An Alu insertion polymorphism in a baboon hybrid zone

A novel polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer pair was used to analyze the frequency of insertion of the first described, nonhuman, baboon-specific Alu repetitive element in populations from the Papio hamadryas anubis and the Papio hamadryas hamadryas subspecies, and from a number of anubis-hamadryas hybrids. The Alu insertion is found in intron 7 of the baboon lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene. Each of the populations had different frequencies for the insertion, and the hybrids examined had a frequency intermediate to that of the parental populations. All hybrids and all P. h. anubis groups except the group of anubis sampled in 1973 exhibited higher-than-expected heterozygosity, while P. h. hamadryas and 1973 P. h. anubis showed lower-than-expected heterozygosity, supporting behavioral and other genetic observations of greater anubis outbreeding relative to hamadryas. This may include asymmetric introgression of the Alu insertion from hamadryas to the anubis population due to hybridization. KEY WORDS primate; evolution; Alu; polymorphism; insertion; gene flow; hybridization; hybrid zone