RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The knowledge of the genic structure of a population is of great importance for evolutive studies. AIM: To estimate in a Chilean population sample from the low-middle and low socioeconomic strata of Santiago, haplotypes and allele frequencies for Gm and Km loci. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample included 460 controls of a case-control study of typhoid fever. RESULTS: The G1m-G2m-G3m most frequent haplotypes were: za;..;g or 1,17;(-);21 = 0.4493;fn;b or 3;23;5,13 = 0.2522; f-,..;b or 3;(-);5,13 = 0.1389; zax;..;g or 1,2,17;(-);21 = 0.0685; za;..;b or 1,17;(-);5,13 = 0.0454; za;n;g or 1,17;23;21 = 0.0207; f;..;g or 3;(-);21 = 0.0129. The frequencies of Km alleles were 0.2391 and 0.7609 for Km1 and Km3 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These frequencies are within those found in Amerindian and Caucasian populations as expected from the origin of the Chilean population. Gm haplotypes did not differ from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while a significant lack of homozygous Km1/km1 was found in Km.