric variance. However, very limited study have been done on the relative contributions of genetic and environmental components in the variability of anthropometric and physiometric traits in different regions and caste in India. The present study was carried out to examine the heritability patterns of different anthropometric and physiometric traits among three caste populations with two generation in Punjab. A total of 150 families were studied, 50 families each of the three caste such as Brahmin, Khatri and Bania populations which constituted a total of 517 individuals. The anthropometric measurements taken were height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, biceps skinfold, triceps skinfold, supra-iliac skinfold and subscapular skinfold. The physiometric variables included measurement of Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood pressure (DBP) and pulse rate. The estimation of heritability has been calculated from the degree of resemblance between relatives. Almost all heritabilities of anthropometric and physiometric phenotypes were found significant with caste populations. Although heritabilities for some phenotypes (WHR, supra-iliac skinfold and pulse rate) were relatively low as compared to other studies in literature. Khatri population has showed greater variability for both generations whereas, Brahmin population for both generations have showed minimum heritability. Since, caste effects were significant for most of the phenotypes in comparison, therefore, it is suggested that inter-caste differences among these castes are more prominent. However, heritabilities are different in magnitudes across the caste groups. Thus, heritability pattern of anthropometric and physiometric phenotypes observed in the present study exhibited significant variations among Punjabi Brahmin, Khatri and Bania populations.

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Badaruddoza and Anamika Patharia, 2012. Heritability of Certain Anthropometric and Physiometric Phenotypes among Three Predominant Caste Population in Punjab, India. Journal of Biological Sciences, 12: 74-82.

DOI: 10.3923/jbs.2012.74.82

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jbs.2012.74.82

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Badaruddoza

Anamika Patharia

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Research Article

Heritability of Certain Anthropometric and Physiometric Phenotypes among Three Predominant Caste Population in Punjab, India

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