Dr. Kidd will continue his work to collect, preserve, and analyze DNA from a large series of anthropologically significant populations. Through collaboration with field anthropologists who will provide blood samples, Dr. Kidd will preserve material as Epstein-Barr virus transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines. The DNA of these samples will then be studied for several DNA polymorphisms (RFLPS). One goal of this work is to construct a data bank from as large a number of populations as possible. Because the number of highly polymorphic RFLPs is much greater than the number of classical genetic markers, they provide a much improved tool for determining the affinities between different populations. Secondly, Dr. Kidd will pursue three related goals: 1. estimation of genetic distance between all populations in order to infer the phylogenetic relationships among the groups, 2. investigation of the amount and nature of variability within and between groups for the purpose of inferring population demographic history, and 3. investigation of the possibility of observing the operation of natural selection in human populations. Prehistorians and historians are interested in tracing the movements of human populations. Unfortunately, written records appear only late in the human record, and archaeological evidence is often ambiguous. Many provocative hypotheses have been proposed about the relationships of different groups but with traditional data these are difficult to prove or disprove. Through analysis of DNA RFLPS, Dr. Kidd's research should help to provide answers.
